Darbar Culture Festival: Music of India - Abhishek Borkar and Eeshar Singh

Join Darbar for a double bill concert featuring the mesmerising sounds of the santoor, a 100-stringed instrument to the sarod, the evolution version of the Rabaab performed by Persian nomads on horseback.  

In the first part of this special event, Eeshar Singh and Harkiret Bahra breathe new life into the primordial sounds of India. An extraordinary young Santoor Player from the heart of West Yorkshire in the UK, Singh’s musical maturity precedes him. Having received rave reviews at his biggest concert to date – Darbar Festival 2022.  His complex instrument produces a beautiful trance like sound, traditionally used by Sufi mystics use as accompaniment in their divine music. Harkiret Bahra plays with vigour, passion and prowess, adding deep notes to the santoor’s lilting charm.

Then, we meet Abhishek Borkar – a talented sarod exponent with great dexterity and skill. Innovation is in his DNA, and his father, Pandit Shekhar Borkar, invented the surtarang (‘wave of notes’) – a combination of sarod and veena. His own renditions also showcase a rich tapestry of the best of Hindustani music, and his deft control of notes and tempo makes for an almost fiercely contemplative soundscape allowing listeners to experience a hard reset of the soul. Surdarshan Chana is an exponent of tabla and jori. His style has a mesmerising tonal quality and rich diversity of texture that reflects the influence of the Punjab and Benares style on his work. However, his expertise also readily embraces and encompasses multiple genres and moods, with his understanding of the tabla shining through both in solos and accompaniment.