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Review

Sense World Music is a new addition to the growing number of labels dedicated to Indian classical music. Started in 2002 Sense World is based in UK, with a studio in Gujarat. Many of the albums are live concert recordings of the Saptak Music Festival held every year in Ahmedabad, Gujarat every year in winter.

This CD by Purbayan Chatterjee presents a recording made in 2003. One of the promising musicians of today, Purbayan Chatterjee, is still in his twenties. Tabla accompanist, Satyajit Talwalkar, is the son of noted tabla player Suresh Talwalkar and well known singer Padma Talwalkar.

The CD starts with a short alaap in Raag Behag, a romatic night raaga. It is also spelt as Bihag. Purbayan prefers short alaaps which set the stage for further exploration of the raaga. The second track starts with a composition set to Teen Taal. Most of the track is on the faster side with good play be Purbayan showcasing his talent leading to fast and skillful improvisations at the end. There is a bit of sawaal-jawaab at the end between sitar and tabla, almost in the Carnatic style, though nowhere near as entertaining.

The second raaga, Mishra Khamaj, presented in this CD is a light sensual raaga, popular with light forms like Thumri. After a shortish alaap, Purbayan plays a gat in Sitarkhani which is a variation on teen taal. Purbayan Chatterjee handles the lilting gat competently, creating a relaxed atmosphere, using the mishra notes to good effect. The next short track features a laggi, which is a aggressive tabla accompaniment style (Laggi at Chandrakantha). CD concludes with a pahadi dhun. Raag pahadi is a very popular light raaga with folk roots.

Overall this is a good buy to compare with the cds that were reviewed last year, to see the improvements of the young sitarist. 3.5 stars for the music and 4.0 stars for the recording.

CD Information

Title	Nirman
Label	Sense World Music
Artists	Sitar : Purbayan Chatterjee
	Tabla : Satyajit Talwalkar
Catalog #	037
Year	Released 2004
Made In	UK
SPARS	N.A.

Tracks

Nu.	Title	Time	Music
1	Alaap - Raag Behag	5:42
2	Bandish - Raag Behag - Teen Taal	22:14
3	Alaap - Misra Khamaj	6:19
4	Gat - Misra Khamaj - Sitarkhani	9:08
5	Laggi	3:02
6	Dhun - Pahadi	9:15

Liner Notes

Good liner notes with profile of the artists and the music.