Just wondering if anyone on this list is familiar with the sitarist Sharmistha Sen? I am trying to hunt down a recording of her performing ragas Kafi, Bhairavi and Guad-Malhar with Ustad Sabir Khan on tabla.
Would anyone on this this have a copy of this recording?
Hi there. .I do have a few recordings by Sharmista Sen. .She is one of the few leading women sitar players in the world. from what I have heard, she is indeed a very talented and able sitarist. .I'll see if I can dig up those recordings and pass the info along. .cheers mash. .
Hi Mash, thanks for that. .as far as I know there are only a few recordings of her around, but what I've heard I like alot. Apparently she was a disciple of Ustad Mushtaq Ali Khan and like her guru plays in the traditional Senia style, which incidentally I have heard very little of. Would you know of any other prominent sitarist of the same tradition who have any recordings available? Just glancing over a bio of Sharmistha Sen here, it says regarding this style that, "it is characterised by an extremely refined meend and an overall shape of raga development reminiscent of the performance and practices of the old masters of sitar". If this is the case, then I can only say what a pity it is that state of the art recording gear wasn't developed 100 or so years earlier. .I can only begin to imagine how some of the 'old masters of sitar' sounded. All I can say is that there is something about this style which really captures me.
Hi Jasper;
I used to know a sitarist named Steven Landsberg who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is apparently the only American disciple of Mustaq Ali Khan that specialized in surbahar, but he also plays sitar in the senia style. I've been to a few of his recitals, and he is quite good on both instruments. He has his own informational website at http://www.ragascapes.com and I believe he may also offer some CDs for sale.
Hi SitarFanatic;
Well, it depends on how you define LIVE. If you're into Indian culture (North American variety, that is), food loaded with hot chilie peppers (yeah!), crystal clear blue skies and vivid sunsets, it is possible to live here. OK, its not paradise. Its also hot, dry and windy, but I have lived in worse places! But I do admit, I miss the ocean. And of course, the other kind of Indian culture.
