There is a spontaneous magic to live concerts not offered by studio music. Swar Ut-sav, that began in Delhi in 2000 to celebrate India Today's 25th anniversary, has now acquired the shape of an annual event. The music of Swar Utsav 2001, held over four nights in Delhi, has now been released for posterity.

A sub-series titled Confluence features rare jugalbandis of legends-Ustad Bismillah Khan on shehnai and Rais Khan on sitar playing the auspicious raga Yaman Kalyan, and Biswajit Roy Chowdhury on sarod teaming up with vocalist Ashwini Bhide to explore raga Jhinjhoti and Nayaki Kanhada.

Listen to the youthful combination of Ganesh, Kumaresh and Taufiq Qureshi's interpretation of the nine emotions (rasas): adhbutha, karuna, krodha, bhakti, veera, shringara, bhaya, ananda and shanti. It is a wonderful combination of Carnatic, folk, classical and contemporary fusion music.

Also in the series: other performers like Reshma, Ghulam Ali, Hariharan, Ajoy Chakraborty, The Sri Lankan group, Gypsies, Barkat Sidhu and Aruna Sairam. A possession for an eternity.

Lal Salaam signifies the reunion of Gulzar, Lata Mangeshkar and her brother Hridayanath after almost a decade. Lata, who has significantly reduced her film assignments, sings five songs, including duets with Roop Kumar Rathod, who seems to have become a favourite with Lata. The two had earlier sung for the bhajan album, Meera Soor Kabeera. The duet Mitwa in Lal Salaam is a romantic melody but it takes time for the music to grow on the listener. Hunkara jage has outstanding lyrics but is let down by its ordinary rendition. Certain chords are reminiscent of Maya Memsaheb and Lekin. The album winds up with Tum asha vishwas hamare, the bhajan rendered by Lata for Jabbar Patel's film Subah. Its lyrics are penned by Pandit Narendra Sharma.

Hridayanath has tried to blend classical and folk music but unlike Lekin, his magic does not work this time.

Q&A
ROOP KUMAR & SONALI RATHOD
"You have to be seen and heard"

The husband-wife duo of Ghazal singers Roop Kumar (RK) and Sonali Rathod (SR) talks about their new, different album, Sunn Zara (Musicurruy Records).

Q. In this album you have not sung ghazals. Why is that so?
RK. As this album contains music of the present generation, we have experimented with western music and orchestration. In fact, Lata Mangeshkar congratulated us on the project. A compliment from her means much more than receiving a Padmashri or a Padma Bhushan.

Q. Now that you have succeeded, is there any sense of competition amongst yourselves?
RK. We have a healthy co-artist relationship and are always working at improving each other ... the romance of our relationship is still alive.
SR. We have a great understanding and respect for our talent and music. If I am laidback he pulls me up and vice-versa.

Q. How important is the video in popularising music?
SR. Video reaches a larger audience. In today's music world, it is more important to be seen and heard. We have to create a brand for ourselves.

World Cafe 2 Rs 125 Milestone; Experimental music from around the world.	MTV Hit Remix Times Music; Rs 55 Some popular numbers remixed.	Kranti Universal; Rs 55 Refreshing music with good renditions.