Welcome to the spiritual lounge

For eardrums that are accustomed to the sounds of garage bands, metal bangers and classic rockers, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's Spiritual Lounge started out as an experiment with wavelengths

For eardrums that are accustomed to the sounds of garage bands, metal bangers and classic rockers, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia's Spiritual Lounge started out as an experiment with wavelengths

Spiritual Lounge
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia
EMI
Rs 295

NO EAR must live without listening to the sounds of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. And this, coming from a newbie.

You probably know that Pandit Chaurasia was an internationally renowned exponent of the bansuri or bamboo flute. What you didn't, is that his father was a famous wrestler who had aspirations of his son following in his footsteps. Chaurasia chose the stage over the akhada but still attributes the immense stamina one needs for long recitals from his early training in wrestling.

Spiritual Lounge is a soothing collection of five tracks averaging around 12 minutes each. It includes flute renditions set to modern beats.

Completely devoid of lyrics except for the occasional rhythmic chanting of the word 'Om', each track creates a state of mind that silences the noisy worries of a working day.

Madhura Bhakti is based on the raga Bihag and includes a sitar accompaniment. You will feel calmeru00a0-- even if spiritual music doesn't normally feature on your iPod. Chaurasia's compositions have also been used for Hindi film scores, the most popular of which include Silsila, Lamhe and Darr.

Vishad,u00a0 a sad tune of loneliness with a sarod for accompaniment, follows. Durga raga inspired Parapanch, a happy instrumental with a guitar accompaniment that lends fusion to the melodic flute. This is also the first time a significant beat is introduced to the 14-minute track that seamlessly changes pace on multiple occasions.u00a0

Sharangati is a song about surrender that incorporates the veena and low humming to make the graphic visualisations on the media player window on your computer screen go psychedelic with glee.

The best however is certainly saved for last. Aatmanand is a trippy number about ecstasy with a synthesiser to give it that extra electronic punch. Listen to the dance of the flute and the synth as they play with frequencies and notes, creating a unique blend of traditional and modern sounds.