Kajri Dadra

Kajri Dadra is a traditional dadra-style composition performed by Ustad Bismillah Khan on the shehnai. The track appears as the fifth entry on the album Shehnai Samrat, released on CD by T-Series in 1991. The recording spans 9 minutes and 24 seconds, showcasing Khan’s mastery of the banarasi shehnai tradition with intricate taan patterns and melodic improvisations rooted in the kajri folk form.

The album Shehnai Samrat compiles Khan’s live and studio performances, emphasizing his role in elevating the shehnai from folk instrument to classical prominence. The label T-Series distributed the release as part of its classical music catalog, though specific production details or accompanying artists for this track remain undocumented. The composition adheres to the dadra taal (6-beat cycle), a structure Khan frequently explored in lighter classical and semi-classical works.

Bismillah Khan (1916–2006) received the Bharat Ratna in 2001 for his contributions to Indian music. His rendition of Kajri Dadra exemplifies the synthesis of folk melodies with classical ornamentation, a hallmark of his repertoire. The 1991 album includes no liner notes detailing the raga basis of the track, but the kajri genre typically draws from raga Kafi or Pilu frameworks, often performed during the monsoon season in North India.

No alternate versions or reissues of this specific recording are publicly verified. The original CD release remains the primary format, with later digital distributions potentially derived from the same master. Khan’s collaboration with T-Series in the early 1990s produced several albums, though Shehnai Samrat stands as one of the most widely circulated collections of his work from that period.