Raag Miyan ki Malhar | Jhaptaal | Slide Guitar & Tabla | Debasis Chakroborty, Akram Khan | KalaSudha

Pandit Debasis Chakroborty on Indian slide guitar and Ustad Akram Khan on tabla performed Raag Miyan Ki Malhar in Jhaptaal (10 beats) at Norwich Ragas, held at The Assembly House, Norwich, on 19 September 2025 as part of Kala Festival.

Miyan Ki Malhar, from the Kafi thaat, is attributed to Miyan Tansen. It is an audava-audava raga, five notes ascending and five descending, with Rishabh as the vadi and Pancham as the samvadi. The raga is associated with monsoon and late night, carrying urgency and weight in place of gentle lyricism.

The slide guitar's continuous pitch movement suits Miyan Ki Malhar: glissandos trace the raga's characteristic meend between lower Ni and Rishabh, while Jhaptaal's asymmetric pulse (2+3+2+3) gives the cycle a forward lean that Khan's tabla anchors and propels. The two musicians sustain the medium-tempo groove across the full duration, holding within the raga's weight rather than building to a fast section.