Raag Vishwaranjini - Vilambit

Raag Vishwaranjini – Vilambit is a 14-minute-35-second instrumental composition performed by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. The track appears as the second piece on the album Vishwaranjini, released on March 17, 2015, under the Bihaan Music label. The album was issued in CD format.

The composition belongs to the Raag Vishwaranjini, a rare janya raga derived from the Kafi thaat in Hindustani classical music. Bhatt performs the piece in vilambit laya (slow tempo), emphasizing the raga’s expansive alaap and jod-jhala sections. The recording showcases his signature adaptation of the Mohan veena, a modified slide guitar designed to replicate the tonal qualities of the sitar and sarod while retaining the resonance of Hawaiian lap steel techniques.

The album Vishwaranjini marks one of Bhatt’s later solo works, following his collaborations with Western and global fusion artists. The release focuses on traditional raga interpretations without accompaniment from percussion or harmonic instruments, placing emphasis on the Mohan veena’s solo expressive capacity. The label Bihaan Music, based in India, specializes in classical and semi-classical recordings, though specific production details for this album remain undocumented in available sources.

Bhatt’s performance in this track aligns with his broader discography, which includes Grammy Award-winning fusion projects such as A Meeting by the River (1993) with Ry Cooder. However, Vishwaranjini returns to a purely classical framework, devoid of cross-genre experimentation. The album’s liner notes, where present, do not provide additional context on the raga’s historical lineage or Bhatt’s interpretive choices for this recording.