Raags and compositions of Festive season

 

The trend of "Diwali pahaat" concerts in the early morning of Diwali days has now acquired widespread acceptance, turning it into a tradition over last decade, especially in Pune. Celebration of festivals like Diwali in a community with a concert of classical music is a daunting task. 

If I were to name a raag that fits the bill for a early morning concert on a Diwali day, it would be Raag Deepavali; a raag that was invented by Pt Pannalal Ghosh. This raag has the shades of Yaman and Lalat, or it could be called a variant of Vachaspati with both the Madhyams (Lalatang).

Ashwini Bhide radiates joy and festivity in her rendition of Raag Deepawali :

Nityanand Haldipur presents crisp version of Raag Deepawali on Flute as envisioned by the inventor Pt Pannalal Ghosh.

Kafi and Khamaj are the two raags that fit the bill of "light classical music", the other raag that permits liberties of light classical music is Bhairavi. Though there are not many "pure worldly romantic" compositions in classical music as most of the romance in classical music has a undertone of "bhakti" or some similar philosophy. Tappa and Thumri are the kind of forms that could be labelled as "Semi-Classical", have many compositions that could be classified in the domain of celebration of "Worldly pleasures". 

Kajri, Hori etc. are forms that were part of community celebrations of festivals like Holi and the season of Basant or Spring. Oblique overtone of spirituality and devotion (bhakti) is still observed in many of these compositions in raags like Kafi, Khamaj and Bhairavi or in forms like Thumri and Tappa, classified in olden days as "Kshudra" or untouchabe music by the puritans of Classical and Dhrupad exponents.

Here is a previous version of the article (2015 Diwali) 

What are some of the special raags / compositions that are intended to be performed during festive seasons especially Diwali?

1) Deepavali by Pt Pannalal Ghosh that has flavors of Yaman and Lalit, also has shades of Puriya Kalyan

2) Parmeshwari by Pt Ravishankar that encompasses Raag  Bageshree and Ahir Bhairav

Sawani Shende explains Raag Parmeshwari : 

  Pt Ravishankar presents his own creation: 

Mateshwari Parameshwari .. the evergreen madhyalay bandish presented by a young lad Tejas Koparkar ( Son and disciple of Pt Vijay Koparkar ) 

     Mohan Darekar, disciple of Pt Jitendra Abhisheki and Pts Rajan Sajan Mishra presents soulful bandishes in Raag Parmeshwari ... "Mateshwari Parmeshwari" followed by drut "Devi dayaani Bhagavati"  ( Both my favorites )

3) DhanBasanti by Pt Kumar Gandharva that seems to be a combination of Basant and Sohoni or Bhoop

Deep ki Jyot jale  ... Shubhghadi ! 

4) Dhanakoni Kalyan by Pt CR Vyas ( Yaman without Dhaivat , similar to Carnatic melkarta raag Vachaspati )

Pt Ganapati Bhat presents Dhankoni Kalyan ( This was the concert where I heard this raag for first time ) 

Other raags that radiate happiness bliss and festivities in some of their bandishes are:

Shivmat Bhairav (a mix of Bhairav, Bhairavi and Todi) ... a favorite of Pt Jitendra Abhisheki 

Basant Mukhari (The classic union of Bhairav and Bhairavi)

Kaushiki .. the darling of Pune sings during Diwali Pahat concert 2019 

Gopika Basant (A mix of Asavari and Malkauns)

Nat Bhairav: The morning melody ... classic by Pt Jayteerth Mewundi 

NandKauns (a mix of Raag Jog and Malkauns)

Contemplative Sarod of Pt Tejendra Narayan Majumdar 

Raj Kalyan : It is said that Subh Kalyaan was a signature raag of Pt Vasantrav Deshpande who created it as a “happy” variant of Marwa !

Shubh Kalyan : A variant of night melody Shuddha Kalyan, with a Komal nishad instead of Shuddha Nishad ! A favorite of Pt Ajay Pohankar 

The other raags that radiate happiness, joy and festivity by themselves are: 

Hindol : Joshi Sisters sing Hindol at a morning concert 

Hindol Bahar ( a trade mark of Pt Ulhas Kashalkar)  

Kalavati (Hindustani) and Janasammohini (carnatic)

Sohoni :  The raag of romance

Kaushiki mesmerizes with her Patiala Gharana upbringing .. a Punjabi bandish !

Raag Kaafi and thaat Kaafi in general seems to be a primary scale or thaat, that has the moods of festivities.

I always like to add Raag Jog in the list of "festive raags", primarily because of the composition "Saajan more ghar aaye" composed by Ut Faiyyaz Khan on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter.

Here is my playlist for Festive Deepawali, on YouTube  

Shubh Deepawali to all! 

Kamod : Shyam Kalyan ; Durga : Malhar ( Part 2 )

 

During this Navaratri utsav I have had a chance to enjoy a lot of music (of all types). I became curious about the names of various Goddesses and their names being used for various raags. I heard a beautiful raagmaalaa in Raag Durga, that inspired me to pen something about the Pentatonic tune. The research led me to Malhars, Kamod, Kedar, Shyam Kalyan and allied raags. Thus came the two-part series related to Raag Durga ! 

Durga and Malhar 

Durga and Shuddha Malhar share the same set of swars but differ in their gait. Pentatonic Durga is a pleasant raag with Sa Re Ma Pa Dha Sa having all shuddha swars. It has a straigt gait in aaroha and avaroha bringing out some resemblance to Bhoop. In fact, it can be turned into Bhoop by changing the base note (Sa) to Madhyam (Ma)

The chalan and pakad of Malhar gives it the characteristic "Ang" called Malhar ang. Malhar or Mal (मल) har (हर ) .. one that cleanses and removes the dirt/malaise! The raag associated with the season of Rains. There are books written on types of Malhars. Balwantrai Bhatt is the "musical Sage" who is credited as the most knowledgeable person in modern times about "Malhar". There are stories about Tansen, being able to cause rains by singing "Miyan Malhar". 

Almost all raags have been mixed with "Malhar" to form a Jod-raag (amalgamated raag). The characteristic DNA of any Malhar has the following phrases of notes: 

  M (M)R (M)R P

The intonation of Rishab (R) graced by the Madhyam is characteristic for "Malhar ang" and is the DNA of Malhar!  

The nominal M R P construct is common to raag Durga. The key phrases of raag Durga are: 

 (P)D (P)M R P and S R (S)D’ S 

The following rendition by Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande is one that has the crux of Raag Durga .. the romance that is brought by Rains (Malhar) ..  Ata hi ghanghor !

Pt Rajan Sajan Mishra of Banaras bring out the Bhakti ras of Raag Durga : Jai Jai Jai maataa Durge Bhavani 

I believe that Pt Bhimsen Joshi's rendition of Raag Durga and Malhar, stems from his tutelage of the raag by Pt Balwantrai Bhatt (who taught him Gaud-Malhar ) .. he sings the classic bandishes "Tu Ras kant re" and "Chatur Sugar Balamava"  .. the other bandish popular with Kirana gharana is "Sakhi mori rum jhum" 

The Malhar of Pt Bhimsen Joshi :  "Umada Ghumada Ghana Chaawey,
Naina Najara Lagaaye"

The first record of Pt Bhimsen Joshi after learning Malhars from Pt Balwantrai Bhatt !  "Badarava barasana laagi" ! 

Here is a Raagmala in Raag Durga, that inspired these blogposts, called Devi Raagmala beautifully composed by Saurabh Savoor and sung by Savani Shende, having the flavors of 24 raags spread around Raag Durga. A perfect audio treat on the festive occasion of Navaratri. 

1 Durga दुर्गा  2 Jaijaivanti जयजयवंती 3 Des देस 4 Sarang सारंग 5 Tilak Kamod  तिलक कामोद 6 Sohoni सोहनी 7 Lalat ललित 8 Saraswati सरस्वती 9 Bageshree  बागेश्री 10 Rageshree रागेश्री 11 Kalavati कलावती 12 Hansadwani हंसध्वनी 13 Kalyan (यमन) कल्याण 14 Bhoop भूप 15 Puriya पूरीया 16 Shree श्री  17 Shivaranjani शिवरंजनी 18 Ambika अंबिका 19 Shankara शंकरा 20 Nand आनंदी (नंद) 21 Dev Gandhaar (देव गांधार) 22 Bhairav भैरव 23 Darbari दरबारी 24 Bhairavi भैरवी.

Here is my continuously updated playlist of Raag Durga.

Concluding this blog with a quote from Rajan Parrikar:

"The Indian sages of yore clearly understood that the pursuit of music paves the way to paramAnanda (Supreme Bliss). The profundity of music reveals itself through manan-chintan (reflection) and anubhava (wisdom born out of experience). Appreciation of the finer points of raga does not come by easy; it is purchased through considerable training and musical maturity."

Kamod : Shyam Kalyan ; Durga : Malhar ( Part 1 )

 

This idea of the blogpost on two sets of raags is divided in two parts. The common feature of these two parts is that the two raags in the group claim same set of swar (notes) but differ in their gait and invocation of notes, giving them a different personality. 

 In the first part I begin with the group of notes that form Kamod, Shyam Kalyan canvas.

Kamod : Shyam Kalyan 

These two raags have the same set of notes but the way they are presented makes a huge difference. Something similar to Todi and Multani, Bhoop and Deskar, Puriya-Marwa and Sohoni. In my opinion these groups of raags highlight the most distinguishing part of Hindustani Classical Music; Same notes sound different when approached and presented differently, produce different emotions and have distinct "Bhaav" and "Ras" 

As Parrikar has rightly put about the "intellectual artistic" nature of Hindustani Classical Music 

"It is hard to convey Kamod’s spirit through the written medium.  The gestalt is best imbibed through study and by listening to classic renditions of the past masters.  Such ragas have very little basis in scales.  Among the deleterious habits to have come to nest in the realm of Hindustani pedagogy is the urge to pigeonhole ragas into an aroha-avaroha set, then tack on the vadi-samvadi pair, a pakkad phrase, and then presume that one has successfully described the raga.  The aroha-avaroha set is an ex post facto construct that ought not to be the starting point of inquiry."

Kamod and Shyam Kalyan clearly seem to be having strands of Hameer, Kedar, Shuddha-Malhar (Durga) and Kalyan woven together. While having both the "Madhyams", Pancham is the most important note (swar) of raag Kamod and all the slides and glides rotate around it. That distinguishes it from the Shyam Kalyan where teevra Madhyam overshadows the Pancham. 

Kamod is a favorite of Patiala gharana. Here are some renditions of the great Ut Bade Gulam Ali Khan, Pt D V Paluskar.

Chand de moraa : Ut Bade Gulam Ali Khan of Kasur Patiala Gharana 

Pt D V Paluskar of Gwalior gharana presents Kamod (1960 AIR)

Shyam Kalyan has both the "Madhyams", teevra Madhyam occupies the center around which raag Shyam Kalyan rotates (Hence Kalyan), making the Pancham play a second fiddle. This is the most distinguishing factor of Shyam Kalyan.  In addition, the character of Shyam Kalyan lies in the slide from teevra Madhyam to Rishabh. (M-->R)  

Here are two renditions of Shyam Kalyan by two stars and torch bearers. Savani Shende of Gwalior gharana and "Princess of Patiala Gharana" .. Kaushiki Chakravarty.

Savani Shende of Gwalior presents Shyam Kalyan in Gwalior style with Tarana

The Princess of Patiala gharana Kaushiki Chakravarty presents Shyam Kalyan in Patiala style with Sargams 

The duo of Banaras, Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra provides a classic rendition of both Shyam Kalyan and Kamod! That would summarize the differences between the two raags.

Pt Rajan Sajan Mishra : Kamod - Ritu Basant sakhee moh man bhaavat ! 

Shyam Kalyan by the Banaras Duo: Un sang laagi lagan mori !

Here is my (continuously updated) playlist of Kamod and Shyam Kalyan

A pot of Golden light .. Deskar- Bhoop : Jyotikalash (ज्योतीकलश)

 

The inspiration behind writing this blogpost or may I say extending the previous blogpost about Bhoop, is Raag Deskar that got totally forgotten in previous blogpost. I also realize that the combination of Bhoop and Deskar / Deshkar require an independent post. 

Raag Deskar is a pentatonic raag with same notes as Bhoop but with different chalan. The vaadi and samvaadi swar, the dominant and semi-dominant note respectively, of these two raags are also interchanged and so is the tempos at which they sound better. Gandhaar(Ga) is dominant in Bhoop while Dhaivat (Dha) is dominant in Deskar. I often compare this duo of raags with the duo of Puriya and Sohoni, that share same notes but interchange Vaadi and Samvaadi swar.

One more raag that shares the same set of notes but has different chalan (gait) is called Jait or Jait Kalyan. This raag sounds very similar to Shuddha Kalyan (roughly a combination of Bhoop in ascending and Kalyan in descending). Shuddha Kalyan is a giant of a raag and is favorite of many stalwarts, has been popular with many centuries. Being a combination of two BIG raags (Bhoop and Yaman Kalyan) it has huge expanse. 

GaanSaraswati Kishori Amonkar dwelt upon Shuddha-Kalyan for almost last 10 years of life. The beauty of this raag is that it has Bhoop that sounds like Yaman (Kalyan), hence gives good food for thought among intellectuals and veteran classical performers alike. 

Coming back to the Deskar-Bhoop duo, to me these two raags provide a huge canvas for classical as well as light classical and popular music compositions. Marathi bhaavgeet, Marathi Natya geet and even Hindi popular songs have used these two together in many compositions. Sudhir Phadke's well-known Hindi compositions based on Bhoop-Deskar is "Jyoti Kalash chalake" and the starting song of Marathi Geet Ramayan "Swaye Shri Ram prabhu aikati, Kush-Lav Ramayan Gaati" 

There are many popular songs in Deshkar-Bhoop combination including the "Maze jeevan gaane" of Pu La Deshpande, sung by Pt Jitendra Abhisheki. 

In my opinion the perfect time of Bhoop is twilight just after the Sun set and the perfect time for Deskar is just before the Dawn, before the sun rise. (The time after sunrise at Dawn is taken by my favorite Vibhas!) 

 

Bhoop, Bhup ... The King !

Bhoop or Bhup is a raag that literally means "King" and hence can be sung anytime. The preferred time for Bhup raag as described in texts is of early evening (before Yaman). The raag however is also sung early in the morning. The term Bhoopali is synonymous with early morning song that may or may not be based on raag Bhup. Some call raag Bhup by the name Bhoopali, especially the exponents of Patiala gharana. 

Bhup is a pentatonic melody. Five notes in ascendence and descendance. Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa`, all pure notes. It is sometimes called as a basic raag taught in early days of student (along with Yaman and Bhairav). The beauty of Bhup is in its expansiveness, its versatility and hence in its grandeur! Like a King!

The opening tune of "Prabhat Film Company" are the notes of Bhoop.

Being a pentatonic scale, this raag has been a tool of "Dhrupadias". One reason for this raag being taught in early days of student is because by altering one note in Bhoop's scale, one can derive a new raag! In fact, using the 4th note (Ma) as base note (Sa) one can turn Bhoop into one more "big raag" ... Raag Pahadi (a specialty of Patiala gharana) 

There are many raags that can be developed using the scale of Bhoop by flattening either Re, Ga or Dha 

For example: 

My favorite raag Vibhaas is derived in Bhoop scale by flattening the Re (Rishabh) 

Flattening the Gandhar (Ga) gives rise to Shivranjani 

Flattening the Dhaivat (Dha) gives rise to Bhupeshwari (also called raag Pratiksha or Krushnaranjani ) 

All these raags have their own "bhaav" and "ras", their own personality or mood. Here are some examples of famous songs and bandishes of these raags:

Bhoop:  The famous "Prabhat tune", the "Amar Bhoopali" in Marathi, the popular bandish of Gaansaraswati Kishori Amonkar "Sahela Re" 

Vibhaas: "Saanjh Dhale Gagan Tale" from Utsav and the popular bandish "Taarava Ginat Ginat mai ko raiin gavaye" ... Here is the link to my blogpost on "Vibhaas"

Shivaranjani: The famous Raj Kapoor song "Jane Kahan Gaye wo din" 

Bhupeshwari / Pratiksha:  The famous marathi song of Pt Hrudaynath Mangeshkar, written by Suresh Bhat, sung by Lata "Maalvun Taak deep" 

Another classic that is a tune of Bhoopeshwari is, the qawwali by Aziz Naazaan with music by Quaisar Ratnagirvi. This is one of my favorites. Link to my playlist from YouTube, where many artists have tried their variations of this qawwali, maintaining the Bhupeshwari framework. 

With Bhoop in the pocket, a singer is all set to perform not just many other raags easily but also bunch of popular songs in Marathi and Hindi. The "Chinese Music", whatever I have heard so far, seems like almost 80% based on Raag Bhoop!!