About Raga Megh Malhar
Raga Megh Malhar is a studio album by Indian classical vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan. Released in 2002 under the India Archive Music label, the album presents a collection of khayal performances in the Hindustani classical tradition. The recording features Khan’s renditions of raga compositions accompanied by traditional instrumental support, though specific accompanying artists remain undocumented in available sources.
The album comprises three tracks. The opening piece, Raga Megh Malhar: Vilambit Bandish in Ektal, showcases a slow-tempo (vilambit) composition set to the 12-beat ektal rhythmic cycle. The second track, Raga Megh Malhar: Madhya Bandish in Jhaptal, shifts to a medium-tempo (madhya) bandish in the 10-beat jhaptal cycle. The final track, Raga Bhairavi: Bandish Ki Thurmi in Tintal, departs from the Megh Malhar framework to explore Raga Bhairavi with a composition in the 16-beat tintal.
The release format is a commercial CD, distributed as part of India Archive Music’s catalog of classical recordings. The album’s production aligns with Khan’s established repertoire, emphasizing intricate melodic development and improvisational taans characteristic of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. No live performance or alternate versions of these recordings are confirmed in public records. The release date coincides with the CD’s publication year, though exact month or day details are not specified.
Critical reception and commercial performance metrics for the album are not widely documented. The work stands as one of Khan’s contributions to recorded Hindustani vocal music in the early 2000s, reflecting his interpretive approach to monsoon-associated ragas like Megh Malhar and the morning raga Bhairavi.