About Sarod
Sarod is a studio album by Indian classical musician Aashish Khan. Khan released the album in 1979 under the Polydor label. The recording features Khan as the primary performer on the sarod, a lute-like stringed instrument central to Hindustani classical music. The album arrived as a 12\" vinyl LP with three extended tracks.
The tracklist includes Raga Shree, a morning raga known for its meditative and solemn character, performed in the traditional alaap-jor-jhala structure. The second composition, Raga Bhairagee, follows a similar framework and emphasizes the raga’s early-morning association with devotion and introspection. The final track, Mishra Kafi Dhun, adopts a lighter, semi-classical approach, blending elements of Raga Kafi with folk-inspired melodic phrases. Each performance showcases Khan’s command of the sarod’s technical and expressive range, accompanied by tabla and tanpura.
The 1979 release marked one of Khan’s commercial recordings during a period when Hindustani instrumental music gained broader international distribution. Polydor produced the vinyl pressing, though specific details about recording locations, session musicians, or reissue history remain undocumented in available sources. The album’s liner notes, where present, typically provided minimal context beyond track titles and raga descriptions.
Aashish Khan, a scion of the Senia-Maihar gharana, trained under his father Ali Akbar Khan and grandfather Allauddin Khan, both pivotal figures in 20th-century Indian classical music. His work on Sarod reflects the gharana’s emphasis on precise intonation, rhythmic complexity, and the integration of folk and classical traditions. The album’s reception at the time of release is not widely recorded, but it contributed to Khan’s reputation as a leading exponent of the sarod in the post-independence era.