Pandit Ashok Pathak - Surbahar Raga Malkauns

Sitar & Surbahar maestro Pandit Ashok Pathak playing raga Malkauns in 2013 in Berg en Dal, The Netherlands. Accompanied by Nathan on pakhawaj. Pandit Ashok Pathak is a global top class sitar & Dhrupad surbahar player. His father Pandit Balaram Pathak was a legendary figure in classical Indian music. Pandit Ravi Shankar mentioned his grandfather Pandit Rameshwar Pathak as an important source of inspiration.
This Pathak Gharana Surbahar has a very unique sound and tone, it sounds like a veena. Pandit Ashok Pathak always performs surbahar in the traditional Dhrupad style accompanied by the pakhawaj. Pandit Ashok Pathak develops raga playing on five octaves, which is very unique in itself. He has been performing the surbahar in Dhrupad style for the last 50 years and with further research and his innovative approach, he developed another trademark of his style: playing one whole octave in meend on 1 fret (reed) from SA (middle octave) to SA (high octave). Ashok Pathak is also known for playing gammak in Khandhar-bani.
One can recognize the Pathak family style( Pathak Gharana) in the specifically soft and silky sound, in the innovative sitar technique, and in the far reaching expansion of 'meend', ie very beautiful but difficult string glissandos produced by moving the strings up and down in one and the same fret position. Also the Pathak family has a very profound knowledge of traditional compositions. Pandit Ashok Pathak is mostly known for his interpretations of traditional Indian music, but he is not afraid of experimenting with other styles of music.
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