Tabla Solo and the “Zakir Effect”

A few years ago, I had interviewed a couple of senior Tabla professionals as part of my research for a book. They spoke of the “Zakir Effect”. They credited Zakir with having elevated the status of the Tabla, and of Tabla players, in the music world. They also referred to Zakir’s contribution to the revival of the Tabla Solo as a performance genre, which appears to have declined after the departure of Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa (approx.1892-1976) and his contemporary, Ustad Ameer Hussain Khan (1899-1969). These observations suggested the need for a close look at Tabla Solo as a performance genre.

 Rhythm and the Hindu ethos

Legend has it that Lord Shiva was once found dancing haphazardly - either in gay abandon or in wrathful fury. Lord Bramha was worried that Shiva’s unregulated dancing might upset the established order in the universe. Bramha summoned Lord Vishwakarma to fashion a drum Mrudanga (Mrud=clay, Anga=body), and ordered Lord Ganesha to start beating it to discipline Shiva’s erratic footwork. The universe was thus restored to its equilibrium. 

The Hindu notion of time is cyclical because the rotation of the planets around the sun constitutes and governs order in the universe. This notion is represented in the recurring play-out of a well-defined cadence composed of equidistant impacts (Tala). In his 13th century treatise (Sangeet Ratnakar), Sharngadeva defines rhythm as the foundational law of nature and the essential basis of all musical arts. The etymology of the word “Tala” confirms this perspective. According to the Sanskrit scholar, Nityanand Mishra, the word “Tala” is derived from the Sanskrit “Tal” = foundation/base. Tala is the foundation on which music and dance are established. 

The Tabla owes its origins to this concept of the original Mrudanga, as the imposer of temporal organization, structure and discipline on music and dance. To this day, Tabla and Mrudanga/ Pakhawaj players regard Lord Ganesha as the originator of their art/craft, and the custodian of their mandate.

The cultural anthropology of Tala 

On the issue of which came first – rhythm or melody – it is widely accepted that rhythm emerged first. Evidence comes from early primitive music. Primitive man created rhythmic sounds (clapping, foot-tapping, thigh-slapping, drumming) as a method of communication, signalling danger, or as community bonding, long before he developed the ability to produce, control, and structure vocal pitches into a coherent melody. Rhythmic, repetitive, percussive sounds were used to create a "battle trance" for defence or to coordinate group activities. Their stimulant/arousing value stems from their neuro-acoustic connection to biological pulses like the heartbeat, and breathing. Through the discovery of pleasure giving rhythmic patterns, man isolated "musical rhythm" from its origins in “communicating rhythm”. “Musical Rhythm”, thus identified, became relatable even when isolated from an identifiable pitch or accompanying melodic pattern. 

Implicit in this "relatability" is a caveat – the perceived “musicality” of any specific rhythmic pattern will vary from culture to culture. This is because each culture represents a distinct rhythm of life in all its manifestations, including those outside of what we call music. The “musicality” of rhythm is conditioned by a culture-specific receptivity. The generalized/ primitive notion of rhythm as a universal language is, therefore, irrelevant in the present context. Hence the reference to the Hindu notion of time as being cyclical and Prof. SK Saxena’s profound description of Tala as the “recalibration of geophysical time as aesthetic time”.  

A Tabla solo is not primitive by any yardstick of primitiveness. It is the Hindu notion of Musical Rhythm/ Aesthetic Time  elevated to the highest level of sophistication over millennia of continuous practice and scholarship. Its “musicality”, especially when isolated from its role as accompaniment, demands a level of  audience cultivation that the notion of universal appeal cannot support. 

The evolutionary path

We may hypothesize the evolution of the Tabla solo as a performance genre against this backdrop. In the first phase, percussion/ rhythmic accompaniment acted as a frame, imposing a sense of orderliness/ structure on music composition and performance. This may be regarded as the “regulatory/time-keeping” phase of its evolution. 

In the second phase, the Tabla began to enhance the totality of a musical experience by embellishments supportive of the primary performer. This may be called the “participative” phase of its evolution. The groundwork for this had already been prepared by the interactive relationship between the Pakhawaj and the Rudra Veena idioms in the Dhrupad era. This process gained momentum when, the modern, and more agile, string instruments began their ascendency over vocal music and, indeed, the bowed and woodwind instruments too. The Sitar, Sarod, Hawaiian Guitar, and the Santoor gained the most from a pro-active participation of Tabla accompanists. Plucking or percussive impact on the strings creates rhythmic patterns, inviting/ encouraging rhythmic accompanists to offer matching/ complementary cues/responses. The technology of sound-activation on the major instruments encouraged percussion accompaniment to become a partner, and facilitated the recognition of Tabla players as music-makers in their own right. 

Being fundamentally an accompaniment art, the Tabla art has become progressively more engaging by having to accompany a large variety of primary musicians playing different instruments, and vocalists of different backgrounds, each pursuing a different genre and/or style. We have seen this evolutionary pattern also in the Sarangi – an evolution which partially resembles the Tabla’s journey. The third phase (Authoritative/ Solo) of the Tabla’s evolution could, therefore, emerge because its share of the musical space had already expanded substantially in the earlier phase as an accompanist. 

This expansion expectedly made the Tabla art more remunerative and began to attract a larger/ superior  inflow of talent to it. The demand for Tabla Guru-s grew. The most authoritative and learned amongst Tabla artists could devote themselves to tutoring younger aspirants, and become soloists. This can explain the emergence of Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa and Ustad Ameer Hussain Khan, as the “Gods of Tabla” in the early 20th century. 

The Tabla may  have, in recent years, entered its “Fourth Phase” of evolution – its involvement with trans-cultural orchestral presentations. Zakir Hussain’s versatility probably crystallised this phase of evolution. This is also relevant because Zakir’s cult-like following may owe itself to his excellence in the 2nd, 3rd, as well as 4th manifestations of the Tabla’s presence. 

It is tempting to see in this evolution the contribution of sound-engineering and recording technologies because it enabled the distinct/independent capture of, and an electronically manipulated balance between, the various inputs into a musical endeavour.  The contemporary Tabla maestro and historian, Aneesh Pradhan avers that, such an impression would be erroneous. In his incisive email to me dated March 3, 2026, he points out:

“The fact that Tabla solo recitals were being held even before the establishment of the recording industry is demonstrated through oral history sources and through the repertoire that was specifically developed for solo recitals from the second half the 18th century. Evidently, this material was used as a pedagogical tool to equip the Tabla player with a wide variety of vocabulary and musical material that could be harnessed for accompanying vocal and instrumental music, and dance…. But, then, the audience for Hindustani music concerts was always limited until the time that festivals like Swami Haridas Sammelan took over.”

As Aneesh observes, learned Guru-s have adapted, and refined, the ancient/ mediaeval percussion idiom of the Mrudanga/ Pakhawaj and disseminated it to Tabla aspirants for over 200 years. Understandably, Tabla solo performances did not command an audience on a significant scale in the pre-amplification and pre-recording era. However, the music eco-system of the earlier era, Pradhan points out, did, allow stalwarts to choose parallel lives as accompanists and teachers, or to turn soloist and focus on teaching. This, he observes, is true even of our times.  

What is a Tabla solo?

A Tabla solo recital is an elaborate and comprehensive presentation of a Tala through structured movements sequenced logically. Its presentation progresses from low stroke-density to progressively higher stroke-densities, from sparse phrasing to dense phrasing, and from the simple patterns to more complex patterns.  In its structural intent, it is no different from a Khayal or Sitar/Sarod rendition of a Raga. Like a Raga, a Tala is a language, shaped by standard phonemes, syllables, vocabulary, phrasing patterns, and syntax. The only difference between the two is that a Tala solo presentation is almost entirely pre-composed, while a Raga presentation is substantially improvised. 

A Tala-presentation and a Raga-rendition are literary manifestations of two distinct languages, though designed to function in unison. A language, by definition, addresses those who know and understand the language. A shared language defines a specific community, and discourages/ excludes casual intruders. 

A Tabla solo includes a unique feature which confirms its pedagogical purpose,  --- a public utterance/articulation (Padhant) of the syllables of the Tabla idiom that constitute a particular composition/movement. This feature can represent value only to students of the Tabla. As such, a Tabla solo cannot be considered an entertaining genre for uninitiated audiences. Its eligible audience consists only of professional and aspiring Tabla players, for whom it is an education and also a delight. What, then, might explain the popularity of the Tabla solo beyond the eligible audience?

Rhythm in the melody 

Part of the answer may lie in the growing musical interaction between percussionists and instrumentalists/vocalists. Evidence of this is sketchy, but significant. Significantly, the “Tihai”, a titillating melodic-rhythmic device, emerged as a prominent feature in the music of the plucked/ struck instruments in the Sitar/ Sarod/ Santoor/ Hawaiian guitar idiom from the 1950s. In addition, several movements appearing in contemporary Sitar/Sarod Raga-presentation today mimic standard movements of the Tabla idiom (e.g. Peshkar and Qayda). According to oral and documented history, instrumentalists (and even vocalists) groomed in pre-independence India were routinely trained on the Pakhawaj/Tabla during their apprenticeship. Most interesting is the case of Pt. Shivkumar Sharma. He had achieved national stature as a Tabla player before he transferred his affections to the Santoor. Unique is the case of Pt. Jasraj, a professional Tabla player in his youth, who reportedly decided one day that he would be happier singing. 

The post-independence story of the convergence is different. Barring very few exceptions, the leading vocalists/instrumentalists of the post-independence generation do not have an intimate understanding of the Tabla idiom. The reason is simple; a command over two distinct idioms was once considered valuable, but is now considered unnecessary for instrumentalists/ vocalists. The ability to comply with Tala discipline, and a judicious infusion of the Tabla idiom into a performance is adequate for instrumentalists and vocalists for engaging audiences. If this is so, it is reasonable to ask -- Is the average music-lover, or even a connoisseur, competent to understand and appreciate a Tabla solo performance?

The audience for Tabla solo

For the quantitative evaluation of Tabla solo audiences, I accessed YouTube viewership data for two distinct samples. (a) a sample of significant Tabla solo exponents and (b) a sample of instrumental and vocal music recordings of significant vocalists and instrumentalists, where the Tabla functions as an accompanying instrument. Across all samples, I have used the “Audience Engagement Factor” as the measure. This measure is derived as (Total viewership reported online as on the day of audit divided by the number of years for which the upload has been exposed to public viewing. In my earlier writings, I have discussed at length the limitations of this measure, and also defended it as the only feasible interpretation of YouTube data available in the public domain. Details of the two samples are appended. 

The first question I asked the data is: Who are the engaging Tabla solo exponents followed/ studied today? The AEF measures for every considered percussionist need not be revealed because we are interested in their historical/ generational significance. They are therefore plotted by the year of their birth. (See chart).

The incline of the trend-line is as expected. It shows that Tabla players born between 1950 and 1970 have a larger following than those of the pre-independence generation. This is natural because the dead cannot compete with the living for share-of-mind. Most of the post-independence Tabla exponents are still alive, and command a visibility across platforms – as concert artists, social media celebrities, and also as teachers. The acoustic quality of their recordings on broadcast media is also far superior to those of pre-independence maestros. 

The two clear outliers on this graph are Zakir Hussain (died: 2024) and Abdus Sattar Tari of Pakistan (still active). Of the two, Tari is less significant because his presence in India has been negligible, and his constituency in Pakistan and amongst the Pakistani diaspora in the West can give him a generous YouTube viewership numbers. We notice that there is a substantial drop in audience engagement for Tabla solo artists born after the two stalwarts. From this, we may infer that the Zakir/Tari phenomena have not bolstered the AEF scores of their younger contemporaries. An interesting question arises: What would the chart look like if we removed Zakir and Tari from the equation? (See chart)

This chart, excluding Zakir and Tari, shows a sharper incline, and a substantial scatter of  Tabla soloists above the line of Tabla virtuosi born after 1950 and even slightly earlier. The comparison between the two charts suggests that the ascendancy of the Tabla solo within the musical space is part of a historical trend, which could well have facilitated even  the meteoric rise of Zakir and Tari. The trend itself appears to be relatively independent of their considerable contemporary influence. The Zakir/Tari influence is, therefore, more likely to have inspired the manner and content of Tabla solo performance, than it actually bolstered its stature or popularity within the music world. 

Statistical correlations run separately for the two scenarios support this inference. The trendline excluding Zakir and Tari is statistically stronger than the one that includes them. The comparison also suggests that the Tabla as a solo instrument received a reasonable dose of adrenalin about a decade before the arrival of Zakir and Tari on the platform. The decade-long gap between the base years visible here may reflect the legacy of some maestros of the pre-independence generation, still valued by present-day audiences. Historian Pradhan confirms that, even before Zakir’s arrival, major music festivals had already begun to feature Tabla solo performances by stalwarts like Ustad Alla Rakha, Pt. Samta Prasad, and Pt. Kishan Maharaj, and their Tabla solo recordings had also begun to appear in the commercial recordings market.  (see table).

The historical perspective presented above indicates a broadly supportive environment for the arrival/ revival of  Tabla solos as a performance genre. This is a good starting point for querying the audience this genre commands.

The size of the Tabla solo audience

This issue cannot be addressed in absolute numbers; but it can be addressed in juxtaposition against the viewership for Hindustani classical music in its totality, in which the Tabla participates as a mandatory accompanist. For benchmarking the totality of the Hindustani music performance universe, I randomly selected and aggregated the AEFs for the most significant vocalists and instrumentalists of the 20th and early 21st centuries with equal representation. The list of musicians sampled is appended. (See Table):  

If we include Zakir and Tari in the computation, the audience for Tabla solo renditions could be about 15% of the total audience for Hindustani classical music. But, if we omit the two from the computation, the proportion shrinks to about 6%. Is it possible that this “base figure” of 6% represents the truly qualified audience of Tabla professionals and aspirants? If this is a fair suggestion, the figure would confirm the character of the Tabla solo as, primarily, a pedagogical demonstration. It may also imply that the 9% additional share-of-mind attributed to Zakir and Tari indicates their formidable influence as (virtual/online) Guru-s, as also their panache as performers. By inference, they could have significantly influenced the style and manner in which their younger cohorts engage audiences. But, as suggested by earlier analysis, their contribution to bolstering the genre’s fortunes may be debatable. 

“Gods of Tabla”

After crowning Ahmed Jan Thirakwa (born: approx.1892) as the “God of Tabla”, the community of Tabla professionals seems willing to revive the title for Zakir Hussain (born: 1951). The interval of about 60 years between their births is interesting. According to social science theorists, landmark personalities and radical changes can be expected to surface at intervals of about 60 years (or two generations), with 30 years defining a generation. I have dealt at length with this issue in my earlier writings on aesthetic obsolescence and paradigm shifts. (Refer: The Musician and His Art, DK Printworld, New Delhi, 2019).

In his epic work, “Man and Crisis”, the influential Spanish thinker, Jose Ortega Y Gassett, defines a generation as a “Community of date and space”, which signifies the sharing of an essential destiny. 

“A generation is an integrated manner of existence or, if you prefer, a fashion of living, which fixes itself indelibly on the individual… The concept of age is not the stuff of mathematics, but of life. Age, then, is not a date, but a zone of dates”. 

This forms the basis of his division of individual life-spans into distinct phases of interaction with the world, and of history as the “dynamic system of attractions and repulsions, of agreements and controversy” between the various co-existing generations. The sum total of Ortega’s argument is: The 30-year period between 30 and 60 is the historically most significant period in the life of each generation. Hence, a period of 30 years can be considered as constituting a generation. This seems reasonable because, by the age of 30, a person has almost certainly become a parent. According to him, historic (paradigmatic) changes can be expected to surface approximately every 60 years, because the conditions governing the lives of the grand-child generation have nothing in common with those governing the grand-parent generation. Economists, looking at the cyclicity of economic activity from various angles, have come to broadly similar conclusions. 

Amongst reputed formulations, Nikolai Kondratieff 's model (1925) is considered the most authoritative because of its multi-dimensional perspective and statistical validation. For the same reason, it is also  more appealing fur understanding cultural patterns. His formulation is based on his analysis of global economic, demographic, monetary, technological and political factors between 1790 and 1920. Kondratieff estimated an expansion-contraction economic cycle of 50-60 years. Economic contractions and expansions inevitably manifest themselves in the contemporary culture. This is what makes the age-gap of about 60 years between Thirakwa and Zakir more interesting. 

The historical perspective suggests that the entire music eco-system had evolved to pave the way for  the phenomenon called Zakir Hussain. In addition, we have some social sciences theory to suggest that his emergence may also be a manifestation of predictable socio-economic cycles. This observation takes nothing away from his well-earned stature. A God, after all, is a God in any era. 

End of essay

© Deepak S. Raja. February 2026. Written March 5, 2026

YouTube data as on February 1, 2026

Acknowledgements: The author acknowledges, with gratitude, Dr. Aneesh Pradhan's comments and suggestions on the draft of this essay. 

Sample notes:

This essay is based on the study of YouTube uploads of two categories of samples – a study sample, and a benchmarking sample. The study sample is listed against each Tabla exponent’s name. In the benchmarking sample, three randomly selected recordings of orthodox classical music by the named musician were selected for audit. 

   

Sitar Music Today. Part II

   

In the conclusion to Part I of this exploration, I had raised a few questions about the role of the Sitar in the emerging musical environment. 

“What, then, can be said about the much talked-about paradigm shift taking place in Sitar music? Could it be happening already, but in a territory that we do not classify as “classical” music? Could we be looking for it in the wrong place? This is a possibility considering the impenetrable wall erected by the Ravi Shankar/Vilayat Khan/ Nikhil Banerjee generation. Their yardstick of musicianship may appear, in contemporary perception, either obsolescent, dispensable or unsaleable.”

In search of an answer, I now review YouTube recordings of a few successful and emerging contemporary Sitarists. The four artists I consider are: Shujaat Khan (born:1960), Niladri Kumar (born: 1973) Anoushka Shankar (born: 1981), and Rishabh Sharma (born: 1998). 

The group of Sitarists chosen for this study is purposive, and not exhaustive of significant talent on the contemporary stage. They merit consideration because each of them has a recognizable pedigree, with which their musical orientations may be difficult to reconcile. They are analysed in sequence of their years of birth. The sequence may not, therefore, be inferred to imply their rating as musicians.

Shujaat Khan

The inclusion of Shujaat Khan in this study may seem inappropriate because he established himself as a worthy heir to the legacy of his father. Ustad Vilayat Khan between 1990 and 2000. Even during that apparently “orthodox” phase of his evolution, he exhibited a tendency towards exploration of new musical paths… tilting perhaps towards populism. 

During his interview with me on January 16, 2004, a few months before his father’s demise, Shujaat observed:

“With the passage of time, an entirely new generation of listeners has emerged. To them, Ustad Vilayat Khan or Pandit Ravi Shankar or Ustad Ali Akbar Khan  – though they are all alive – are only as real as Mahatma Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru.  These audiences are willing to accept me for what I am.”

Even today, Shujaat’s recent “orthodox” performances in circulation on pre-recorded media – few in number – delight admirers of his father, Ustad Vilayat Khan. However, the overwhelming majority of his recent uploads on YouTube (2015-2025) are sufficient to establish him as the forerunner of our “New Wave” Sitarists.

Shujaat’s 21st century music revolves around his competence as a singer of popular middle-brow poetry (Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi) like Ghazals, Bhajans, Chaiti-s, Thumris, Folk songs, and Sufiana Kalaam-s. The Sitar follows the vocals with charming precision, lacing the rendition occasionally with engaging melodic improvisations. Occasionally, his recordings feature additional--but subordinated -- support of a Santoor, or flute, or even a synthesizer. His vocal repertoire is largely raga-neutral, and composed mostly in medium-to-brisk tempo Keherva, but occasionally also in the common enough Jhaptala or Roopak. For rhythmic accompaniment, he routinely deploys two Tabla players, but sometimes a single Tabla player along with a Dholak player. 

This configuration of musical elements merits interpretation. (1) This music is, essentially, a vocal performance, with the Sitar functioning as melodic accompaniment, though a little more prominent than a Sarangi or Harmonium support in a Khayal performance. (2) The occasional use of additional melodic support is suggestive of “orchestral intent”. (3) The commanding musical idea of the performance is, in most cases, is not a raga, but a raga-neutral composition. (4) His choice of compositions, being set to middle-to-brisk tempo, obviates the need for slow-tempo and ultra-brisk treatment of the melodic framework, thus taking the music categorically out of the established raga-presentation protocol for the Sitar. (5) The use of multiple percussion accompaniments enhances the presence of rhythm in the totality of the musical experience far beyond the established configuration of musical elements in Sitar music.  

Randomly, I selected 15 uploads of Shujaat’s sitar performances, and 15 of him as a singer and calculated the aggregate AEF (Viewership/ Number of years since upload) separately for the two groups. The results are revealing. Shujaat, the singer, engages audiences on a massively higher scale than Shujaat, the Sitarist. The absolute numbers are not important. The orders of magnitude are convincing. (See Table)

Shujaat is a fine vocalist and a brilliant Sitarist; and, so was his father, though at a different level. With similar equipment, Shujaat has created a personal genre of “Sitar Music” unlike anything his father has rendered in his 60+ year performing career. Shujaat’s success has given younger sitarists the confidence to shape deviant “Personal Musical Statements”. 

Niladri Kumar

Niladri is the son of Kartik Kumar, a senior disciple of Ravi Shankar. In the early 2000s, he exploded upon the Sitar scene with his formidable command over the instrument. Even in his early days into the profession, performing the orthodox idiom of raga-rendition, he displayed a penchant for the kaleidoscopic and dramatic patterning of melody, and executed it with dazzling virtuosity. The success of his musical inclinations with Indian as well as foreign audiences encouraged him to explore the potential of modern sound-engineering beyond the  possibilities of the traditional acoustic Sitar (a self-resonating instrument). .  

 To unleash his musical vision, he designed an electronic instrument. His contraption, called “Zithar”, is a cross between a Sitar and an electric guitar. Its acoustic experience can be similar to that of an electric guitar, but its melodic capabilities can shame the world’s greatest guitarist because of the string-deflection facility of a Sitar. It does not have Sitar-type sympathetic strings because sound-engineering makes them redundant. As a bonus, the Zithar is also a more portable instrument for a jet-setting Sitarist than a traditional acoustic Sitar, and can be played sitting on a chair. This invention gave Niladri access to the entire power of sound-engineering, and enabled him to deliver an acoustic experience never heard before on the Sitar.

I surveyed 33 uploads of Niladri’s recordings on YouTube to understand different facets of his musicianship. Once again, I have used the AEF (Audience Engagement Factor) measure as a guide.

The greatest object of curiosity in Niladri’s music has been his invention – the Zithar. In a random sample of 33 upload recordings on YouTube, I found 25 rendered on the acoustic Sitar, and 8 performed on the Zither. The AEF numbers for Zithar recordings are substantially higher than those for acoustic Sitar recordings. (See Table).

His invention was intended to express his musical vision more convincingly, or give him access to diverse genres or audiences not addressed adequately. More specifically, the Zithar brought the universe of “Fusion” and “World Music” within easier reach. In the sample uploads, Niladri is observed performing with “multiple accompaniments” -- Synthesizer, Sarod, Mrudanga, Morsing, Guitar, and Drum-sets. No clear indication of value addition is available from the AEF data: (See Table). 

In the orthodox format (Sitar + single Tabla accompanist), Niladri appears almost as convincing as he does in the Fusion/ Semi-fusion (multiple accompanist) format. This suggests that Niladri’s style, supported by electronic wizardry, has by now cultivated a distinct constituency, which values his music equally in either category of melodic content. Support for this possibility is available from the AEF numbers. (See Table). 

Interestingly, His Raga-based content fares considerably better on the AEF measure than his Raga-neutral musical content. This may suggest that Niladri's own melodic imagination falls short of the aesthetic coherence of mature Raga-s. He finds relative safety in a few playful Raga-s, featured primarily in semi-classical music. A majority of the uploads feature popular romantic Raga-s like Jhinjhoti, Tilak Kamod, Bhairavi, and Manjh Khamaj, and are rendered mostly in medium tempo. In the sample uploads, I encountered only two recordings of relatively serious Raga-s: Shree and Kaunsi Kanada. The full-fledged orthodox Raga-presentation protocol of Sitar music is encountered only once. It therefore appears that Niladri’s music is not about what he plays, but how he engages audiences. 

Anoushka Shankar

Anoushka is an English-American Sitarist, and daughter of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar, and his second wife, Sukanya Rajan. During her early years in England, she is reported to have trained in Western music, later to be groomed as a Hindustani Sitarist by her father and his disciple, Gaurav Majumdar in the US. Not surprisingly, therefore, her career as a Sitarist has flourished primarily in the US and Europe. 

I reviewed 35 uploads of her music with an average YouTube exposure life of 5 years (Range: 1-16 years) as on January 25, 2026. A majority of recordings are of live concerts in the US or Europe. A couple of uploads belong to some of the albums she has released. Based on the sample reviewed, the following observations can be made.

Her musical personality has a strong bias in favour of orchestral or duet arrangement. Her ensemble can be as small as a chamber-music suite, a quartet, or as large as a symphony orchestra.  Only 4 of the 35 reviewed uploads feature vocals as a part of orchestral presentation, with vocals provided by others. Her chamber music/ quartet format presentations frequently feature bass, flute, violin, guitar, clarinet, keyboards, xylophone, piano, sarod, cello, or shehnai for melodic/ harmonic support. Percussion support, where used, is a western drum-set, hand-pan (percussive-melodic), Tabla, Mrudangam and, occasionally, also Morsing (mouth harp).  Very few of the uploads reviewed can be considered orthodox -- Sitar accompanied by percussion (Tabla or Mridangam) accompaniment, with an optional Tanpura in the background. In a few cases, her solo renditions lack even percussion accompaniment. In almost all orchestral arrangements. which are obviously pre-composed and rehearsed to perfection, she is the lead performer, and appears to retain a semblance of freedom to improvise her sections. 

Her inclination towards collaborative music-making is understandable considering her training in Western music, and consequent comfort with Western notation systems. It is also pragmatic considering the cultural environment and the acoustic ambience in which she is pursuing her career. This pragmatism is also reflected in the titles/ themes under which Anoushka presents her items. The Raga pantheon of Hindustani music appears to guide her compositions even in orchestral presentations. However, she considers it unnecessary -- perhaps even imprudent -- to allow the uniquely Indian archetype of “Raga-ness” to erect a barrier to the acceptance of her music. Her compositions are cleverly titled. A few examples: “We return to love”, “Daybreak”, “New Dawn”, “Crossing the Rubicon”, “In the End”.  

Of the 35 uploads reviewed, as many as 24 recordings exhibit a clear presence of Raga-based melody. Admittedly, the choice of Raga-s is biased towards romanticist/ popular Raga-s like Manjh Khamaj, Bhairavi, Hansadhwani, Charukeshi, Yaman, and Jhinjhoti. She does not, however, shy away from presenting her music in more serious Raga-s like Jog, Shree or Puriya Dhanashri. Her thematic titles ensure that her music will face minimal aesthetic resistance from her audiences. 

In its totality, Anoushka’s music represents a substantial advancement towards shaping/ altering the experience of Hindustani music for global audiences. Its underlying “Indian-ness” is apparent to those who will look for it, and irrelevant to those who can engage with her music as, simply, music. 

Rishabh Rikhiram Sharma

Rishabh is a New York-based son of the Sanjay Sharma, a partner in the famous Delhi-based firm of master-luthiers, Rikhiram & Sons. Rishabh's profile on his website describes him as a Sitarist, composer and producer. Rishabh studied the Sitar from childhood under Parimal Sadaphal, a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar. The child’s potential was reportedly noticed by the legendary maestro, who encouraged him to persist in the chosen direction. Rishabh went on later to study Music Production at the City University of New York, acquiring valuable skills for a contemporary musician. 

Interestingly, Rishabh has deviated from the Indian convention of using his father’s first name (Sanjay) as his middle name. Instead, he has adopted the name of his great-grandfather, Rikhiram, who founded the firm in Lahore (now in Pakistan) before moving to Delhi after partition. The “Rikhiram” brand could have given Rishabh, a luthier’s son, easier entry into a competitive Sitar market populated by premium-commanding hereditary musicians. His talent did the rest. The astronomical viewership numbers this 28-year-old musician reports on YouTube suggest the magnitude of his following. 

I have reviewed 30 video uploads of Rishabh on YouTube. He acquits himself honourably as a Sitarist as well as a vocalist. Of these 30, 21 uploads feature him as a Sitarist, 7 feature him as a Sitarist as well as a vocalist, and only 2 feature him only as a  vocalist only. This ratio suggests that, despite the endearing quality of his vocalism, he has positioned himself primarily as a Sitarist who can, incidentally, also sing. 

Of his 21 Sitar-dominant recordings, most of which have a small supporting ensemble, as many as 13 recordings exhibit a clear presence of Hindustani Raga-s. The list includes Adana, Shankara, Puriya Kalyan, Tilak Kamod, Shuddha Sarang, Manjh Khamaj, Kedar, Bihag, Hameer. Khamaj, Kausi Kanada and Nat Bhairav. The remaining 8 recordings feature Raga-neutral musical content, with a populist stance. These include his own compositions, popular Indian film songs, and themes from popular international shows/films such as Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones. Amongst the “New Wave” Sitarists, Rishabh could have travelled the farthest into populism. 

In this group of 21 Sitar-dominant recordings, I found only 7 uploads featuring the orthodox format of a Sitar recital accompanied only by a Tabla, and occasional Tanpura. Most of them are recordings of live concerts performed over the years. They feature a reasonable variety of Raga-based musical content with an average duration of 17 minutes . Stylistically, the music is thoroughbred Ravi Shankar idiom. However, none of the recordings features the complete Raga-presentation protocol covering the three-tier Alap, followed by Vilambit and Drut compositions. The telescoping of the Raga-presentation into an undemanding “capsule” could be one of the dimensions of the paradigmatic shift taking place now.

The more interesting facet of Rishabh’s musicianship are uploads which present him simultaneously as a sitarist and a vocalist, as they may hold the key to his popularity so far. Most of these are listed on YouTube as “Official Music Video”. In these, he demonstrates his professional competence as a music producer. These are obviously studio recordings, though some are presented as stage performances. Several of them have been shot against thematically appropriate backdrops like the river Ganga in Varanasi, or stunning images of Mount Kailasa. Some of the numbers exhibit the presence of Raga-based melody, while others are raga-neutral. These videos feature Rishabh on the sitar and vocals, accompanied by a minimal ensemble: guitar, drum-sets, flute, tabla, castanets, keyboards. In obvious awareness of the attention-span of Internet audiences, the average duration of these videos has been restricted to 3.2 minutes. 

The titles of these videos are even more interesting. Some examples: Chanakya, Kautilya, Shiva Kailasa, Rosalyn, Mata Kalika, Ranjhana, Belua (a Himachali folk song). Despite the fact that Rishabh is competing in the global Sitar market, he appears to make no attempt to conceal the essential “Indian-ness” of the music, or his own religious fervour. His ethnically transparent stance becomes boldly evident in the two videos featuring him as a solo vocalist. In one of them, he is seen chanting the famous Shiva Tandava Stotram, composed by Ravana, before a delirious audience in Nepal. On another, he sings a Shiva Stuti in Raga Shankara accompanied by a flute and the Tabla.  

The “New Wave”

It is not necessary to compare the four Sitarists reviewed here on their respective approaches to musicianship or the magnitude of their success. They cannot be compared also because they belong to different generations. If 30 years constitutes a generation, the senior-most Shujaat (born: 1960) is almost the “father-generation” to the youngest Rishabh Sharma, a millennial (born:1998). Each of these musicians is a unique product of his/her background and successful with the audiences he/she addresses or confronts. What is common to them is that they are all Sitarists, and their music can indicate the direction in which Sitar music is drifting. Some tentative observations can be made on these directions. 

(a) The elaborate sophistication of the Raga-presentation protocol practiced by the Ravi Shankar/ Vilayat Khan/ Nikhil Bannerjee generation, with each Raga lasting 30-45 minutes, may be heading for extinction. Amongst the elements of the orthodox protocol, the Vilambit and Drut+Jhala may be facing faster obsolescence, leaving medium-to-brisk tempo presentation as the primary residual/ substitute. 

(b) The Sitar is no longer seen strictly as a solo instrument. It has the potential to engage with newer/ larger audiences as an orchestral instrument, accompanied by vocal renditions or Indian/western/fusion ensembles.

(c) The entry of orchestral arrangements tends to limit the degree of improvisation permissible, and to drive Sitar music towards pre-composed musical presentations. Orchestration, especially across cultural boundaries, also tends to confine compositions to the simpler Tala-s, thus draining the musical culture of the rhythmic variety available in Hindustani music. 

(d) The Raga-based ethnicity of Hindustani music is becoming increasingly irrelevant to the engagement of audiences – especially in an orchestral context -- as long as the musical experience is of high quality -- acoustic and/or visual.

(e) Maintaining high-quality musical experiences, especially within orchestral contexts, requires Sitarists to get intimately involved with sound-engineering technologies. 

(f) The Internet, but more specifically YouTube, has become the primary medium for reaching and servicing audiences. The faceless global audience accessible through YouTube constitutes a total de-contextualization of traditional art forms everywhere. This phenomenon could be driving Sitar music towards a comprehensive de-culturation.

(g)   Media theorists and music industry professionals are increasingly pointing towards "Relatability" as a pre-requisite of success in a YouTube-driven music profession. The word is so dangerously vague, and the idea, potentially, so dismissive of critical scrutiny, that it can easily make musicianship insignificant or even irrelevant.  

As anticipated by Part I of this study, and evidenced in the music reviewed here, a paradigmatic shift is on its way, and it is, indeed, emerging outside the artistic realm which can be described as "Classical Music", as hitherto understood. It is impossible to judge how transient or stable the present patterns are. The prevailing culture of any era is, after all, a manifestation of the ongoing interaction between several co-existing generations. We know that the Ravi Shankar/ Vilayat Khan/ Nikhil Bannerjee model of Sitar music has withstood at least five decades of demographic change. Our "New Wave" Sitarists are expressing and addressing the aesthetic sensibilities of an India with a median age of around 30. By 2050, the median could touch 50 -- a dramatic transformation in the nation's collective psyche. Will today’s musical tendencies remain viable for another quarter of a century? Nobody knows. 

© Deepak S. Raja 2026

Written February 1, 2026, YouTube data as on January 15, 2026. 

Jugalbandi-s in Hindustani music: Is 1+1=3?

 

During my interviews with several leading musicians – mainly instrumentalists-- I have found considerable lack of enthusiasm, sometimes even outright disdain, for the Jugalbandi format for presenting Hindustani music. They have expressed the view that the musical product of duets is inferior to the respective solo performances of the partners.  

Alongside the aesthetic aspect, and perhaps related to it, musicians also mention the financial issues surrounding Jugalbandi engagements – whether for stage appearances, or for recordings. The collaborating musicians tend to expect their normal (solo) rates, or even a premium over their normal rates, for duet engagements. As a result, the sponsor/ host often struggles to keep the economics of the event manageable. This reality could substantially explain why very few significant and durable partnerships have emerged in Hindustani music since independence. 

The economics of each Jugalbandi event will tend to be unique, and will remain opaque to the world. Audiences, however, do respond to the qualitative dimension of duet performances expecting that they will be more interesting/ enjoyable/ satisfying than either of the two participants performing solo… that 1+1=3, preferably more. Qualitative dimensions of the musical experience are not amenable to easy quantification. An attempt is, however, made here to examine if readily accessible data may reveal interesting patterns.

The data-source for analysis

In my earlier writings, I have defended the use of YouTube viewership data as displayed on the screen against each uploaded recording. The limitations of using this data for research purposes have been identified by researchers all over the world. These need not be repeated here. Despite the pitfalls, researchers are accepting it as useful at the exploratory phase stage of research. This is largely because there is no other standardized real-time global-scale monitoring of viewership available. The generators of this data (YouTube/Google) possess far more audience behaviour data than is publicly accessible. We can only attempt to persuade its transparent fraction to deliver valuable insights. 

My earlier analysis of data in public domain enabled me to define an “Audience Engagement Factor”, derived by dividing the total reported viewership of a recording (in actual numbers) by the number of weeks since the particular recording was uploaded on YouTube. Since my last research effort using this measurement tool, YouTube has changed its screen-display data policy. YouTube now displays the age of the upload in years rounded off to the nearest year—and not the precise data of the upload. And, for viewership, YouTube now displays the numbers, rounded off to the nearest thousand. Because of these changes, the Audience Engagement Factor (AEF) has to be computed as (viewership in thousands / Number of years for which the upload has been in public view). Compared to the AEF measure I have earlier used in my studies, this is admittedly a blunt tool. We accept this dilution of analytical value because we must, and without claiming conclusive authority for the results. 

Sample for the study

This study considers two categories of duet-partnerships – (1) those that have been stable over a long period and (2) those that started as duet partnerships, but were terminated by the demise of one partner, leaving the survivor to pursue a solo career thereafter. The study covers duet partnerships of instrumentalists as well as vocalists. The analysis was done using data as displayed in the last week of December 2025. 

The target was to consider data for 30 uploads of each partnership, against data for the individual partners in solo performance. The first 30 recordings surfacing in response to search within YouTube were selected for computation of AEFs. In cases, where the available uploads on YouTube were less than 30, all available uploads were included for analysis.

The results have been checked for the presence of unacceptable/ unexpected biases. Is the derived AEF measure correlated to the age of the upload on YouTube? The coefficient of correlation is -0.9891. Yes, the more recently uploaded recordings tend to deliver a higher AEF than the older uploads. This is expected because the older uploads have already been viewed or considered and ignored; recent additions will tend to attract greater interest. Second check: Could the AEF measure be correlated to the size of the sample in each case? The coefficient of correlation is 0.243004. Yes, but the tendency is very mild and not significant. Larger samples tend to deliver higher AEFs. This is also expected as the YouTube tends to receive and algorithmically prioritize recordings of highly rated artists/ duet performers more than those of relatively lower rating. The limitations of available data did not permit enlarging the target sample size beyond 30. These biases are neither unexpected, nor capable of neutralization. 

Results for stable partnerships. (See Table 1)

1. Ravi Shankar+Ali Akbar Khan: The aggregate AEF (Audience Engagement Factor) for their duet uploads is substantially higher than the solo AEF for Ali Akbar Khan, but substantially lower than the solo AEF for Ravi Shankar. 

2.Vilayat Khan+Bismillah Khan: The aggregate AEF for their duet uploads is substantially higher than that of Vilayat Khan’s solo uploads and substantially lower than Bismillah Khan’s solo uploads. 

3. Vilayat Khan+Imrat Khan: The aggregate AEF for their duet uploads is substantially lower than the solo AEF for Vilayat Khan, and approximately on par with Imrat Khan’s solo uploads. 

4. Shivkumar Sharma+Hariprasad Chaurasia: The aggregate AEF for their duet uploads is substantially lower than that of Sharma’s solo AEF as well as Chaurasia’s solo AEF. 

5. Shujaat Khan+Tejendra Majumdar: They emerged as a promising duet pair during the last decade of the 20th century. Their aggregate AEF for duet uploads is, once again, lower than the solo AEFs for Shujaat as well as Tejendra.

The pattern suggests that in the first three cases, the AEF for duet performances is uplifted substantially by on one of the partners, with the other partner being a net gainer in terms of audience involvement. Interestingly, all these partnerships cultivated their constituencies as duet artistes over four or more decades on the concert platform as well in the recorded media. 

The 4th and 5th cases are of relatively recent arrivals on the Jugalbandi scene. In the 4th case (Shivkumar Sharma & Hariprasad Chaurasia), the partners have acquired so large a following as solo performers globally, and also outside the classical music world, that their duet performances appear to fall short on public interest. The 5th case (Shujaat and Tejendra) is, strictly not comparable to the first four because of its most recent   emergence. As soloists, they have established themselves with audiences, but have not been long enough in limelight to invite discovery of their talent as duet-partners. As a purely statistical observation on the sample uploads, we may say that, for stable partnerships (instrumental), 1+1 does not appear to add up to even 2. 

Broken partnerships (See Table 2)

1. Nasir Ameenuddin Dagar+Nasir Moinuddin Dagar: They spearheaded the revival of the mediaeval Dhrupad genre after independence, by which time it had been described as a “Museum Piece”.  Nasir Moinuddin died in 1966, leaving behind Nasir Ameenuddin to pursue a career as a solo vocalist. Recordings of the brothers in duet performances, and of Ameenuddin in solo performance are both available on YouTube for study. The survivor, Nasir Ameenuddin (died: 2000), performing solo, appears to command about half the AEF that the two brothers could command when performing together. 

2. Faiyaz Ahmed+Niyaz Ahmed Khan: In the 1970s, the two brothers emerged as significant duet artists in the Khayal genre of vocal music. Faiyaz Ahmed died in 1989, leaving behind Niyaz Ahmed (died: 2003) to continue performing as a solo vocalist. As a soloist, Niyaz Ahmed appears to command about half the AEF the two could command performing together as duet artists. 

3. Salamat Ali+Nazakat Ali Khan: The Khayal vocalist duo from the Shyam Chaurasi gharana of Pakistan acquired considerable popularity in Pakistan and in India in the 1970s. Nazakat Ali Khan died in 1983, leaving behind Salamat Ali (died: 2001) to continue performing as a soloist. The survivor, Salamat Ali appears to have achieved about three times the AEF values that the duo could elicit as duet performers. 

4. Amanat Ali+Fateh Ali Khan: The Khayal vocalist brothers representing the Pakistan wing of the Patiala gharana acquired a substantial following in Pakistan as well as India in the late 1960s. Amanat Ali died in 1974, while the survivor, Fateh Ali (died: 2017) continued to perform as a soloist for a couple of decades thereafter. Fateh Ali, performing as a soloist appears to clock only about half of the AEF that he could command when performing duets with his departed brother.

5. Note 1: The terminated partnership of Ramakant and Umakant Gundecha (brothers), Dhrupad vocalists, has not been included in this study. This is because, after the demise of Ramakant Gundecha in 2019, Umakant has been assisted often by his nephew, Anant Gundecha, rather than perform solo. In historical context, the data on the available uploads of this duo is inadequate and inconsistent with other duos considered here.  

6. Note 2: The partnership of Khayal vocalists, Rajan & Sajan Mishra (Brothers), terminated by the death of Rajan in April 2021, is partially a similar case. After Rajan Mishra’s demise, Sajan Mishra began performing as a soloist, occasionally assisted by a nephew. The duration of his solo career is too short, and available recordings are too few, for the survivor’s viewership record to be considered. 

Except in the case of Salamat Ali Khan, the termination of duet partnership of vocalists appears to have imposed a considerable price on the survivor in terms of audience engagement. The arithmetic of these cases seems to suggest that 2-1=0.5 or less. 

The bigger picture (See Table 3)

We may now consider a bigger/ more generalized picture of the Jugalbandi’s audience engagement propensity relative to that of solo performances by the very artists who have performed in both formats. To state it bluntly, we may wish to assess whether  1+1=3 is a reasonable expectation from duets.

 We have AEF results for 9 duet partnerships, and corresponding solo AEFs for 13 musicians. Five of the partnerships are stable, and are all of instrumentalists. Four of the partnerships were terminated by death, and are all of vocalists. We may therefore view the results on both dimensions – stability as well as idiom. 

Aggregate results for stable partnerships (instrumental) suggest that duets manage only about 20% of The AEF relative to solo performances by the very same partnering musicians. A similar estimate for broken partnerships (vocal) suggests that duets can deliver about 80% of the AEF relative to the solo AEFs of the surviving partner. 

When both categories of partnerships are considered together, duet AEFs of the same artists who have performed in both formats, appear to be only about 22% as engaging as their solo appearances. 

To put it simply, these 13 musicians, can/could claim, on an average, the attention of 9500 listers each in a year through their duet performances. In comparison,  in the same period of a year, they can/could  have engaged the attention, on an average, of 42000 listeners through their solo performances. The reality of the music-making and audience-engagement process is, admittedly, too complex to be reflected in such measurements. But, the orders of magnitude are such, that the results of this study may be considered persuasive. 

These indications support the view that, in Hindustani music, the Jugalbandi format imposes a substantial surrender of artistic autonomy on both partners and delivers less engaging music. Despite all the planning and preparatory effort that duets demand, a truly synergistic musical experience is apparently not reasonable to expect. 

In this respect, duets among vocalists may fare better than duets between instrumentalists. The key to this difference may lie in the fact that the vocalist duet performers considered here are/were all, without exception, brothers who have grown up together and studied music with the same Guru. Synergy had a better chance. On the instrumental (stable partnerships) side, this is true only of  Vilayat Khan and Imrat Khan (brothers) and partially of Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar (disciples of the same Guru).

To conclude: The Jugalbandi format in Hindustani music could be falling short of enhanced audience expectations, and may be relying substantially, if not entirely, on the opaque economics of event management for its survival. 

 Written: January 6, 2026 

© Deepak Raja, 2026