Raag Madhuvanti; Jhaptaal

Deepak Shah is a Mumbai-based pianist with over 25 years of performing Hindustani classical ragas on the grand piano. His playing centres on raga grammar, carrying the nuances of Indian classical phrasing into the piano's sustained, resonant sound.

Raag Madhuvanti is a late-afternoon raga from the Todi family, built on Komal Gandhar and Teevra Madhyam. The vadi is Pancham. Its phrases glide between these intervals with a mood the tradition places between romance and reflection.

This recording presents Madhuvanti in Jhaptaal, a 10-beat cycle grouped 2+3+2+3. The asymmetry gives the taal a forward pull distinct from the even weight of Teen Taal. Shah moves through the raga's development within this framework, the piano's sustain extending each phrase across the beat structure.