Bonus Track

Bonus Track is a collaborative improvisational piece recorded by sitarist Ravi Shankar, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and ghatam exponent T. H. \"Vikku\" Vinayakram. The composition appears as the eighth and final track on the 1995 studio album Raga Aberi, released on October 10, 1995, by the American world music label Music of the World. The album adopted a CD format and centered on interpretations of Carnatic and Hindustani classical traditions.

The track spans 5 minutes and 44 seconds. It deviates from the album’s primary focus on structured raga performances by presenting an extemporized dialogue between the three artists. Shankar employs the sitar in a conversational role, while Hussain and Vinayakram interweave rhythmic patterns on the tabla and ghatam, respectively. The recording captures a live-studio dynamic, though specific session details remain undocumented in available sources.

Raga Aberi marked one of the few documented collaborations between Shankar and Vinayakram, both legends in their respective South and North Indian classical traditions. Zakir Hussain, already a frequent collaborator with Shankar, contributed to the album’s fusion of improvisational and compositional elements. The label promoted the release as part of its series on cross-cultural classical exchanges, though commercial reception data is not publicly archived.

The album’s liner notes attribute the Bonus Track as an unplanned addition to the original session, reflecting the artists’ spontaneous interplay. No lyricist or additional composer is credited for the piece. The track’s title appears only in the CD booklet and subsequent digital reissues, with no alternate versions or live renditions confirmed in official discographies.