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Alaknanda Patel belongs to the Rampur Sahaswan gharana, a school or style of music located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in which knowledge is handed from guru (teacher) to shishya (disciple). Particular gharanas tend to be associated with particular instruments or vocal styles and particular compositions. Thus Patel's performances reflect, as it were, a Rampur-Sahaswan worldview as seen through the eyes of her guru, Hafiz Ahmed Khan.

"Raga Sahana" opens with a beautifully delivered barn khyal- a choice song form closer in spirit to some of khyal's "heavier" vocal relatives - segueing imaginatively at 12:50 into a tarana, an abstract style with a rhythmic soul. As a calling card this 21 -minute performance is a striking introduction to a vocalist hitherto unknown to me. Sarangi and Tabla supply impeccable support on this gorgeous cycle of songs. - Ken Hunt (Performance :*****): Classic Cd November 2000, Verdict: A glorious discovery

Under gennemhoring af denne GD medsangerinden Alaknanda Patel, matte jeg hele tiden spørge mig selv, hvcordan hun havde fået overtalt Sultan Kihan cg Zamir Ahmad Kihan, på henholdsvis sarangi og tabla, til at medvirke ved cptagelsen. For Aiaknanda Patel sang udviste ingen kvaliteter overhovedet. Hendes intonering er svag og fainlende og sangteknikken er gispende. Jeg giver én djembe for akkcmpagnementet. - djembe nr 34 oct-dec 2000

Alaknanda Patel is among the most outstanding exponents of Rampur-Sahaswan gharana to have emerged in recent years. She received much of her initial training from Ustad Rasheed Ahmed Khan. After two years, she embarked upon the next, more rigorous, phase of her musical education under the guidance of his son, Ustad Hafiz Ahmed Khan, who became her principal guru. The singer's remarkable performances are supported on this recording by Ustad Sultan Khan (sarangi) and Ustad Zamir Ahmad Khan (tabla). 'A glorious discovery' - Classic CD.