On Raga Ahiri Todi
Rajan P. Parrikar
Namashkar.
Today's entree - Raga Ahiri Todi (ahIrI toDI). A short note and a
composition follow. The provenance of this melodic organism is the Carnatic
melakartA #10, Natakapriya (nATakapriyA) which features the following sequence:
S r g M(shuddha) P D n. A little consideration shows that this scale can be
generated by an appropriate murchhAnA/grAha bhedam on Charukeshi (take the
"new" Sa to be the pancham of chArukeshi). We invite comments and
recommendations on rAga nATakapriyA from the Carnatic fellas.
On the Hindustani stage, the rAga is assigned a toDi-ang via an appropriate
Andolan about r g. The name provides a clue to its Ahir Bhairav antecedents
and it is seen that the uttarAnga portion of the scale subscribes to that
rAga. Although the rishab used is komal, it is manifested in two flavours.
One is via the toDi-like rishab-gandhAr pair and the other is the 'Ahir Bhairav
rishab' found in, for instance, D' n' r, S. This detail makes for an engaging
melodic intercourse.
The madhyam is very strong and may be considered its vAdi swara. The r g m
passage is reminiscent of Bilaskhani Todi (and by extension, Bhairavi) and
creates the associated tirobhAva. The treatment of the pancham is interesting.
In the first mode, one may use it to test the waters from the safety of the
nyAsa madhyam (M, M P M etc) before attempting a skirmish in the uttarAnga.
In the second mode it simply serves as a stepping stone from which to flit
across the poorvAnga/uttarAnga region demarcator.
Equipped with the foregoing snippets, a chalan may now be formulated:
S, D' n' r, S, r g, r g M, (g)r g r S..., M, M P M, M P D n D P M, D n r", S",
P D n D P M, g M P M, r g r S
From this parent scale, Ravi Shankar has abstracted a beautiful melody and
created, Raga Parmeshwari. By rendering the pancham varjya (i.e.eliminating it)
he has developed a plaintive, yet exceedingly sweet, rAga. Without the pancham,
there is occasion for a tirobhAva of Bageshree in addition to the Ahir Bhairav
and todi-like facets. A careful hearing of Parmeshwari should lead to a fuller
appreciation of its parent melody and the manner in which pancham enters the
frame. Would the rAga be enhanced if laced by an occasional pancham (a la
Bageshree)? That's something think about it. Parmeshwari has grown beyond its
puerperal instrumental affiliation and has made its way up into vocal territory.
Ratanjankar has a few compositions out. Abhisheki too is said to teach the
rAga and perhaps present it in performance. I know one of his students has
a recording released.
Offhand I do not recall any light/filmi compositions that are Ahiri Todi/
Parmeshwari-ish. We again extend an invitation to Vish Krishnan (or Sir Vish,
as he is referred to in some circles) to shed some more of his pocket change.
Perhaps he has, in the course of his C-fishing, occasionally drifted into
Ahiri Todi waters. Let's wait and see.
Another little detail: Subbarao lists an Ahiri Todi that is quite different
from the one described here. I do not subscribe to his nomenclature in
this instance.
The composition proffered is due to Ramashreya "Ramrang" Jha of Allahabad,
amongst the finest living Hindustani vAggyekArs. He is a selfless teacher
and a highly learned man, with a natural flair for swara and sAhitya. Among his
well-known disciples is the promising young vocalist Shubha Mudgal. It belongs
to my privileged moments to have had him explain and demonstrate the following
bandish (over the telephone!).
Warm regards,
r
ps: Shri Senders, the short note on virAT bhairav will hit the screen
in a day or two.
*****
Raga: Ahiri Todi
Tala: Teental (druta)
Composer: Ramashreya "Ramrang" Jha
mahimA tere nAma ki barani na jAye
baranata hAre Shiva SanakAdi, Adi muni Narada Sharda
mahimA nAma ki Rama te bhAri, veda purAna pukAri,
sumirata nAma "rAmrang" TAre geedh ajAmil ki ApadA
Glossary:
mahimA = glory
barani/baranata = varNan, description/exposition
SanakAdi = Sanaka plus the other 3 sons of Brahma
geedh = greedy (comes from the same root word for "vulture" - geedhaDa)
ajAmil = base
ApadA = distress
Key:
(1) All shuddha notes in caps (M=shuddha madhyam, m=tivra madhyam)
(2) The " and ' following a note denotes its tAr-saptak and mandra-
saptak affiliation, respectively.
(3) The grace note is enclosed in parenthesis of the type () and it
operates on the note immediately following it.
Asthaie:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
n (D)P D PM P
ma....hi....mA te....re
<---smooth---> <curve>
M g - r S r g M P D MP (D)n (n)D PM P P
nA.............ma ki ba...ra...ni na jA....ye ba....ra....na..........ta
<----slide----> <curve>
M - M P D n S" r" S"r" g" r" nS" r" S" (D)n D
hA........re shi..va sa........na...kA.........di A...........di mu....ni
<-smooth-> <--smooth-->
MG M P D S"n DS" nD PM gr gr S
nA........ra...da shA............ra...dA..........
<--------gamaka tAna---------->
Antara:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
(n)D (D)P D - n
ma....hi....mA...........
S" - S" S" S" - r" g" r" - S" S" - S"r" g" r"
nA........ma ki rA........ma te bhA........ri ve..........da..... pu
<-----------smooth------------>
S" n D P PD n D P M - - M g r S r
rA........na pu...kA..................ri.......... su....mi....ra..........ta
<------smooth------> <------slide------>
g rg M (M)g (M)g M P D PD n D S" n D P M
nA........ma rA........ma...ran..ga TA.........re gee.........dha.... a
<-smooth->
P D n S" S"n DS" nD PM gr gr S
jA........mi...la ki..... A.........pa...dA.....
<----smooth----> <---------gamaka tAna---------->
*****
Daniel Fuchs
(snip, snip)
What about Ahiri, how does that differ?
Daniel
jawa...@hotmail.com
In article <3590D9...@stud2.stud.uni-goettingen.de>,
DFu...@stud2.stud.uni-goettingen.de wrote:
>
> (snip, snip)
>
> What about Ahiri, how does that differ?
>
Is there a raga called just ahiri? I was under the
impression that it is just some "class" of ragas with
Ahiri Todi, Ahir Bhairav, Ahir Lalit and so on...
Abhinav Jawadekar
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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jawa...@hotmail.com
Thank you Dr. r for bringing this BEAUTIFUL raga on RMIC.
I want to mention a couple of good light music pieces in
this raga.
1. There is a gazal by Mehdi Hassan which goes "woh jarasi
bat thi, barason ke yarane gaye"
2. The song "chirake dekhe dil mera to terahi nam likha
rakkha hai" by Asha Bhosle/Suresh Wadkar (I am talking
wrt the tar sa at "chi" in the mukhada of this song).
Could Dr. r please correct me/exactly specify if (why?) this is
not true with example chalans:
Prameshwari is "bageshwari ang chandrakauns" with the shuddha
rishabha getting mapped onto komal rishabha?
(BTW there is an excellent recording by Parveen Sultana of
Paramashwari)
Since we are into these "ishwaris", RS has also created a raga
called "jogeshwari" (I suppose after the suburb of Mumbai!) which
is basically rageshwari with the shuddha rishabha getting mapped
onto komal gandhar... hardly getting any jog effect but a nice
melody indeed.
BTW, I think it is a good idea to start a discussion on
the various "ishwari"s and ragas nearby this class.
kv...@my-dejanews.com
In article <6mqcqn$b...@lace.colorado.edu>,
parr...@ferrari.Colorado.EDU (Rajan P. Parrikar) wrote:
>
> Namashkar.
>
> Today's entree - Raga Ahiri Todi (ahIrI toDI). A short note and a
> composition follow. The provenance of this melodic organism is the Carnatic
> melakartA #10, Natakapriya (nATakapriyA) which features the following
sequence:
> S r g M(shuddha) P D n. A little consideration shows that this scale can be
> generated by an appropriate murchhAnA/grAha bhedam on Charukeshi (take the
> "new" Sa to be the pancham of chArukeshi). We invite comments and
> recommendations on rAga nATakapriyA from the Carnatic fellas.
Even though Natakapriya is one of the rare mElakarta rAgas to be performed,
there are some good recordings. I guess tyAgarAja was the first to compose
in nATakapriya. U Srinivas has rendered this kriti "dAs'arathE dayAs'aradhE"
in a casette/CD in the Young Masters series from Music Today.This is imho,
the best nAtakapriya on record.
I'm not sure if M.Dikshita has composed in Natakapriya, or its asampoorna
counterpart, natAbharaNa.
There is a composition of Mysore Vasudevacharya which I have heard in
concerts/radio, but have forgot the words. Dr BMK has sung a composition of
his own ( paripAlayamAm) in the rAganga ravaLi series released by Sangeetha.
> The madhyam is very strong and may be considered its vAdi swara. The r g m
> passage is reminiscent of Bilaskhani Todi (and by extension, Bhairavi) and
> creates the associated tirobhAva. The treatment of the pancham is interesting.
> In the first mode, one may use it to test the waters from the safety of the
> nyAsa madhyam (M, M P M etc) before attempting a skirmish in the uttarAnga.
> In the second mode it simply serves as a stepping stone from which to flit
> across the poorvAnga/uttarAnga region demarcator.
Natakapriya has the Todi characteristic ( karnataka variety) AndOlita
gamaka about the gandhAra. So it makes the pooAnga like in tODi, and the
uttarAnga as in ChakravAka (16th mEla). Because of this reason ( Rajan says
Ahiri Todi resmbles Bilaskhani tOdi and bhairavi in the poorvAnga), I guess
nAtakapriya and Ahiri tOdi may not sound very much alike.
.........( some useful stuff deleted) .....
>
>
> Another little detail: Subbarao lists an Ahiri Todi that is quite different
> from the one described here. I do not subscribe to his nomenclature in
> this instance.
>
...... ( some more stuff deleted ) ....
Does Subbarao also mention a Ahiri Todi of the Karnataka variety ?
AFAIK, there is Ahiri & Todi, but no Ahiri Todi.
By the way, Ahiri is one of the 18 mElas that Venkatamakhi names to
be current at his time, and it corresponds to today's 21st mEla,
Keeravani.
Ramaprasad K V
Rajan P. Parrikar
In article <6mr220$do2$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com> jawa...@hotmail.com writes:
>Thank you Dr. r for bringing this BEAUTIFUL raga on RMIC.
Thank you. I aim to please some (and offend many).
>I want to mention a couple of good light music pieces in
>this raga.
>
>1. There is a gazal by Mehdi Hassan which goes "woh jarasi
> bat thi, barason ke yarane gaye"
>
>2. The song "chirake dekhe dil mera to terahi nam likha
> rakkha hai" by Asha Bhosle/Suresh Wadkar (I am talking
> wrt the tar sa at "chi" in the mukhada of this song).
>
>Could Dr. r please correct me/exactly specify if (why?) this is
>not true with example chalans:
Interesting. I don't recall either. Perhaps Vish will have some
comments. Mehdi Hassan always has something surprising under his
sleeve (like his composition in the 'whole tone scale' which is shared
by Raga Gopriya in Carnatic music. Also called Debussey's scale in the
west. I believe Shri Scriabin has used it extensively in one of his
works. Which one?).
>Prameshwari is "bageshwari ang chandrakauns" with the shuddha
>rishabha getting mapped onto komal rishabha?
In terms of scale, yes. However, its treatment is different,
some of its features are alluded to in my previous posting.
>(BTW there is an excellent recording by Parveen Sultana of
> Paramashwari)
>
>Since we are into these "ishwaris", RS has also created a raga
>called "jogeshwari" (I suppose after the suburb of Mumbai!) which
>is basically rageshwari with the shuddha rishabha getting mapped
>onto komal gandhar... hardly getting any jog effect but a nice
>melody indeed.
It has been a long time since I last heard Jogeshwari (RS). There
is a Jogeshwari created by Ratanjankar too - and I would call it
Jogeshwari (SNR) - most likely, before Ravi Shankar. Their melodic ideas
are, however, quite different. Since there is no central naming body for
rAgas this duplication of name is not too surprising.
Warm regards,
r
Geeta Iyer
> Even though Natakapriya is one of the rare mElakarta rAgas to be performed,
> there are some good recordings. I guess tyAgarAja was the first to compose
>in nATakapriya. U Srinivas has rendered this kriti "dAs'arathE dayAs'aradhE"
>in a casette/CD in the Young Masters series from Music Today.This is imho,
>the best nAtakapriya on record.
>
> I'm not sure if M.Dikshita has composed in Natakapriya, or its asampoorna
> counterpart, natAbharaNa.
>
> There is a composition of Mysore Vasudevacharya which I have heard in
>concerts/radio, but have forgot the words. Dr BMK has sung a composition of
>his own ( paripAlayamAm) in the rAganga ravaLi series released by Sangeetha.
A few months ago, I heard someone sing a composition in natakapriya at
an informal get-together I attended. I am unable to recollect the
song, but the 1st line went somewhat like this "...natana
natakapriye". That was the first time I heard the raga and I
instantly fell in love with it (probably because of the heavy
(carnatic) Todi flavor, another favorite of mine). Does anyone know
what the composition is? Thanks.
geeta
chami
Could it be "geetha vadhya natana natakapriye" Tanjore sankara Iyer . i
guz???
Geeta Iyer wrote in message <35918517...@news.mindspring.com>...
WARVIJ
>Is there a raga called just ahiri? I was under the
>impression that it is just some "class" of ragas with
>Ahiri Todi, Ahir Bhairav, Ahir Lalit and so on...
It's rare and subject to considerable disagreement.
I have a single recording of Ghulam Mustafa Khan
singing it, but I have not taken the time necessary
to abstract the chalan from his performance.
Warren
Ashok
In article <6mravj$2...@lace.colorado.edu>, parr...@ferrari.Colorado.EDU says...
>
>In article <6mr220$do2$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com> jawa...@hotmail.com writes:
>
>>I want to mention a couple of good light music pieces in
>>this raga.
>>
>>1. There is a gazal by Mehdi Hassan which goes "woh jarasi
>> bat thi, barason ke yarane gaye"
>>
>>2. The song "chirake dekhe dil mera to terahi nam likha
>> rakkha hai" by Asha Bhosle/Suresh Wadkar (I am talking
>> wrt the tar sa at "chi" in the mukhada of this song).
>>
>>Could Dr. r please correct me/exactly specify if (why?) this is
>>not true with example chalans:
>
>Interesting. I don't recall either.
The film song is relatively recent. Just for the record, it is from
'Imandaar' (1986), with music by Kalyanji-Anandji. The song starts
aur is dil me.n kyaa rakhaa hai, teraa hi dard chhupaa rakhaa hai
cheer ke dekhe dil meraa to teraa hi naam likhaa rakhaa hai
>....................................Perhaps Vish will have some
>comments. Mehdi Hassan always has something surprising under his
>sleeve (like his composition in the 'whole tone scale' which is shared
>by Raga Gopriya in Carnatic music. Also called Debussey's scale in the
>west. I believe Shri Scriabin has used it extensively in one of his
>works. Which one?).
>
>>Prameshwari is "bageshwari ang chandrakauns" with the shuddha
>>rishabha getting mapped onto komal rishabha?
>
>In terms of scale, yes. However, its treatment is different,
>some of its features are alluded to in my previous posting.
>
>>(BTW there is an excellent recording by Parveen Sultana of
>> Paramashwari)
>>
>>Since we are into these "ishwaris", RS has also created a raga
>>called "jogeshwari" (I suppose after the suburb of Mumbai!) which
>>is basically rageshwari with the shuddha rishabha getting mapped
>>onto komal gandhar... hardly getting any jog effect but a nice
>>melody indeed.
>
>It has been a long time since I last heard Jogeshwari (RS). There
>is a Jogeshwari created by Ratanjankar too - and I would call it
>Jogeshwari (SNR) - most likely, before Ravi Shankar. Their melodic ideas
>are, however, quite different. Since there is no central naming body for
>rAgas this duplication of name is not too surprising.
>
>Warm regards,
>
>
>
>r
Ashok
Poor...@aol.com
In article <35918517...@news.mindspring.com>,
geeta...@mindspring.com wrote:
>
>
> A few months ago, I heard someone sing a composition in natakapriya at
> an informal get-together I attended. I am unable to recollect the
> song, but the 1st line went somewhat like this "...natana
> natakapriye". That was the first time I heard the raga and I
> instantly fell in love with it (probably because of the heavy
> (carnatic) Todi flavor, another favorite of mine). Does anyone know
> what the composition is? Thanks.
>
> geeta
>
This composition starts as "gIta vAdya naTana nAtakapriyE" . I have heard
Unnikrishnan singing in a concert. I belive he has sung it in a casette too.
Rajan P. Parrikar
Namashkar.
This is in response to queries by Herr Fuchs and Shri Ramaprasad.
DFu...@stud2.stud.uni-goettingen.de (Daniel Fuchs) wrote:
> (snip, snip)
>
> What about Ahiri, how does that differ?
>
> Daniel
Ahiri (pronounced with a long "A") is a rAga of the Bhairavi thATa.
Ahiri (pronounced with a short "A") employs the same scale as Ahir
Bhairav without the Bhairav-like Andolans and vakratA. There is,
however, a divergence of opinion as regards this.
As I have indicated in the earlier post, even the Ahiri Todi described
there shares the name with another melodic entity according of vidwAns
like Vazebuwa. Subbarao appears to have picked up his material from V.
*****
kv...@my-dejanews.com (Ramaprasad K V) wrote:
> In article <6mqcqn$b...@lace.colorado.edu>,
> parr...@ferrari.Colorado.EDU (Rajan P. Parrikar) wrote:
> >
> > Another little detail: Subbarao lists an Ahiri Todi that is quite different
> > from the one described here. I do not subscribe to his nomenclature in
> > this instance.
> >
>
> Does Subbarao also mention a Ahiri Todi of the Karnataka variety ?
No.
Warm regards,
r
Milind Kaulgud
Couple of more songs based on Ahiri Todi
1) Vakt karta jo vafa, aap hamare hote (sung by Mukesh).
2) Antara of song Hai isi me aap ki arazoo (Madan Mohan composition).
3) Mi dolkara (Marathi Koli song, composed by H. Mangeshkar).
--Milind
S Suresh
I have heard a Tamil film song in Natakapriya.
It is from the movie Mogamul and has music by
Illayaraja. To me the raga sound more like
SindhuBhairavi (Hindustani Bhairavi) than Thodi
(Carnatic). It is a very good song.
S.Suresh