The journal
Stories
Writing about the musicians in the archive — a concert, a recording, a lineage, a life. Each story is linked to the pages of the musicians it concerns.
Newest first
17 September 2026
Indian classical music: an introduction
What raga and tala actually are, how a concert is shaped, why lineage matters, and where to start listening. A first map of a very large territory.
On Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustad Alla Rakha, Pandit Ravi Shankar and 3 more
17 September 2026
The corporate gurukul: how ITC built a music school around a tradition
When princely patronage ended, a tobacco company built a residential campus in Kolkata and called it a gurukul. What the documented record shows about how that transplant worked — and what it does not say.
On Vidushi Hirabai Barodekar, Girija Devi, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty and 3 more
17 September 2026
How accompaniment becomes a conversation
The tabla, sarangi and harmonium players beside the soloist are not keeping time. Here is what they are actually doing, and why their names took so long to appear on the poster.
On Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Pandit Ram Narayan, Kishori Amonkar and 3 more
17 September 2026
Sitar and surbahar: what changes when the instrument grows
They share a shape, a plectrum and a family of players — but the bigger instrument was built for a different job. A guide to the differences you can hear, and to who actually invented the surbahar.
On Ustad Imdad Khan, Ustad Allauddin Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar and 3 more
17 September 2026
How to listen to a tabla solo
A tabla solo is not a drum showcase but a suite of contrasting forms, held together by a repeating melodic line. Here is what is happening, in the order you are likely to hear it.
On Pandit Ram Sahai, Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Ustad Alla Rakha and 5 more
13 September 2026
Your first evening with Indian classical music
Where to begin, what to expect, and five performances already in the archive that reward an unhurried first listen.
On Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Jayanthi Kumaresh, Rakesh Chaurasia and 2 more
13 September 2026
The instrument she was told not to play: Jyoti Hegde and the rudra veena
She heard the rudra veena at a lecture-demonstration, and her own teacher refused to teach it to her. What followed is one of the better-documented stories of persistence in recent Hindustani music.
On Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Vidushi Jyoti Hegde
13 September 2026
Teachers, students, and musical lineages
How to read the lineage sections in this archive — and why a teacher, a father, an influence and a gharana are four different things.
On Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, Pandit Yogesh Samsi and 2 more
13 September 2026
Getting to know the bansuri
A length of bamboo with six or seven holes, and no moving parts at all — how the Indian flute makes its sound, and how it became a classical concert instrument within living memory.
On Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rakesh Chaurasia