The Bengali ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya (1921–2001) left a phenomenal legacy of recorded music, scattered over different labels and different territories. Much of his work sank without trace with the arrival of the compact disc. This Bhattacharya release is the debut in a new series called ‘Musical Explorers’, curated by Simon Broughton of Songlines. A standout track is Amiya Gopal Bhattacharya's unnamed composition in raga Todi on surbahar – the sitar's deeper-voiced cousin. The performance has a rare atmosphere with nearby children caught by the microphone. The audio-component exceeded my expectations many times over. This release is rounded off with a fascinating film called Raga from 1969 “introduced by Yehudi Menuhin”. The period particularity of the film footage is striking. Though born in the Bronx, Menuhin sounded more English than most native-born English people. Nevertheless, it was in New York in 1955 that he altered the course of this music's trajectory when he presented Ali Akbar Khan in concert and on national television, and finessed the world's first long-player devoted to a single principal Hindustani musician. His speaking voice had a natural patrician air to it. The first ‘playing experience’ features outdoor footage shot in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. What instantly impressed was the sweet-voiced, beyond-eloquent sitar playing in the style of Ravi Shankar in the sarod-sitar jugalbandi (duet). A few seconds in and the penny dropped. She is Manju Mehta, the older sibling of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (of Meeting By The River Grammy fame in jugalbandi mode with Ry Cooder) and one of the very first musician-families to be accepted as his disciples. Despite its title, the film also presents folk and tribal forms, notably in the Rajasthani sequences. The restoration could be better, but the contents are priceless.