A baithak (‘bair-tak’) is an informal and intimate concert in which raga-based music is performed – Bristol Baithaks is a new series of grassroots South Asian Classical music concerts taking place across the South West
There are many genres within the tradition of Hindustani music. In this Autumnal double bill, you have the opportunity to experience two of them alongside each other in the intimate setting of The Wardrobe Theatre, with tabla accompaniment from the fantastic, Himmet Singh Bahra.
Dr Shishir Rao will offer a presentation of Khayal — the vocal form, which literally translates from Persian as ‘imagination’. Khayal compositions or ‘bandishes’ are based on romantic and devotional poetry that can be as short as four lines. The vocalist expands the poetry through intricate melodic improvisations in the chosen raga of the performance. Dr Pete Yelding will offer a presentation of the instrumental form known as the Tantra baj on sitar.
Nowadays, especially in the UK, the dominant form of sitar playing follows the Gayaki style, which seeks to emulate the Khayal vocal style. The Tantra baj follows a different set of conventions as an exclusively instrumental form in its own right. Cyclic compositions known as ‘gats’ are interspersed with rhythmic and melodic improvisations known as ‘todas’, delivered in service of the mood and emotion of the chosen raga.
About Bristol Baithaks
A baithak (‘bair-tak’) is an informal and intimate concert in which raga-based music is performed. Bristol Baithaks is a new series of grassroots South Asian Classical music concerts taking place in the South West of England throughout 2026. Concerts take place in different venues around the region and at different times of day. Audiences have the opportunity to experience the ways the melodic and expressive qualities of different ragas are enhanced by their corresponding time of day or season, up close and on their doorstep. The concert has been developed with and supported by a number of partner organisations: ZerOclassikal, Diverse Arts Network, The Mehfil Space, Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grants.
About the Artists
Dr Shishir Rao is a Hindustani classical vocalist, with over twenty years of training under Sri. Nachiketa Yakkundi of the lineage of Padma Bhushan Pandit Basavraj Rajguru of the Kirana gharana. His musical education includes advanced studies at Kolkata’s ITC Sangeet Research Academy, and he performs regularly across India, the USA, and the UK. True to the meaning of khayal (imagination), Shishir invites listeners to join him in discovering unexpected moments of beauty.
Dr Pete Yelding is a sitarist and cellist, and the 7th generation of a family of travelling performers. He is one of only a handful of contemporary musicians to become an exponent of the Lucknow-Shahjahanpur Gharana, a historically crucial musical lineage headed by his teacher, the sarod master, Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan. Drawn to rougher textures and stirring emotional vulnerability in performance, Pete seeks to rehabilitate for modern audiences the sound of older sitar styles.
Himmet Singh Bahra’s formal Tabla training began aged 5 with Ustaad Harkirat Singh Rayatt. 15 years later, he became a disciple and student of the world-famous Tabla Maestro, Taal Yogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, a master of both rhythm and Taal. He has honed his skill as an accompanist in India and the UK, with a growing national and international profile of performances including for prestigious platforms such as Darbar.
