May 11, 2025. Sun.

I used to think in my childhood, that the violin is an instrument meant for orchestra. I was not a fan of the sound of a single violin, especially in the Hindustani or Carnatic style, and especially compared to the more "rounded" sounds of bowed Indian string instruments like Sarangi or Dilruba.

Except for one big name! Vidushi Dr. N. Rajam. This master artist changed my ideas at one shot when I attended her concert in Pune decades ago. And from there on, it was a personal journey of love with the instrument.

Obviously, I explored more of Smt. Rajam's music. The ease with which she made the difficult instrument sing was just awe inspiring for me.

On the Sunday of May 11, 2025, here in Washington DC, I re-lived those moments. The occasion was another violin performance by a master artist from Dr. Rajam's own family! In fact it was her granddaughter Smt. Ragini Shankar.

Ragini ji was to perform for our Naadrang group and I was excited to no end. I have listened to two master musicians from the family play the instrument, Vidushi Dr. Rajam and Vidushi Kala Ramnath.

Now it was Ragini ji. And I must say, Ragini ji's concert not only lived up to the expectations of a die-hard fan of the family but went way beyond that and left an unforgettable mark in my memory.

Ragini ji started with Yaman. And unlike the typical instrumental presentations, but following the family legacy perhaps, she started with the Raag-vistaar, Vilambit Bandish, Madhyalay and Drut like a traditional Hindustani vocalist. This was extremely satisfying and even elating to a “kaansen” like me.

On the Tabla was Pt. Mukundraj Deo. I am not an expert in the taal aspects of Hindustani. But the sangat by Mukundraj ji was so soothing, and balanced and pleasant to the ears that even an otherwise fan of melody was drawn to focus on the rhythmic patterns he was weaving.

The stunningly beautiful Yaman left a permanent mark on our collective mind and to be honest, I just wished the artist continued with it for the full concert.

Ragini ji had a different idea though, and a very pleasantly surprising one. Unlike the usual Hindustani instrumental concert presentations, where a couple of classical raags are followed by some semi-classical ‘dhuns’, etc., she chose to go back and forth between the two genres. This was a great idea to keep the audience engaged in my opinion. Raag Yaman was followed by the popular bhajan – Raghupati Raghav Rajaram – after which she presented a short but extremely sweet madhyalay bandish in raag Jog. This was then followed by two famous Marathi compositions, the first was the ‘abhang’ immortalized by Bhimsenji – Maaze Maaher Pandhari and the second was a naatyageet that has captivated Marathi audiences for generations after the great Baalgandharva – ‘Naravar Krishna Samaan’. As if all this was not enough, Ragini ji then played three beautiful dhuns in three popular raags – Khamaaj, Bahaar and finally Bhairavi.

In the hands of Pt. Mukundraj Deo, the Tabla was literally singing the melody! With all the respect for many more Tabla players that I have heard in my life, I must say that this was one of the best ‘sangat’ I have ever heard! What more can I say?

The Naadrang audience was spellbound! The concert was a rare treat for all of us. Ragini ji, a new generation maestro from the family of musicians for eight generations now, will no doubt carry the legacy of her musical heritage into the 21st century and hopefully the story will continue well beyond that.

Thank you Ragani ji and Mukundraj ji for sharing your music with us!

- Anil Maybhate