Bardo

\"Bardo\" is a collaborative improvisational composition recorded by sitarist Rajesh Mehta, cellist Rohan de Saram, and mridangam artist Trichy Sankaran. The track appears as the twelfth piece on the album Innovative Music Meeting, released on January 1, 2000 under the Haus der Kulturen der Welt label. The album adopts a CD format and features cross-cultural experimentation between Indian classical traditions and contemporary improvisational approaches.

The composition spans 6 minutes and 6 seconds, showcasing an interplay of Mehta’s sitar, de Saram’s cello, and Sankaran’s mridangam. The title Bardo references the Tibetan Buddhist concept of an intermediate or transitional state, though the artists did not provide explicit thematic commentary on the recording. The album emerged from a live performance series organized by Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Germany, which paired Indian classical musicians with international improvisers.

Rajesh Mehta contributed sitar passages rooted in Hindustani classical techniques, while Rohan de Saram, a Sri Lankan-British cellist, integrated extended cello methods and microtonal phrasing. Trichy Sankaran, a veteran of Carnatic percussion, anchored the rhythm with mridangam patterns that blended traditional solkattu (vocalized rhythms) with free-form dynamics. The recording captures a single continuous take without overdubs, preserving the spontaneity of the live interaction.

The album Innovative Music Meeting documents a broader initiative to explore improvisation across cultural boundaries. Additional details about the recording sessions, production personnel, or alternate takes remain undocumented in available sources. The tracklist includes eleven other collaborations, but Bardo stands as the sole trio performance featuring this specific lineup of artists on the release.