6:20तानसेन से पहले...Swami Haridas | VirasatNama Originals
Before Tansen: Swami Haridas
Music · Art · Heritage · People
VirasatNama: Kahaniyan Jo Waqt Kahe
कहानियाँ जो वक्त कहे
Stories that time tells.
VirasatNama documents India’s music, art and living traditions. It began with one shehnai, Ustad Bismillah Khan’s, and has grown into a home for many stories.
India's Living Heritage
Now showing
VirasatNama Originals · Ongoing · Episode 1
जिस शहर ने हिंदुस्तान के सुर बदले… | अमीर ख़ुसरो और दिल्ली घराना | Dilli Gharana Ep. 1
Now showing: The city that changed the sound of HindustanThe city that changed the sound of Hindustan
Our Dilli Gharana series opens with Amir Khusrau and the old city that shaped so much of Hindustani music. With thanks to Begum Buland Akhtar, Wusat Iqbal Khan, Saeed Khan and Azam Shahid.
8:19
Who we are
Preserving heritage is not simply about looking back.
It is about making sure the stories, knowledge and music we inherit keep inspiring the people who come next.
VirasatNama is a cultural storytelling platform. We film long conversations with masters, make documentaries about gharanas and the people who kept them alive, and look after a growing archive of rare recordings.
It started as Virasat-e-Bismillah, a labour of love for Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan, carried out with his family. Today the same care goes into every story, whether it is three hundred years of tabla in Banaras, the dhrupad of the Dagar family, or Amir Khusrau’s Delhi.
Read our journey- 2006A first meeting with Ustad Bismillah Khan in Delhi
- 2018Google's Doodle for his 102nd birthday
- 2021Virasat-e-Bismillah, live on Doordarshan
- 2026VirasatNama and its Originals begin
VirasatNama Originals
Series to settle into
कहानियाँ, एक के बाद एक
Ongoingदिल्ली घराना
Dilli Gharana
How Delhi shaped the sound of Hindustani music, beginning with Amir Khusrau and the old city around the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin. New episodes join this series as they are released.
One episode so far
Completeध्रुपद
Dhrupad: A Consciousness, A Legacy
The oldest living form of Hindustani classical music, sung and explained by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar of the Dagar family. Two long films and a teaser: where dhrupad comes from, and whether it will reach the next generation.
Two episodes and a teaser
Completeबनारस तबला घराना
Banaras Tabla Gharana
Three episodes on a family tradition of rhythm that is more than three hundred years old, from Pandit Ram Sahai to Pandit Vijay Shankar Mishra, who carries it today.
Three episodes
Fresh from the channel
Latest uploads
- 6:20Open “Before Tansen: Swami Haridas” on YouTube
46:14Open “Will dhrupad reach the next generation?” on YouTubeक्या अगली पीढ़ी तक पहुँच पाएगा ध्रुपद? | Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar
Will dhrupad reach the next generation?
1:19Open “The shehnai that welcomed the first morning of freedom” on YouTubeऐसे ही शहनाई की मधुर ध्वनि ने स्वागत किया था आज़ादी की पहली सुबह का
The shehnai that welcomed the first morning of freedom
3:49Open “A tribute on Ustad Bismillah Khan's 20th death anniversary” on YouTubeभारत रत्न उस्ताद बिस्मिल्लाह ख़ाँ की 20वीं पुण्यतिथि (20th Death Anniversary) पर विशेष प्रस्तुति
A tribute on Ustad Bismillah Khan's 20th death anniversary
0:35Open this Short on YouTubeRaag Puriya | Azam Shahid | Dilli Gharana
Raag Puriya, sung by Azam Shahid
0:28Open this Short on YouTubeA Voice | A Legacy | VirasatNama Originals | Coming Soon...
A Voice, A Legacy: coming soon
0:17Open this Short on YouTubeDhrupad: 'a traditional style of singing'
What four royal courts had in common
1:07Open this Short on YouTubeसुनिए वो सुर... जो सदियों से गूंज रहे हैं
Notes that have echoed for centuries
0:11Open this Short on YouTubeभारत का 300 साल पुराना तबला घराना!
India's three hundred year old tabla gharana
1:00Open this Short on YouTubeRaag Miyan ki Malhar | Ustad Bismillah Khan | Shorts
Raag Miyan ki Malhar
Updated from YouTube automatically. New uploads appear here within about an hour.
In front of our camera
Voices that carry the tradition
Padma Shri Ustad Wasifuddin DagarDhrupad, Dagar family
Pt. Vijay Shankar MishraTabla, Banaras gharana
Ustad Nazim HussainTabla, memories of Ustad Bismillah Khan
Azam ShahidVocal, Dilli Gharana
And at the heart of it all, the shehnai of Ustad Bismillah Khan.
Milestones
Two days we hold close
21 March 2018
The Google Doodle
On his 102nd birthday, Google celebrated Ustad Bismillah Khan with a Doodle. His family trusted Savita Anand to sign the agreement connected with it, a moment that still means a great deal to all of us.
21 March 2021
Virasat-e-Bismillah on Doordarshan
On his birth anniversary, members of his family played on one stage in his memory, live on Doordarshan National. Two hours and twenty three minutes of music and remembrance.
In print
From the press archive
Lucknow edition, page 4Wah, Ustad Bismillah Khan: now even the lanes will play the shehnaiSaturday, 6 June 2026
Punjab Kesari, DelhiThe shehnai's letter to Ustad Bismillah Khan21 August, death anniversary special
Subah SavereWithout the Ustad, who would care for the shehnai today?Monday, 21 March 2022
Events
No events announced just yet
When the next programme is confirmed, it will be listed here first. Until then, the 2021 Doordarshan evening is a lovely place to start.
Events and recordings
Have a story that time should tell?
Artists, families, scholars, organisers and curious listeners: we would love to hear from you.