MUMBAI: Indian classical music is one of the most ancient musical traditions in the world and is the base for many other music genres. This rich tradition is getting lost/forgotten from the metro lives and hence, to bring it to the forefront, Pt. Geetesh Mishra, a maestro from Banaras Gharana has created a world record by singing 111 Classical ragas in ‘Khyal’ gayaki in 2 hours and 14 minutes. The veteran musician has set a world record under the category of ‘most Indian classical raga sung in a relay’.

Pt. Geetesh Mishra, the successor of late Pt. Mahesh Prasad Mishra who was a great classical vocalist and sarangi player, is continuing a two hundred year old family legacy of hindustani classical music. “A classical piece with a single raga (alaap, jhalla, bandish, taana) can take hours to recite and can be easily mixed up with some other raaga. That’s why, in a recital, even masters do not sing more than three-four raagas,” says an advance learner from Panditji’s academy.

“No classical musician is happy about the current situation of depleting tradition of classical music, this activity was aimed at inspiring the classical musicians to break the barriers and bring out the quality that once was the renowned strength of India,” says Panditji. He also added that the more people listen to pure or refined music, the more they will understand it which will lead to a development of interest in Indian classical music.

The uniqueness of this record is that Panditji moved from one raga to another without breaking the rhythm pattern and also maintaining the feel of each raga. This is only possible if the singer has a complete command over his art.