Rāga: Suha-Kanara

\"Raga: Suha-Kanara\" is a 59-minute-31-second instrumental composition performed by sitarist Manilal Nag, tabla player Mahapurush Misra, and tanpura artist Sachiko Torii. The track opens the album Classical Music of North India: Sitar & Tabla, released on July 5, 1987, under the Japanese label SEVEN SEAS in CD format.

The performance centers on Raga Suha-Kanara, a rare and intricate raga associated with the late evening or early night raag tradition in Hindustani classical music. Manilal Nag executes the sitar in the gayaki ang (vocal-style) approach characteristic of the Etawah gharana, while Mahapurush Misra accompanies on tabla with rhythmic patterns aligned to the raga’s 16-beat teental cycle. Sachiko Torii provides continuous tanpura drone support, maintaining the tonal foundation in the key of the raga.

The recording captures a live studio session with minimal post-production intervention, preserving the acoustic nuances of the instruments. The album’s liner notes attribute the composition’s structure to a traditional khayal-inspired alat (slow elaboration) followed by a jhala (fast rhythmic climax), though specific compositional origins or prior performances of this rendition remain undocumented in available sources. The track stands as the sole recording of this raga by the trio.

Classical Music of North India: Sitar & Tabla was part of SEVEN SEAS’ series introducing Indian classical music to Japanese audiences in the late 1980s. The label released the album in a standard jewel-case CD format with bilingual liner notes in Japanese and English. No reissues or digital remasters of this specific recording have been confirmed as of the latest available data.