Webinar explores Indian raga and Azerbaijani mugham

The Carnatic Conservatory of Paris hosted webinar 'Naalandaa' on Indian and Azerbaijani music from October 27 to 29.

It was held under the patronage of the Permanent Delegation of India at UNESCO with support from the Indian Ministry of Culture.

The event was curated by Bhavana Pradyumna, violin virtuoso Dr Mysore Manjunath and Ilkhas Mammadov from Azerbaijan.

Bhavana says, "Indian raga and Azerbaijani mugham are traditional musical forms, characterised by a large degree of improvisation. It is impossible not to hear similarities."

Grahabheda which is the modal shift of the tonic swara is one of the concepts found in both systems, she says.

The event featured Azerbaijan artists such as Dr Irada Kocharly, Dr Sanubar Baghirova, Natig Shirinov and Umid Shirinov.

From India, it included sitar player Pandit Shubhendra Rao, Mysore Manjunath, veena player Nirmala Rajashekar, mridangam player BC Manjunath, and musicologist Radha Bhaskar.