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News and Events
2008 07 22
It’s always great to see the the sitar being used in different genres. Here are Hayaken and Ryohei Kanemitsu from Japan performing “Supernatural Girl”
2008 07 21
Ustad Chhote Rahimat Khan is a superb sitarist based in Goa and teaches at the Kala Academy in Panaji (Panjim). The Kala Academy offers a 10 year sitar diploma (!) and will sponsor student visas for foreign students. You can find out more about Ustad Chhote Rahimat Khan by visiting his website. If you are in Goa looking for a sitar teacher, you could not do better than to sudy with the Ustad.
A new blog called Renownedgoans has done a profile of Ustad Chhote Rahimat Khan and the following text is from that article article:
[Ustad Chhote Rahimat Khan] was born on the 4th of July 1956 and brought up in Dharwad i.e.place of music and literature. Born in a family of musicians. He learnt under the guidance of father Late Prof. Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and grandson of late sitar ratna Rahimat Khan. The music has been running in the blood of the family for past seven generations from his grandfather to his generation. Family has been undoubtedly popularising sitar in south of India.he also belongs to “beenkar “bande ali khan gharana.
Naturally as it was running in the blood of the family he took the sitar in his hands at the age of eight . He was asked to play in a school gathering knowing that the family was in the sitar field. And the feedback that he got from the concert encouraged and gave him confidence to become as popular like his father. But he never thought or dreamt that he would be so popular in sitar.
As this field is very difficult because to gain name
2008 07 20
Another fun summertime video, this time from a Dutch group called Shimayana.
This video was from a concert in the summer of 2008 in Spaarndam, Netherlands. Shimayana consist of the following members:
Walkyri - Vocals
Mehmet Polat - Ud
Kees van Boxtel - Percussion
Cassandra Luckhardt - Cello
Marco Spinello - Sitar
Juliska Yonne - Keyboard
Piet bezuijen - Drums
For more information and music by the group, visit their MySpace page.
2008 07 19
Our favourite Brazillian sitarist, Alberto Marsicano, accompanies a reading from James Joyce’s Ulysses.
What’s that? You’ve never heard of Alberto Marsicano before? Hmmm… this requires a remedy. Stay tuned for more 
2008 07 18
Jugalbandi: Imrat Khan and Sons
Thanks to archivist IMNxJRSP5G for this documentary from India’s Doordarshan TV featuring Imrat Khan, Vilayat Khan, Irshad Khan and Vajayat Khan. It’s in Hindi, but the music speaks for itself.
2008 07 16
Thanks to Trippy Monkey for posting this BBC documentary with Viram Jasani, a student of Vilayat Khan’s, discussing Raag development and performances practices in Indian classical music.
2008 07 14
Zakir Hussain speaks with Saeed Jaffery
Thanks to Trippy Monkey for this short interview with Zakir Hussain conducted by the actor Saeed Jaffery
2008 07 13
“Baba” - Documentary on Allaudin Khan
Rare black and white documentary on the life of Allaudin Khan, the teacher of Nikhil Banerjee, Ravi Shankar, his daughter Annapurna Devi and son Ali Akbar Khan.
2008 07 12
Daud Khan - The Robab and Sarod
Daud Khan discusses the Afghan robab and it’s historical connection with the Indian sarod.
2008 07 11
Alan Posselt playing a raagmala with Jay Dabgar in Adelaide Australia in 2007.
Alan Posselt is an Australian sitarist and musicologist who studied with Allaudin Khan. The following text is from his website:
Alan has been studying and performing Indian classical music for forty years and can now claim to be the foremost Indian Musicologist and Sitarist in Australia. After some years as performer on Classical Guitar, he travelled to India to study Sitar and Sarod and the rudiments of vocal technique and percussion from Ustad Allauddin Khan, father and teacher of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and teacher of Pandit Ravi Shankar.
In Allauddin Khan’s final years Alan moved to Bengal and studied daily with Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, the eminent sarod player of the Sahjahanpur Rampur Gharana. Since Maitra’s death he has had musical guidance from many eminent Indian musicians, including Kashinath Mukerjee, Bimal Mukerjee, Prabud Chaterjee, VG Jog and most recently Pandit Arvind Parikh from whom he has learnt much on the Etwar Gharana of Ustads Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan and Vilayat Khan. All of these influences have given Alan a rich foundation on which to build his own evolving style.
During the seventies Alan enjoyed some success as composer for documentary film and dance, including pieces for Australian Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, Australian Moving Society, Ballet Rambert (UK), Nederlands Dans Theatre and Den Norske Opera. Into all of these compositions he
Now Playing:
Click to launch Sitar.co.za's continuously updated video channel. An ever-expanding collection of the best new, archival and interesting sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Click on any video for more information or to start a discussion.
Events
- 2008 07 16 :: Rex van der Spuy (sitar) and Anita Katakkar (tabla): An evening of contemporay Indian classical music featuring Rex van der Spuy on sitar and Anita Katakkar on tabla. More...
- 2008 04 25.26 :: Terra do Sangeet, Land of Rhythm: The Toronto Tabla Ensemble will be collaborating with Aline Morales and Maracatu Nunca Antes as well as the infinitely talented Ian de Souza (bass). More...
- 2008 03 29 :: Anwar Khurshid and Ustad Tari Khan: The Sitar School of Toronto is presenting a Sitar concert by Toronto's own sitarist, Anwar Khurshid. The audience will also be privileged by the accompaniment of world class Tabla player Ustad Tari Khan. More...
View all Events. Please send an email to events@sitar.co.za to have your event listed.
Music
- Ravi Shankar Interview: Audio documentary with Ravi Shankar speaking to the BBC's Anita Bhalla.
- A Chairy Tale: A rarely seen Norman McLaren animated film featuring a full soundtrack by Ravi Shankar and Sri Chatur Lal (tabla.)
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Full concerts, documentaries, and rare television broadcasts. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
View the complete Music Archive...
Articles
- Sitar Making In India: Scott Hackleman's detailed and highly readable account of the year he spent in Delhi learning the art of sitar making in Katar Chand's shop.
- Annapurna Devi: Mohan D. Nadkarni accounts his meetings with this enigmatic artist and comments on her legacy.
- Quality Sitar Construction: An informative article on sitar construction methodologies and what you should look for in a good quality instrument.
Learning Resources
- Tabla Lessons: A half hour of basic tabla lesson demonstrations, recorded in Bangalore, June 2003
- Electronic Tanpura Samples: Tampura samples in all keys (C# for sitar)
- Electronic Tabla Samples: A collection of electronic tabla samples, of about 10 minutes each, in a variety of tempos and taals.
View all Learning Resources...
Useful Links
- David and Chandra’s Sitar Forum: The epicenter of the sitar universe and the best place to find accurate, insightful and up-to-date information on all things sitar. This is the place to ask questions about sitar music, learning the sitar, or where to find a teacher. Become a member, spend some time reading the threads, and ask a question! We're there to help.
- Ali Akbar College of Music: A great place for strings, sitars, music, books and the all-important fibreglass cases.
- Tabla.co.za: Information on learning the tabla and an excellent resource for South African Indian musicians. Local events listings and information on local musicians.
- The Buckingham Music Sitar Tutorial: Excellent basic information about learning, maintaining and playing the sitar.
- Sitarplayer.net: Canadian site on learning to play the sitar. Well written with great resources, advice and practical information. This is the place to visit for the "Sargam" font.
- Patrick Moutal’s Indian Music Page: A wonderfully sprawling French site packed with rare recordings, photos, videos and all sorts of fascinating information.
- South Asian Women’s Forum Music Page: A huge collection of detailed articles (with thousands of audio clips) on aspects of Indian classical music. A very good place to visit if you are seeking info on a raga that you are just warming up to.
- The Wikipedia Sitar Entry: Although it ranks high in Google's search ratings... be careful! A lot of the information here is great, but an equal amount is not completely comprehensive, open to debate and often confusing. There's a been a lot of work done on this entry over the last year but it's very far from being an adequate, complete or accurate source of information. Come on, sitar community, we need to make this entry better! Click "edit" and contribute something!
- Radel Tabla and Tanpura Machines: The essential accessory for any sitar player is a tabla machine. Radel's models are superbly built and their customer service is exceptional. They ship worldwide.
- Swar Systems Indian Music Software: Sitar.co.za hasn't demo'd this software yet, but it gets regular complimentary reviews. If you've had a good (or bad) experience using it, let us know! Available for Windows and Macintosh.
- Audacity: Open-source audio recording software for Windows and Macintosh.
- Riyaz Studio: Tabla/Tanpura accompaniment software ideal for sitar practise. Inexpensive and easy to use. If you can't afford or obtain a tabla machine easily, this is an excellent choice.
- Amelia Maciszewski’s sitar videos: Superb instructional videos on basic sitar practise and theory by Amelia Maciszewski. Great if you're just getting into the intstrument and don't have a teacher.
- Deepak Raja’s world of Hindustani Music: A treasure trove of articles on Indian classical music, including rare interviews with many instumentalists.
- The Toronto Gharana: The Toronto Gharana: A website devoted to Indian classical music in Toronto.
- That Which Colors the Mind: 12 minute sample of Steven Baigel's wonderful documentary on sitarist Nikhil Banerjee. (from Stevenbaigel.com)
- Andy’s Music Indian Instruments Page: Rare, vintage and historic instruments. If you're looking for the best, and have the cash to spend, this is a great place to start.
- Trippy Monkey’s Video Archive: The best archive of rare sitar and Indian classical music related videos on the internet. Trippy also maintains an Esnips archive of rare recordings.
- The Sitar Factory: Lots on information on sitar maintenance and repair, as well as interesting info on electric and experimental sitars.
Do you have any favourite sitar or Indian classical music links? Email them to us!