Voice of Flowers: Spring Ragas from India

Baluji Shrivastav is a UK-based Indian classical musician who, although blind from the age of eight months, has gone on to become one of the leading composers and sitar players of our time. Collaborating with numerous musicians from different traditions, he has played to packed concert halls both in the UK and abroad, releasing several albums which have also featured many other leading names in music. On this, his latest release with ARC Music, he is joined by the dynamic Sukhwinder Singh (popularly known as ‘Pinky’) on tabla for eight short-ish tracks celebrating the season known as Vasant (usually spelled Basant) with the raga of the same name, which forms a vital part of the spring soundscape in North India. The raga is presented in its stand-alone form and also explored through its various composites, the most popular being ‘Raga Vasant Bahar’. The Basant season marks the end of the North Indian winter, heralding the arrival of spring, a time for celebration when the fields turn yellow with ripening harvests and blue skies are full of multi-coloured kites, the kite festival being one of the hallmarks of Basant.

Shrivastav, in keeping with the spirit of the season, completely succeeds in conveying the upbeat flavour of the raga – joyous and full of hope.