Oxford Raga Unison: Duet of Winds and Drums

Oxford Raga Unison: Duet of Winds and Drums was presented at Holywell Music Room in Oxford as an intimate Hindustani classical concert centred on bansuri and tabla dialogue.

The program featured Pandit Ajay Prasanna, a Grammy-nominated bansuri exponent known for both traditional raga presentation and cross-genre projects. His performance style is recognized for meditative alap development and tonal clarity rooted in classical phrasing.

He was joined by Kousic Sen, a tabla artist trained in the Banaras gharana tradition and active on international stages. Kousic Sen is noted for balancing power and sensitivity in accompaniment, supporting both khayal and instrumental formats while also engaging in collaborative and dance contexts.

Together, Pandit Ajay Prasanna and Kousic Sen presented a duet format where melodic exploration and rhythmic dialogue unfolded in a chamber-music setting. The concert structure aligned with traditional Hindustani performance flow while remaining accessible to mixed audiences.

Hosted at the Holywell Music Room—often cited as Europe’s oldest purpose-built concert hall—the event reflected Oxford’s engagement with South Asian classical traditions and small-format acoustic concerts. The listening environment emphasized attentiveness, with audience guidelines supporting a distraction-free musical experience.

The program forms part of a growing presence of Indian classical music within UK chamber venues, where raga performance is experienced in historically resonant spaces.