The most delicious sarangi recital you will ever come across! And the rustic tune is the cherry on the cake.

Oh Sarangi!

"Ravanhatta" is a hand-made bow string instrument rooted in the folk music traditions of Rajasthan. It is made from bamboo & coconut shell mainly by the artists themselves. Ravanhatta players (who are a vanishing breed) are called "bhopas" and they belong to the Nayak, Bhil or Thori castes of Rajasthan. This is an unplugged recital of an iconic Rajasthani love ballad... live from Meherangarh Fort in Jodhpur.

Kesariya Balam on Rajasthani Folk Instrument Ravanhatta

(From the album Bourbon & Rosewater). A bent note is a musical note that is varied in pitch. Bent notes are commonly played on fretted instruments, literally by bending the string with excess finger pressure. In this track, the Mohan Veena is played that way.

Bent Notes Of The Bauls - Vishwa Mohan Bhatt & Jerry Douglas

This is an extract from the track 'Uda Jaaye' composed by Shantanu Moitra for the film 'Paanch Adhyay' (Bengali). The full song by Swanand Kirkire can be found here: http://youtu.be/-IKn0XCLOvI

Paras Nath is MTV's in-house flautist and a known face post MTV Unplugged and Coke Studio @ MTV.

Outstanding Flute by Paras Nath

This beautiful track has been composed by Amit (no more details available) and sung by newcomer Sukanya. Specially created and used in the show 'Kuch Toh Log Kehenge' which goes on air on Sony Oct 3 onwards. 


Saiyyan Naino Ki Bhasha Samjhe Na

The genius of AR Rahman is back and HOW! This mesmerizing track from 'Rockstar' is going to go down as one of the best songs of the year and even one of the best that Rahman ever created. This transports you to a different world altogether! 


Kun Faya Kun (Full Song)

'Prem' by Subho Dasgupta ~ Modern Bengali Poetry

This poem by Rehbar was later sung as a ghazal by the legendary Jagjit Singh.

Tere Khushboo Mein Base Khat — Hindi Poem by Rajindar Nath 'Rehbar'

Joy Goswami is an eminent figure in modern Bengali writing. His countless poems have been turned into songs and/or used in cinema. This poem is about one's former lover/spouse/partner. And is among his most popular works.

Praktan — Joy Goswami  (Modern Bengali Poetry)

Esraj Instrumental (Agony & Ecstasy)

Flute Instrumental

Soothing sitar strings blend with painful esraj notes in this blissful jugalbandi

Esraj + Sitar (Sublime Mix)

Esraj has fast replaced Flute as my most favourite classical instrument. Its notes churn you from within. It truly establishes beauty in pain, longing in love and acceptance in loss.. Esraj acts as the eternal balm on the heart's wounds.

Melancholy Esraj

An addictive tribal song from the Bengali television series 'Ishti Kutum'. The Santhal tribe of North Bengal sing and dance to this while celebrating the festival of 'Marang Buru' (The Forest God). Don't know what the words mean, but the music is quite intoxicating! 

Tribal Song of the Santhals

One of the greatest Indian poet-writers, Amrita Pritam left us with some gems. A woman ahead of her time in every way, she was perhaps under-recognised. It is our good fortune that many of her works have been translated from Punjabi to Hindi and made more accessible. Anyone who's lived in a big city will relate to these verses. 

Words: Amrita Pritam
Music: Nitin Sawhney 
Narration: @Mittermaniac

Ek Lambi Behas Ki Tarah Hai Mera Shehar - Amrita Pritam

Na Pathano Chithi — Sunil Gangopadhyay [Contemporary Bengali Poetry]

Song of lost love and stolen glances and rain-soaked melancholy. Film: Meri Pyaari Bindu. Unreleased track. 

Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahin - Arijit Singh

Aparna Sen's Goynar Baksho is nothing short of extraordinary. And Debojyoti Mishra's music just adds to its appeal. This haunting composition in the soulful voice of Shubha Mudgal, is picturised on one of the protagonists (Konkona Sen Sharma) as she reflects on her painful loneliness on a rainy evening. It tugs at the heartstrings and lingers on.. long after you've left the theatre. 

Sakhi Ri Aawat Nahi (Goynar Baksho) — Shubha Mudgal

The film Lootera has a new song Monta Re. The best thing about the song is this exquisite use of iktara (or ektara in Bengali).. The beautiful sound of folksy Bengal.

Mittermaniac

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