ICM web sites

When I began learning sitar, there were a few hobbyist sites around with a little information largely scavenged from google searches. In the past few years, there have been more and more good sites popping up (see my links section). E.g. youtube.com is full of great performances.

However, one of the holes has been critical interviews with the artists of the day. I have to say that most of the interviews I have read have been a bit empty, but every now and then something pops up that really leaves an impression. This happened just the other day. A gentleman name Mr. Deepak Raja sent me an email referring to his site. I have to say that this happens quite a lot and my hopes were not very high, but I was very pleasantly surprised at what I saw. http://swaratala.blogspot.com is filled with excellent information. The Vilayat Khan and Shahid Parvez articles are excellent reading. Mr. Raja is able to to elicit details that are not normally disclosed. This is largely due to his experience in ICM as a performer and musicologist. Plainly stated, he can relate to top artists on their level. That being said, he also has a style of writing that is critical yet engaging. Surprisingly, artists are really candid and open.

I am glad I did not mark that email as spam.
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Pb