Dhun Based on Raag Mishra Shivaranjani | Pundit Debasis Chakroborty | Music of India

Pandit Debasis Chakroborty, a slide guitar exponent of the Senia-Maihar Gharana, performs a dhun rooted in Mishra Shivaranjani on the Indian Slide Lap Guitar. Sanju Sahai accompanies on tabla. The recording is from the inaugural Rhythms of India: KalaSudha's Cultural Odyssey concert, held at Britannia Village Hall, London, on 6 May 2023.

Mishra Shivaranjani belongs to the Kafi Thaat and carries a pentatonic core (S-R-g-P-D), its emotional weight drawn from the friction between Komal Gandhar and Shuddha Gandhar, the defining feature of the "Mishra" variant. The raga suits the late-night hours, drawing on Karuna Rasa (pathos) and Vipralambha Shringar, the sentiment of longing in separation. The dhun form centres on melodic improvisation, without the constraint of a fixed rhythmic cycle.

Chakroborty uses the slide's continuous pitch movement to track the meend-heavy phrasing this raga demands. The glides between Rishabh and Komal Gandhar, and the occasional chromatic touch of Shuddha Gandhar, trace the raga's characteristic pull between its two Gandharas. Sahai's tabla keeps rhythmic ground without crowding the melodic space.