Articles

Home Articles

Welcome to Darbar's repository of articles and blogs

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar interview: 'Dhrupad - flourishing branches, dwindling roots?'

The rudra veena maestro discusses Dhrupad's curious modern context following his landmark solo performance at the Purcell Room. By George Howlett | Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical music

read more
9 Sep 2019

How your favourite genres chime with Indian classical music

Discover Indian classical music via styles you like - this article builds sonic bridges to rock, jazz, jungle, hip-hop, house, and more. By George Howlett | Part of Living Traditions: 21 articles for 21st-century Indian classical music

read more
11 May 2019

An Introduction to Dhrupad: India's oldest classical music

The word Dhrupad is derived from 'dhruva' meaning that which is 'fixed' or 'constant' and 'pada' meaning 'word' or 'set-composition'. It is the oldest form of North Indian classical vocal music, with origins lying in the antiquated chanting style...

read more
11 May 2019

The Veena: North India's ancient lute, modified many times

The veena, also known as the been in North Indian languages, is a large plucked lute. It is undoubtedly one of India's oldest instruments, dating from around the 1st millennium BC - not only do many references appear in ancient Vedic...

read more
10 May 2019

The Tanpura: one note wonder

It's like the rush of a marsh on a midsummer night with a million crickets, or the howling wind stirring and the power lines outside a cabin in backwoods Idaho, or the hushed roar of the stream in front of a hermit's cave above Dehradun...

read more

See Full Festival concerts from our extensive archive,
and hundreds of other exclusive performances with
Darbar Player

Download our app and watch on the go
New exclusive releases every month
Watch anytime, anywhere


START FREE TRIAL

Free for 3 days. Cancel anytime.
Pay £9.95/month

Wellbeing

The Namaste Mindset

This new year, a new you comes from accepting the old one read more

Musical Musing by Sandeep Virdee, OBE

Indian classical music and wellbeing read more

How classical music impacts your body's energy centres

Classical music can uplift your mind, body and spirit—Indians believe it constitutes the ascent... read more

Festival 2024

19-27 October, Barbican Centre

click here

buy tickets

New to Indian Music

Guru-Shishya Parampara: Master and disciple, knowledge through surrender

Indian classical music is largely a hereditary tradition, generally taught in a pedagogical fashion... read more

What is Rasa? The 'essence' or 'juice' - a flowing nectar of emotional experience

Rasa (also spelt ras) is the word for 'juice' in many Indian languages. In a musical sense its meaning... read more

Why do Indian musicians tune their instruments in front of the audience?

One famous story of an Indian musician tuning before his audience has now taken a permanent place in... read more

New to indian Classical Music?

The beginner's guide to Indian classical music. Whether you’re completely new to raga music or just need a refresher, we’ve put together this brief overview of all things raga music to help you feel at ease when visiting one of our concerts or watch our videos on our YouTube or our Darbar Concert Hall.

read more

 

 

Follow us

Keep up to date with the latest news, events, music and musings across our social channels

YouTube latest

For hundreds more clips and shorts, vist our YT page here

Subscribe to our newsletters

Be the first to hear before events go on sale. Get the latest news and articles from Darbar