Skip to main content
Traditional Indian string and percussion instruments on a colorful rug
© Hania Mariam Luthufi

Inside the Raga

The content on this page was translated automatically.

An Introduction to the Melodic and Rhythmic Frameworks of Raga Music
Saturday, 10/31/2026 17:45 - 19:30 HfMT, Fanny Hensel-Saal

This concert-style lecture focuses on the question “What is a raga?”, inviting us to understand its many different components through live demonstrations and guided listening. Together, we’ll explore the modal language of ragas, delve into the rhythmic cycles, and uncover the different stages and forms of improvisation within a raga performance. An opportunity to listen closely, ask questions, and discover new ways of thinking about improvisation—whether you’re a musician, composer, or simply curious about sound.

Presented and led by Hania Mariam Luthufi, with special guest Herry Singh performing on tabla.

Hania Mariam Luthufi (Colombo, Sri Lanka) is a vocalist, improviser, and composer whose work moves between the deep worlds of raga music and folk song traditions, jazz, and the open terrain of contemporary improvisation. Rooted in over a decade of raga study in India, where she learned the styles of the Patiala Gharana and Jaipur Atrauli Gharana, her voice draws on tradition while constantly bending, breaking, and reimagining it in the context of the moment. She has collaborated with artists including Jordi Savall, Efren Lopez, Ballaké Sissoko, Tcha Limberger, Erkan Oğur, Sebastian Gramss, Kelly Thoma, and Ciro Montanari.

Herry Singh is a percussionist and tabla player with expertise in the musical styles of the Delhi, Lucknow, Farukhabad, and Banaras Gharanas. His performances regularly blend classical patterns (such as Teen Taal) with Carnatic rhythms and folk musical structures from Punjab, Kashmir, and Rajasthan.

No registration required. Free admission until capacity is reached.

Maximum of 30 people in the audience.
The event starts at 6:00 p.m. Please arrive by 5:45 p.m. The event will be filmed, and to avoid disrupting the filming, latecomers will not be admitted.

NOTE: This event will be filmed (video and audio), and the footage will later be published under a CC BY-SA license. By attending this event, you agree to be filmed and that the finished footage containing your likeness will be published online under the CC BY-SA license, without personally asking for or identifying you.