Raag Marwa | Chinmaya Vrindavan

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla by Meghshyam Keshav.

Popularly known as the “Song of the Sunset”, Marwa is an intense & hypnotic raga. The spiritual ambience & positivity at the Chinmaya Vrindavan auditorium exuded an evening energy that had a cumulative effect on my playing and that helped me sustain and experience a full circle into my performance.

Meditative Emotions: It calls for a mood of self-reflection, deep calling, contemplation, & insight.

Raag Lalit | Ragas Live 2016

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla by Shivalik Ghoshal

“Poem of the Dawn”, raga Lalit is a poetic preamble of the morning glory.
It was a humbling privilege to perform an early morning Raga Lalit at the ‘Ragas Live 2016 Festival’ held at Pioneer Works, NY. Here’s a short piece of the composition in Teentaal followed by jhala.

Meditative Emotions: serenity, devotion & prayer

Raag Alhaiya Bilawal | Morning Waves of Euphoria

Raag Bhaityali | Folk Sounds of India

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari &  Tabla by Amod Dandawate

Raga Bhatiyali is popularly called “the song of the river”. The scintillating sounds of the santoor navigate you through the palpable synergy of India’s regional folk diversity. The soulful tunes and eclectic beats blend beautifully to depict the multiplicity of India’s rich musical heritage. My humble attempt to adopt the weaving theme  from Pandit Kartik Kumarji ‘s composition.

Meditative Emotions: Emotions of appreciation, nature, gratitude & folk heritage are evoked. Bhatiyaii lyrics are traditionally written on boating, fishing, nature, and rivers etc.

Raag Gavti | Soorbahar 2016 | Marathi Vishwa

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla by Tejas Tope.

As a musician, it felt ecstatic to perform this rare raga Gaoti (Gawoti, Gavati, Gavti) at the Marathi Vishwa Indian Classical festival “Soorbahar”.   Here is a short piece from the drut (fast composition) in Teentaal (cycle of 16 beats).

Meditative Emotions: This raga is an under-utilized gem of the Indian raga pantheon….It’s happy disposition sets the mood of joy, fulfillment, & euphoria.

Raag Hansadhwani | Brooklyn Raga Massive

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla by Shivalik Ghoshal

Hansadhwani, also called the ‘Sound of Swans’, originally a south Indian raga. The nucleus meaning of Hamsa in Sanskrit is a swan & dhwani indicates voice of the swan. The fluttering nature of the raga is magnetic, creating happy energy instantly.

Meditative Emotions: It is a raga that fills you with positive energy and a sense of well-being. It is sung in the evening hours, after sunset and lends itself beautifully to a medium to lively tempo. It exudes happiness, devotion & elation.

Raag Mia Ki Todi | Soorbahar 2014 | Marathi Vishwa

Raag Mia Ki Todi. Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla accompaniment by Shivalik Ghosal. Alaap, Jod, Jhala, Vilambit and, Drut Gat concluding with Ati Drut Jhala.

From ecstasy to frolic to pathos to bathos to melancholy – every tender, subtle human emotion can be realized through the Todi paraphernalia .  It calls for a prolonged listening to imbibe and experience the intellectual fullness of this raag.

Meditative Emotions: self realization, self reflection, deep thinking, contemplation & melancholy.

Raag Shudh Sarang | Raag Rang

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla by Amod Dandawate

An early afternoon Raga of the Sarang family sets an intriguing and lasting impression. Here is an excerpt from my performance at the ‘Raag Rang’ festival.

Meditative Emotions: Sonorous, sober, charming & intriguing.

Raag Malkauns | North Indian classical Baithak

Raag Malkauns – Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and Tabla accompaniment by Pratik Devasthale.

The name Malkauns is derived from the combination of Mal and Kaushik, which means he who wears serpents like garlands — the god Shiva.  The raga is believed to have been created by goddess Parvati (the wife of Shiva) to calm Shiva, when the lord Shiva was outraged and was not calming down after Tandav in rage of Sati’s sacrifice.

Meditative Emotions: calmness, peace, coolness & tranquility.

Raga Meditation | Plainsboro Library

Synopsis of a Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari at the  Hindustani Music Concert held at the Plainsboro public Library. Tabla accompaniment by Pratik Devasthale.

Raag Yaman | Anand Ashram

Raag Yaman – Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and tabla accompaniment by Pratik Devasthale.

Yaman emerged from the parent musical style of Kalyan. Considered to be one of the most fundamental ragas in Hindustani tradition, it is thus often one of the first ragas taught to students. In the context of traditional standards of performance, Yaman raga are considered suitable to play at any time of the day, but it is traditionally performed in the evening.

Meditative Emotions: devotion, romance, peace, tranquility & serenity.

A look into Indian Classical Music | Interview

An informal impromptu interview with the Music Department of Rider University, New Jersey. A sneak peak into my journey of Music !

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari at the Darpan Festival 2018

Santoor Recital by Deepal Chodhari and tabla by Prafulla Athalye. A snippet from Darpan Festival 2018 held in Phoenix, Arizona.

Santoor Teacher in NJ

Deepal Chodhari of Plainsboro teaches the santoor, one of the oldest instruments of India. She is the only teacher in the tri-state area. Santoor, a Persian word, means 100 strings. The oldest known stringed instrument of India, it is placed on the lap and played with a pair of light wooden sticks while sitting in a padmasana, or lotus position.

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