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!! 

Vibhaas : The enlightenment, an appeal to Mind and Soul !

                  

तारवा गिनत- गिनत मै को रैन गवाई
ऐसी प्रीत तुम कब हूँ  ना किन्ही
सुरजनवा बलमा प्यारे ...
सदारंग कल ना परत मोहे तोरे बिना
भई हूँ मैं दीवानी

Vid Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande sings extended , but crisp vilambit "hey narhar narayan" followed by "Taarvaa ginat-ginat mai ko raien gavaai".

My morning starts frequently with this "नरहर नारायण" and "तारवा गिनत-गिनत" Vibhaas of Bhairav thaat by Vid Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande and then by Pt Madhup Mudgal , especially during these lock-downs due to Corona virus pandemic. Many a times these days, when the situation of "kal naa parat" is readily experienced,  the drut bandish lingers in mind all day long !
Vibhaas of Bhairav thaat has been the "Raag of Lockdown" for me ... It has that mix of solitude, one-ness, depth, sorrow, longing and hope that characterizes my experience during these challenging times.

अरुपास पाहे रूपी
तोच भाग्यवंत
निसर्गात भरून राहे
अनादी अनंत

To me , Raag Vibhaas has always appealed as a deep morning thought , an enlightenment that makes one explore and persist in spite of all the tribulations.. it has that perfect blend of grandiose, poise and thoughtfulness of primordial Bhairav along with the pensive touch of Marwa. The Yang and Yin of life !
The picture that comes to mind while listening  to Raag Vibhaas (Bhairav thaat) is that of the horizon on a seashore just before the sunrise..early morning golden hour just before the dawn !

This post could be labeled as continuation of the post from May 2018, Vibhaas .. a melody signifying pervasiveness of the Almighty Creator  


















I like to listen to Bhairav thaat Vibhaas early in the morning, around 4am and sometimes the Marwa Thaat Vibhaas very late at night in solitude
( Pt Madhup Moudgal - Bhairav Thaat Vibhaas : Taarwa Ginat Ginat mai to raein  )

 ( Kishori Amonkar - Marwa Thaat Vibhaas : Hey Narahari Narayan and Meet Piharava Mora re )

Here is my complete playlist of Raag Vibhaas ( with both Marwa and Bhairav thaat ) 
Vibhaas Playlist 

In my musings on music, I realize that the haunting melodies of Vibhaas are the worldly equivalent of the "Universal Bhairav".. appeals emotionally to human mind and soul more than the Brain !

Vibhaas : Here again is the link to my previous blogpost on Vibhaas with some fine songs with haunting melodies.

Vibhaas .. a melody signifying pervasiveness of the Almighty Creator

The intensity of raag Vibhaas (Bibhaas) is overpowering. It has the power and a feel of enlightenment. Connoisseurs of classical music and even a general audience of light music has experienced this mood through the bandishes or songs. ( विभास , Vibhas , Vibhaas : literally refers to light or decoration )
 The trademark song based on  raag Vibhaas is from film Utsav, Saanjh Dhale Gagan tale (सांझ ढले गगन तले , हम कितने एकाकी  ).

This type of Vibhaas is an example of "Marwa thaat Vibhaas" that brings out intense emotions. Here is a rendering of Marva thaat Vibhaas by the GaanSaraswati.
                      


One more appealing variant of Vibhaas is called "Bhairav Thaat Vibhaas" that depicts more of enlightenment ,pondering and an intense feel of belonging to nature and universe in general.
The grandiose of Bhairav is such that it is sometimes labelled as the primordial sound of Universe ..The first big bang .. the first set of melody .. the begining .. ( Here is my related post Bhairav- The Aadi Anant Raag )

In my musings on music , I realize that the melodies of Vibhaas are the worldly equivalent of the "Universal Bhairav".. appeals emotionally to human mind and soul more than the Brain !

The one song that is dear to me , based on the melody of  "Bhairav Thaat Vibhaas", is by the poet Sudhir Moghe in Marathi ; sung by Chandrashekhar Gadgil and composed by Bal Karve.
The poet describes the nature in its full bloom and seasons, as it appeals to an exploring mind. In a state of enlightenment , the poet confirms that all the seasons with their dramatic changes in nature, signify the presence and pervasiveness of "Almighty- Anadi Anant" ..  the Creator !

 


अरुपास पाहे रूपी
तोच भाग्यवंत
निसर्गात भरून राहे
अनादी अनंत

कधी पावसाच्या धारा
भणाणता केव्हा वारा
पहाटे होऊन तारा
हसे रुपवंत

ग्रीष्म रक्त तापविणारा
शिशिर आग गोठविणारा
मनोगते मेळविणारा
फुलारी वसंत

कुशीमध्ये त्याच्या जावे
मिठीमधे त्याला घ्यावे
शाश्वतात विरून जावे
सर्व नाशवंत

In a side thought : The song "Tya fulanchya gandhkoshi" by poet Suryakant Khandekar too emits similar thought where poet has just started pondering on the the thought but is not yet enlightenend ...composed and sung by Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar

त्या फुलांच्या गंधकोषी, सांग तू आहेस का?
त्या प्रकाशी तारकांच्या, ओतिसी तू तेज का?
त्या नभांच्या नीलरंगी होऊनिया गीत का?
गात वायूच्या स्वरांने, सांग तू आहेस का?

मानवाच्या अंतरीचा प्राण तू आहेस का?
वादळाच्या सागराचे घोर ते तू रुप का?
जीवनी या वर्षणारा तू कृपेचा मेघ का?
आसमंती नाचणारी, तू विजेची रेघ का?

जीवनी संजीवनी तू, माऊलीचे दूध का?
कष्टणार्या बांधवांच्या रंगसी नेत्रात का?
मूर्त तू मानव्य का रे, बालकांचे हास्य का?
या इथे अन त्या तिथे रे, सांग तू आहेस का?

To me , Vibhaas has always appealed as a deep morning thought , an enlightenment that makes one explore and persist inspite of all the tribulations .. it has that perfect blend of grandiose , poise and thoughtfulness of primordial Bhairav along with the pensive touch of Marwa. The Yang and Yin of life !