Basant Panchami (Sitar for Sarasvati)

Released by MasterSong in 2000 as "Indian Classical Music on Sitar & Tabla", this was the first CD recorded by sitar player Matthew Weekes and tabla player Shen Flindell. It is now available for download only.

Liner Notes:

"Dedicated to Sarasvati, Hindu Goddess of Music
BASANT PANCHAMI (Sitar for Sarasvati)
SARASVATI is the Hindu Goddess of Music and Wisdom and is therefore worshipped by all students and musicians, particularly in Bengali families. Her festival day is Basant Panchami (meaning 'fifth day of spring'), and festivities on this day include blessings of books and musical instruments as well as musical concerts dedicated to Divine Sarasvati-Ma. This CD was recorded just a few days before Basant Panchami, so the musicians humbly offer this music as a dedication to Sarasvati-Ma and to their respected gurus, Jibendra Narayan Goswami and Kaviraj Asutosh Bhattacharya."

Matthew Weekes has been studying North Indian Classical Music on the sitar in the ancient city of Varanasi under the guidance of his guru (teacher) Jibendra Narayan "Govinda" Goswami. Govinda Goswami-ji's family hails from Bengal and his teachings are from the Senia Gharana which is known for its tradition and purity dating back to the doyen of Indian Classical Music, Mian Tansen. Matthew has been travelling throughout India for the last nine years, obtaining a love of the culture and pursuing it through his instrument, the sitar. He dedicates these ragas to his guru Govinda and his great loves, Lucy and their new-born daughter Tulsi.

Shen Flindell first studied his instrument, the tabla, under Sri Debu Bhattacharya of Melbourne before embarking on more intensive study in Varanasi, India's holiest city, under his guru-ji Kaviraj Asutosh Bhattacharya. This great Ustad (master) of tabla is one of the last surviving musicians in his generation, having been born in 1917. In 1996, Shen was initiated as a gandabandhan disciple of the Pt. Kanthe Maharaj Gharana of the Varanasi Baaz (style) of tabla, a great honour for a Westerner. He also dedicates his performance on this CD to his beloved guru-ji.


The concept of Raga or Raag is an essential one in Indian classical music. Simplistically, raga is a collection of notes with certain rules about motion between the notes, which notes are predominant, etc. Each raga has its own distinctive mood and will often be associated with a particular time of day or season. The ragas on this CD were chosen to take the listener from the early evening (Raag Yaman), to the late evening (Raag Bageshri) and into the late night (Raag Malkauns).