Ustad Ali Akbar Khan has been celebrated as one of the greatest musicians India has seen in our times. He has always stood out as the one with that magical touch which takes music from superlative into the realm of the celestial.

The core of that magic lies in the maestro’s unique and almost unparalleled gift in feeling into and accessing the potential that raga offers. For Ali Akbar Khansaheb the contours of ragas handed down by his formidable guru lineage are not prescriptions. They are mysterious entities that offer the artistic mind a space to immerse oneself in and revel in the alchemy of feeling and form. They are a space to be –lost to the world, sunk in the intoxication of swara, the sensuality of movement and swar ka lagav, the magic of shrutis and the spirit of abandon. His relationship with raga is not unlike the relationship of a person totally surrendered to another in love –a quasi suicidal plunge into the darkness of letting one’s identity and defences go, unbridled by fear, willing to experience the ultimate pain in the thirst for ecstasy.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khansaheb is acknowledged as the most erudite and complete inheritor of the wealth of his guru and his gharana, be it in the realm of repertoire of ragas and compositions, techniques of improvisation in raga and in baaj, or rhythm and tala. However, his own genius dominates the persona of his music.

This album offers to listeners four haunting pieces – Todi, Lajwanti, Bairagi and Durgeshwari.

1. Raga: Todi [1961]
Alap, Gat Teentaal

2. Raga: Lajwanti [1961]
Gat Teentaal

3. Raga: Bairagi
Alap, Gat Teentaal
Tabla – Pt. Shankar Ghosh
Tanpura – Ustad Dhyanesh Khan, Gopi Mohan Dutta

4. Raga: Durgeshwari
Gat Vilambit and Drut Teentaal