Sufi Raah: The Classical Tradition of Tappa (96 min)
Famous for her renditions of the classical tradition of tappas, Shanno Khurana explains why this most arduous of Hindustani musical forms attracted her, what is the nature of their variety of rendition and she analyses their poetic lyrics to reveal the unique cultural synthesis that lies behind them. Their words express Sufi ideas, and their language is the Multani dialect of Punjabi in which much of our classical music is composed. The form really became popular in eighteenth century Lucknow and Banaras where it was given the most rigorous classical grammar even as the importance of the poetry diminished there. By the end of the twentieth century however, there were few practitioners left of the form

Dr. Shanno Khurana, musician and musicologist, Padmabhushan and Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, has commanded the Indian performing stage for seventy years ever since her first broadcast from Lahore Radio station in 1945. She is known not just for her deep knowledge of Indian classical raagdaari but also her formidable repertoire garnered from the stalwarts to the Gwalior, Agra and Rampur gharanas.

This evening she will be in conversation with her grandson, Prof Naman Ahuja and revisit her album with the same title: Sufi Raah, the Classical Tradition of Tappa, and compare it with renditions by her mentors

Webcast recording of the programme held on 23rd September 2016