Navratri is a nine-days (and nights) festival held in honor and celebration of the divine feminine power- Shakti. Navratri is dedicated to the worship of goddess Durga and her nine forms, each symbolizing different qualities such as strength, wisdom, courage, devotion, and protection. During these nine days, people pray, fast, and participate in traditional music and dance. Navratri festival is celebrated all over India but is specially a huge celebration in the states of Gujarat and West Bengal.
Navratri, or the Divine Nine Nights, is a time of deep rest and rejuvenation. Each day is dedicated to one of the nine forms of the Mother Divine. The final day, the 10th day, is called Vijayadashami, the day popularly celebrated as the day of the victory of good over evil.
Classical musicians have paid their obeisance to the power of feminine power of Durga and Kalika through some o the compositions that have become inseparable from this festival season.
We start with Pt Jasraj, rendering "Mata Kalika" set to Raag Adana
The duo of Pt Rajan-Sajan Mishra sing their trademark bhajan "Jai Jai Jai Durge" set in Raag Durga
Pt Venkatesh Kumar produces his magic by his rugged simplicity in Raag Durga with "Mata Bhavani Kali"
We conclude this blog with a beautiful raagmala by Sawani Shende set in Raag Durga with names of the Goddess and also the names of raga that they are sung in.
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.
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."
