It's perhaps unusual to hear the sitar played in a style that's not Indian classical, but as
Sjaukat Hussain Khan says in the CD liner notes, "the foundation of classical music...is folk music." And that's what he plays here. While the former child prodigy, who comes from a long line of sitar masters, is quite adept in Indian classical music, these folk songs from his childhood, in Hindi and Punjabi, offer him a real freedom as a player. More than that, they also give him the opportunity to use his voice. Accompanied only by percussion, the traditional Punjabi songs "Mitti Da Bawa" and "Lag Gaye Nain" are wonderfully delicate, with plenty of room for improvisation, which
Khan truly uses on the former. For the other four tracks, the lyrics come from his pen, although the tunes are from the folk tradition.
Khan shows himself to be a singer of remarkable restraint, knowing when to embellish and when to leave spare. On the sitar he displays seemingly endless imagination, spurring himself into flights of fancy, as on the expansive "Aashiko Ke Khoda," where sitar and percussion create a veritable ocean of sound that's both romantic and aching in its cadences. He's masterful, as should reasonably be expected, and never disappoints. This is unlike most sitar music you'll hear, less formal, and far more spontaneous, making it a veritable treat.