Khammaj (In Thumri Style) - Chanchar Taal

Homage To Our Guru – Jugalbandi Duet For Sitar & Sarod is a collaborative studio album by sitarist Indraneel Bhattacharya and sarod player Aashish Khan. The label Chhanda Dhara released the album on CD in 1994.

The album features a jugalbandi (duet) format that blends North Indian classical traditions with improvisational interplay between the sitar and sarod. The third track, titled Khammaj (In Thumri Style) – Chanchar Taal, spans 16 minutes and 5 seconds. The composition draws from the Khammaj raga and adopts the thumri style, a semi-classical vocal genre adapted here for instrumental performance. The rhythmic structure follows Chanchar Taal, a 12-beat cycle.

Indraneel Bhattacharya and Aashish Khan structured the album as a tribute to their shared guru, though the recording does not explicitly name the mentor. The duo’s performance emphasizes melodic elaboration and rhythmic synchronization, characteristic of the Benaras gharana (school) for Bhattacharya and the Maihar-Senia gharana for Khan. The album’s production reflects the acoustic recording standards of 1990s classical releases, with minimal post-processing to preserve instrumental timbre.

No additional details about the album’s reception, alternate editions, or supplementary tracks exist in the provided context. The release remains a documented example of late 20th-century Hindustani instrumental jugalbandi, showcasing the sitar-sarod pairing within a traditional raga framework.