Indus Raag: Music Beyond Borders

While the large-scale human suffering at the Partition of India (1947) is very well documented, very few people are aware of the sheer devastation it wrought for North Indian classical music. Not only was the musical fraternity ruptured by a political border but in just over half a century, the plight of Pakistan’s numerous classical musicians has become an unenviable one. Among those who might well be the last of the great hereditary musicians of pre-Partition India, not only are poverty, starvation and ill-health widespread but their ancient musical tradition is frequently under attack by religious fundamentalists forcing many to go into hiding.

Lahore’s Tehzeeb Foundation, which has released this impressive 12-CD boxed set featuring 26 performers, is to be commended for inviting Indian maestros from across the border to make music with their Pakistani colleagues in an attempt to highlight their shared North Indian classical tradition. Sub-titled Music Beyond Borders, the project also fulfils the need for a permanent music archive, preserving the performances of these great maestros.

All the musicians on these albums are soloists in their own right but appear to have willingly agreed to accompany one another. The concept of jugalbandi (or duet between two classical soloists) has always been popular in India but was virtually unheard of in Pakistan perhaps because the opportunities for performance were so very rare that a musician who has secured a concert booking might be, understandably, reluctant to share the stage. But, on these recordings the jugalbandi rules, with such rare offerings as the delightful combined sounds of sitar and sarangi, sitar with vocals and vocals with slide guitar (or the mohan veena) played by India’s famous Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

The set also features some fairly well-known Pakistani classical veterans like the singer Ghulam Hussein Shaggan but there are also some very pleasant surprises from those we’ve never heard about before, notably the singers Karam Abbas Khan and Zafar Ali Khan, and the amazing sarod player Asad Qizilbash. Ustad Salamat Hussain’s bansuri (bamboo flute) treats us to the extremely rare ‘Raga Hemavati’, while India’s sarangi player Kamal Sabri joins Pakistan’s Abdullah Khan on shehnai, for a traditional style kafi, while a much less traditional banjo is played by Pakistan’s Mumtaz Ali Sabzal for a favourite folk tune. Best of all, there are some very rare ragas – so rare that they are hardly ever played even by Indian musicians. So it’s good to see that they are preserved and performed by their Pakistani compatriots, for instance, ‘Raam Sakh’ and also ‘Suha Sughrai’.

This beautifully packaged set is to be cherished, particularly in an age when most of us are listening to music through virtual means. As an added bonus, every track is meticulously documented including recording dates and a brief on each of the musicians, as well as a personal note from the producers pointing out various things of interest about each piece. If you only buy one box set this year, then this is the one to get. The album is available to purchase from Audiorec.co.uk.