Raga Bhairavi In Dadra

Raga Bhairavi in Dadra is a track from the album Mohan’s Veena, released on January 25, 2005. The composition spans 15 minutes and 57 seconds and appears as the seventh track on the album. The piece is performed in the dadra tal, a six-beat rhythmic cycle commonly associated with light classical and semi-classical North Indian music.

The recording features Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on the mohan veena, a modified archlute he developed by blending elements of the Hawaiian guitar, the Indian veena, and the Japanese koto. He is accompanied by his son Salil V. Bhatt, who plays the satvik veena, a slide guitar variant designed for Indian classical music. Sandeep provides percussive support on the tabla, though further details about the artist’s full name or background remain unverified in available sources.

The track exemplifies the raga Bhairavi, a morning raga in the Hindustani tradition known for its emotive depth and use of all seven swaras (notes) in both ascent and descent. The performance adheres to the structural conventions of alaap-jor-jhala followed by a composed section in dadra rhythm, though specific lyrical or thematic content is not documented. The album Mohan’s Veena was distributed in digital media format, with no confirmed physical release or label attribution in the provided context.

Vishwa Mohan Bhatt is recognized for his contributions to fusion and world music, particularly through collaborations with artists like Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal. His work on this track continues his exploration of adapting the mohan veena to traditional raga frameworks while retaining improvisational and rhythmic elements central to Indian classical performance.