Ravi Bellare

Hindustani tabla

Pandit Taranath Rao referred to Ravi & Shashi as the Ajanta & Ellora caves

Shashi Bellare (left, 1927-2012) and his twin brother Ravi Bellare (right, 1927-2005) were the first to introduce tabla Jugalbandi (duets) and Sawal Jawab (question and answer between the two artists). From a very young age in the early 1940’s they became two of the most sought after players of their time

admired by great masters like Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa & Ustad Shamsuddin Khan

Their duets were always regarded as the finest and the twins admired by great masters like Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa & Ustad Shamsuddin Khan. Their guru Pandit Taranath Rao referred to Ravi & Shashi as the Ajanta & Ellora caves. he said that their knowledge of the art of playing tabla was so deep that the comparison was most fitting for the twins. Every time you hear these recordings it will seem like the first.

The releases

When the recording that we release were done the twins had not played together for several years so their appearance in Bombay at the Punyathiti for their grand Guru Shamsuddin Khan were eagerly anticipated by many, especially tabla players.

Private concerts

A few days after the duet, Ravibhai accompanied the great khyal singer Arolkar in a private concert and on this occasion he played a fabulous tabla solo where he also demonstrated the art of peshkar in a fascinating way. This recording is released in digital-only format.

On January 19th 1968 there was another wonderful private concert at Indorkar’s in Chembur when Dagar Brothers Junior accompanied by Ravi Bellare played a long concert of three heavy evening ragas, Jaijaiwanti, Darbari and Sohini. These ragas will be released on three different occasions during 2023, the first one on July 29th.

Here is the twin brothers’ duet,
here is the tabla solo and
here is the Arolkar concert