Navras

28/11/2025

This page has been rather quiet of late and many of you may be wondering why? Well, it is almost entirely due to the fact that for the past three months I have been very occupied curating the Navras Records / Sama Arts archives going back to 1980 which to date have not been published on the Navras Catalogue.

As many of you would know the Navras Catalogue and Archives were acquired by Sony Music India. Navras Records has been engaged by Sony Music to curate, edit and master this awesome content of the greatest legends of this genre.

To-date I have mastered some 30 albums of what would be a treasure trove of upwards of 200 albums of live concert recordings. It has been a truly emotional journey for me listening to some amazing performances which will be shared with you all in not too distant future.

In the next few weeks I will attempt to share excerpts from some of these great concerts which we were very privileged to present for most part in the UK.

In the meantime I would like you to have a look at what was uploaded some three years back as being the intended initial batch of releases pf vocal and instrumental albums -most of them to be in the upcoming releases.

https://youtu.be/ck-khuZs1iQ

https://youtu.be/RT161x6CwH4

In the coming weeks Sony Music India will be releasing some 15 or so new albums on the digital space from the Navras Records / Sama Arts and Musenalp Archive...

30/10/2025

Much missed Rajan-ji with his brother Pandit Sajan Mishra and Pandit Kishan Maharaj-ji.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17SJ4p4Znu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

23/10/2025

The one and only Pandit Kumar Gandharvaji

!https://www.facebook.com/reel/1343849880597118

08/10/2025

Quest OUT NOW!! The album showcases interpretations of rare ragas—melodic frameworks in Indian classical music that are seldom performed despite their rich theoretical foundations. Accompanied by Ganapathi Subramaniam on mridangam, Amjad Ali Khan explores ragas that are often overlooked because of their complexity, limited repertoire, or historical and regional associations. Reflecting on the project, Amjad Ali Khan says: “With Quest, I wanted to bring forward ragas that are rarely heard but deeply meaningful. These ragas carry with them centuries of thought and feeling, and it gives me joy to share them as I mark this milestone in my journey.”

Streaming on all platforms! 🎧 https://fanlink.tv/quest_album



Track List
1. Charju Ki Malhar
2. Dhaani
3. Jayant Malhar
4. Meera Bai Ki Malhar
5. Nayaki Kanhara
6. Gour Malhar
7. Nat Bihag
8. Nat Kamod
9. Kedar Malhar
10. Pooriya Kedar
11. Saraswati Malhar

08/10/2025

CELEBRATING THE LEGEND OF SAROD MAESTRO AMJAD ALI KHAN

Toady (9th October) we celebrate the 80th birthday of the Sarod legend, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb. Navras Records and Sama Arts have been associated with him for over three decades in presenting many outstanding concerts and release of several of them on Compact Discs and DVDs over the years.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was born in 1945 in the city of Gwalior and represents the sixth generation of a family of musicians traced back to Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangash, a player of the instrument known as rabab (forerunner of the modern sarod) who moved to India from Afghanistan. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has helped secure the sarod as one of the most popular instruments in India, established his own name as one of the leaders of Indian music and his fame has spread all over the world.

He has always emphasised the vocal nature of his music (indeed, of all Indian classical music). The title of the 1993 film about him says it all: ‘I sing through my sarod.’ Followers of his art will notice how often he incorporates singing into his performances. His teaching often consists of nothing else and he draws attention to the importance attached to singing in the transmission of the ragas by his father and guru, the great sarod maestro Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan. He in turn has brought his two sons, Amaan and Ayaan, to maturity as the seventh generation of the family tradition and leading sarod virtuosi of their age. This lineage is now looking at its eight generation as Amjad Ali Khan’s twin grandsons, Zohaan and Abeer, prepare to take up the family heritage even as young as they are at the age of 12.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9th October 1945) was born into a classical music family (the Bangash lineage of the Senia Gharana) and among countless accolades he is the recipient of India’s top civilian awards of Padma Shree (1975), Padma Bhushan (1991) and Padma Vibhushan (2001) from the President of India, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1989) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship for 2011. The family lineage belongs to the Gwalior gharana. The Guardian referred to Amjad Ali Khan as “one of the last legends of Hindustani classical music.”

We salute this icon and great master of Indian classical music as he enters his 9th decade. We wish him a long, healthy and a continuing musical life for many many years ahead. His contribution to the Indian classical music and its aesthetics is of exemplary nature.

We at Navras Records and Sony Music India (where the Navras Catalogue and Sama Arts / Navras archives now reside) plan to bring out some more of his outstanding performances in the coming months and years.

Here below we share with you excerpts of his rendition of Ragas Marwa and Durga from a Navras / Sama Arts Concert at London’s Barbican Centre on 25th July 1997 accompanied by Pandit Kumar Bose on Tabla. This content is from the archives to be published in the coming months by Sony Music India.

On 9th October, we celebrate the 80th birthday of the Sarod legend, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb. Navras Records and Sama Arts have been associated with him fo...

19/08/2025

USTAD VILAYAT KHAN & USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN - Two maestros and legends who genuinely thrilled and loved playing in each other’s company!

00:58 Nand / Anandi ajahuuN naa aaye17:02 Thumri / Daadraa मोहे पनघट पे नन्दलाल छेड़ गयो रेमोहे पनघट पे नन्दलाल छेड़ गयो रेमोरी नाजुक कलाईयाँ मरोड़ गयो र.....

19/08/2025

USTAD VILAYAT KHAN & USTAD BISMILLAH KHAN - Two maestros and legends who genuinely thrilled and loved playing in each other’s company!

00:58 Nand / Anandi ajahuuN naa aaye17:02 Thumri / Daadraa मोहे पनघट पे नन्दलाल छेड़ गयो रेमोहे पनघट पे नन्दलाल छेड़ गयो रेमोरी नाजुक कलाईयाँ मरोड़ गयो र.....

13/08/2025

NAVRAS RECORDS ARCHIVES

Over the coming weeks and months we shall be curating unpublished content from our archives for Sony Music India for future releases.

Here is one taster of the content to come....

PANDIT HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA ~ RAGA DURGA (EXCERPTS)

ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON (JUNE 2001)

Excerpts from a rendition of Raga Durga by the Bansuri (Bamboo Flute) legend Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia accompanied by his French disciple Henri Tournier on Bansuri, Pandit Bhawani Shankar (Pakhawaj) and Shubhankar Banerjee (Tabla).

Raga Durga is a popular North Indian (Hindustani) classical raga, associated with devotion, simplicity and a serene yet uplifting mood. It is usually performed in the late evening (6 to 9 pm) and the mood (rasa) is one of Bhakti (devotion), Shanti (peace) and sometimes Veer (heroic energy). Many devotional and folk tunes in North India naturally align with this raga's scale.

This Navras Records / Sama Arts concert performance was held at London's Royal Festival Hall on 4th June 2001. The first part of the concert was a Flute Concerto composed by Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Henri Tournier for performance with a Chamber Orchestra, a French ensemble, Orchestre Transes Europeenes under the Title "Adi Anant ~ Creation Mondiale". The original performance of this Concerto recorded live at Theatre de la Ville, Paris was released by Navras Records under the same title.

On a very sad note, in the past few years we lost Shubhankar Banerjee (on the left in the video) at a young age from Covid and Pandit Bhawani Shankar (on the right) - two remarkable exponents of their percussion instruments.

https://youtu.be/3pkY8D_plF0

05/08/2025

NAVRAS RECORDS ARCHIVES - SONY MUSIC INDIA COLLABORATION

Excited to share that I have commenced a one-year Consultancy role with Sony Music Entertainment India (Pvt) Limited, facilitated by Navras Records. My focus will be on A&R (Artist & Repertoire) function, curating unpublished content from Navras Records' Indian Classical and Traditional Music archives, now under Sony Music's umbrella.

This project involves delving into live concert recordings from UK based entities like Academy of Performing Arts & Music (APAM), Sama Arts Network, Navras Records, and Swiss based music label Musenalp, among others – all of which are embedded in the Navras Records archives. The collection spans back to the 1950s, encapsulating the musical genius of legendary artists from the Indian Subcontinent over a remarkable six-decade period.

Over the next year, the goal is to curate and prepare for release about 100 titles for Sony Music India. While many of these musical icons have passed on, their timeless performances endure in these archives, preserving their artistry for music enthusiasts to enjoy.

Collaborating on this endeavour with me are Pandit Satish Vyas, a distinguished classical musician and former Director of Navras Records based in India, and Jay Visva Deva, the Artistic Director of Sama Arts and my fellow co-founder of Navras Records. Together, we aim to bring forth a rich tapestry of musical heritage originating over 2,500 years back, for audiences to appreciate through the auspices of Sony Music in India.

21/07/2025

What a craft and art is this! The making of the Tablas!

19/07/2025

PANDIT SHIVKUMAR SHARMA ~ RAGA BHUPALI (LONDON, JUNE 1983)

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma (Shivji), the legendary Santoor Maestro, was the earliest and most earnest proponent of establishing Navras Records as a music label specialising in releasing of live concert performances of Indian Classical Music. He was very conscious of some stellar performances of his and many of his contemporaries in their younger days, vested in the archives of Academy of Performing Arts (APAM) and its successor organisation Sama Arts. Navras Records acquired these archives and there began a long journey in creation of this remarkable Catalogue and an equally large unpublished archives now with Sony Music India, to be brought out in the coming months.

Here we share with you a masterly elaboration of the beautiful Raga Bhupali by Shivji with an excerpt of the Jhala. Shivji most often presented his full raga in the Dhrupad Ang, with elaborate Alap, Jor and Jhala before playing two to three rhythmic compositions. This was one such performance, in the Banquet Room at London's Bailey's Hotel on 10th June 1983.

The clarity of the note and complexity of his taans are an impressive illustration in this beautiful exposition of his mastery over this most complex and difficult yet melodious of string instruments from India.

The analogue audio master was on a Maxell Reel Tape and has managed to convey a beautiful sound quality bringing alive the scintillating sounds of the santoor. In the Drut part of the performance, Shivji was accompanied by another legendary maestro, Ustad Zakir Hussain, on the Tabla.

This golden nugget from the Santoor Maestro Pandit Shivkumar Sharma is an excerpt of Jahala in Raga Bhupali from his live performance for Academy of Performi...