About Indian Music
Alaiya Bilawal & Other Classical Compositions is a 1969 studio album featuring North Indian classical music performed by sitarist Imrat Khan and tabla player Mishra Bhankar. The Standard Music Library released the recording as a 12\" vinyl LP with seven tracks. The album captures a live-to-tape session of raga-based compositions and instrumental solos, showcasing the Etawah gharana tradition associated with Khan and the Benares gharana style of Bhankar.
Imrat Khan composed and performed the sitar passages for all tracks. He opened the album with Alaiya Bilawal, a vilambit (slow) and drut (fast) exploration of Raag Bilawal set to teentaal, a 16-beat rhythmic cycle. The second track, titled Dhun On Sitar, presented a light classical melody in a folk-inspired dhun format, accompanied by Bhankar on tabla. Khan followed with Raag-Miyan-Ki-Malhaar, a monsoon-themed raga rendered in jhaptaal (10 beats), emphasizing the characteristic meend (glissando) and gamak (oscillation) techniques of the sitar.
Mishra Bhankar contributed a solo performance on the fourth track, Tabla Solo, demonstrating intricate kayda (compositional patterns) and rela (accelerating strokes) in teentaal. The collaboration resumed with Leela Vati, a semi-classical piece blending raga motifs with rhythmic improvisation. Khan then performed Malkauns, a pentatonic raga known for its meditative depth, using sparse alaap (unmetered introduction) before transitioning into a structured jor and jhala. The album concluded with Raag Rageshwari, a late-night raga featuring elaborate taans (fast melodic runs) and a gradual crescendo in tempo.
The recording date and studio location remain undocumented in available sources. The Standard Music Library issued the vinyl without liner notes, and subsequent reissues or digital remasters have not been verified. The album serves as a representative example of 1960s Hindustani instrumental music, emphasizing the jugalbandi (duet) dynamic between sitar and tabla.