Jugalbandi

Often, the musicians will play different instruments, as for example the famous duets between sitarist Ravi Shankar and sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, who played the format since the 1940s. More rarely, the musicians (either vocalists or instrumentalists) may be from different traditions (i.e. Carnatic and Hindustani). What defines jugalbandi is that the two soloists be on an equal footing. A performance can only truly be deemed a jugalbandi when neither musician is always the soloist or solely an accompanist. In jugalbandi, both musicians act as lead players, and a playful competition exists between the two performers.

Hindustani-Carnatic Jugalbandi

Jugalbandi of Hindustani and Carnatic styles has evolved into a relatively common pattern that has the Hindustani artist accompanied by a tabla artist, and the Carnatic artist accompanied by a mridangam artist, and possibly also accompanied by tanpura. The main artists from each tradition present a composition in their own style and then together collaborate and present a common piece. The common piece is usually in a raga that is common to both traditions, such as Yaman-Kalyani, Bhairavi-Sindhubhairavi , Keeravani.