78 rpm Records of Indian Music: Rajan Sarkar And Keramatullah Khan

The clarinetist Rajan Sarkar, accompanied by the great tabliya Ustad Keramatullah Khan. I greatly enjoy these performances; it’s a shame that Sarkar is not better known. He is mentioned in Greg Booth’s 1997 article “Socio-Musical Mobility Among South Asian Clarinet Players,” and his name appears in connection with the early Bombay cinema music scene.

Dhun

This version of Malkauns is a rough adaptation of the vocal bandish Koyaliya bole ambuva, one of the most commonly taught compositions in this raga. On both renditions, Keramatullah Khan’s accompaniment is terrific; wonderful fat sound and righteous theka playing.