Raag Yaman – Alaap on Piano | Deepak Shah | Kala Festival 2025, Norwich

Deepak Shah performed an Alaap in Raag Yaman on piano at Norwich Ragas: Piano & Slide Guitar Unbound, held at The Assembly House, Norwich on 19 September 2025 as part of Kala Festival 2025.

Raag Yaman belongs to the Kalyan Thaat and is traditionally performed at early evening. Its defining note is the Teevra Madhyam (the raised fourth), which gives the raga its open, expansive quality. The vadi is Gandhar; the raga moves through characteristic phrases such as N R G R S and P M# G R S, tracing a mood of peace and devotion.

On piano, the Alaap draws on the instrument's natural sustain to hold each phrase longer than a plucked string would allow. Deepak Shah treats the piano as a single melodic line, avoiding chordal textures to preserve the raga's linear grammar. Each phrase is placed with space before the next, letting the characteristic ascent from the lower Nishad through Gandhar and the raised Madhyam settle before the phrase resolves.