Audio 

"Baithak" means: to lounge, sit and relax; In music it is a session or a comfortable informal hang out. Jonathan Kay is a fellow Canadian whom I deeply respect as a person and as an outstanding musician who has delved long and deep into classical Indian music. With precious little time on our hands, we pulled off a last minute Baithak. Together, we speak a similar music language of raga and fusion; So, communication comes easy through sound, notes and the spaces between. Here are some improvisations inspired by the raga Bhairavi; Nothing is planned as we follow where the music takes us. I must apologise for resorting to a recorded Tabla loop since we could not find a percussionist last minute. Keshava, actually recorded this simple yet precise Tabla loop that I often use for practice. This was filmed by Marko Boško.

Nadaka & Gopika In Concert inside the Husain-Doshi ni Gufa Ahmedabad, India

Performing recently at the Adi Shakti Theatre brought back memories of the time I played at the same venue together with the Basavaraj Brothers. These guys are incredible musicians and it was great fun to record and tour Europe as a group. We did two albums together: Living Colours & Live in Paris.

Keshava gave a talk and demonstration at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram International Centre of Education, describing the different Tabla Gharānās, the lineages and regional styles of Indian classical music. We were wonderstruck as he shared stories and techniques in detail of so many past and present day Tabla gurus. I wish I could have recorded the whole thing but could only capture a short bit on my phone which I'm sharing with you here.

In concert, we usually chant at least one Vedic Chant in the original three tone scale, with the main Mantra (Samhita) and its complex divided sequences (Pathah). The Savitri Mantra (Gayatri) was a part of our Album SURYA-Chants of Light and it has often been a feature in our program. Here in a most unusual rendition, Keshava joins in on Tabla and Percussion which makes the lyrical metre even more striking. These chants are connected to a personal discipline that is not directly translatable on stage, however we still love to share some of these ancient mantras with our audience.

Serendipity strikes as two flight-cases with musical instruments make their way through the carousel at the Bombay airport. Moms start chatting: Is that a Tabla? - Yes, my son's Tabla... Your Instrument? - My daughter's, she plays Sitar. AWESOME! As the two teenagers meet & greet; Phone numbers shared. And when they do meet again and start playing together, we are in for a real treat as we find ourselves immediately transported by these two brilliant young musicians freewheeling through ragas in joyful spontaneity.

Our dear friend Pandit Binay Pathak dropped in on us recently and we shared a wonderful afternoon of music and conversation. At one point, we were speaking of the nuances in the raga - Darbari Kannada; Binay instantly started singing Alap as I accompanied him. Keshava also joined in on tabla. Gopika felt the magic and took a couple of quick videos that I put together here. Binay Pathak is an extraordinary musician who has performed around the globe with many of India's great Classical musicians. His father and guru was the Sitar legendary Pandit Balram Pathak. Pandit Binay Pathak is also the founder of the Sohini Sangeet Music Academy in Sacramento California. Thank you Binay, for sharing your voice and cheerful mood with us on that very special day.

From ancient times, Vedic mantras were passed down orally and were retained purely by memory over generations. The Vedic Seers evolved complex tonal and rhythmical sequences that were inspired and designed to transform the being through deep concentration and the cyclic repetition of these Mantras. Vedic Chanting by Nadaka & Gopika www.ragamantra.com