Raga

Raga is a studio album by Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar and tabla player Kumar Bose. The collaboration marks one of Shankar’s later recordings, released in August 2007 under the label Music Today. The album features three extended improvisations rooted in the Hindustani classical tradition, showcasing the interplay between Shankar’s sitar and Bose’s tabla accompaniment.

The album adopts a conventional CD format with a total of three tracks. The opening composition, Raga Mian Ki Malhar, explores the monsoon-associated raga known for its evocative melodic contours and rhythmic complexity. The second track, Raga Sindhura, presents a less commonly performed raga characterized by its intricate ascending and descending phrases. The album concludes with Mishra Kafi, a semi-classical piece blending elements of Raga Kafi with lighter, improvisational passages.

Ravi Shankar composed and performed the sitar melodies for all tracks, while Kumar Bose provided tabla percussion. The recording session details remain undocumented, but the release aligns with Shankar’s lifelong effort to disseminate Indian classical music through global platforms. Music Today, a subsidiary of India’s The India Today Group, handled production and distribution. The album’s liner notes or additional session musicians, if any, are not publicly verified.

The 2007 release coincided with Shankar’s later career phase, during which he continued to perform and record despite advancing age. Raga exemplifies his enduring partnership with tabla artists, a hallmark of his live and studio work since the mid-20th century. No commercial charts or certification records for this album are available, and critical reception at the time of release remains sparsely documented.