Raag Shyam Kalyan - Madhyatal, Drut Gats with Jhala in Teental | Debasis Chakroborty

Pandit Debasis Chakroborty performs on slide guitar alongside Sanju Sahai on tabla at Rhythms of India: KalaSudha's Cultural Odyssey (#1), held at Britannia Village Hall, Royal Docks, London, on 6 May 2023. The set moves through Madhya laya and Drut gats into a Jhala, all in Teental.

Raag Shyam Kalyan belongs to the Kalyan Thaat but takes a distinct character from Yaman. The raga draws on both Madhyamas: the sharp fourth in ascent, the natural fourth as a passing shade in descent, producing a dual-toned, shadowed quality that the name "Shyam" (dark) signals. A late-evening raga, it sits between dignified romance and devotion, its vakra descent giving the melody a curved, deliberate weight.

The performance opens with a Madhya laya gat that lets the slide guitar trace the raga's slower, stately lines. The Drut gat lifts the tempo, sharpening the phrasing and tightening the exchange between melody and tabla. The Jhala closes the set with sustained rhythmic drive, Sahai's tabla locking against the resonant sustain of Chakroborty's slide.