raga queries
Sriram Devanathan
Could someone help me with differentiating between some of these "similar"
ragas? Aaroh/avaroh, characteristic notes and phrases, etc. would be great.
1) kamod, kedar & hamir (I can kind of differentiate between kedar & hamir!)
2) madhmad saarang & megh
3) bhairav & jogiya
4) bilaskhani todi, miyan ki todi & gurjari todi
Also are there any carnatic ragas analogous to Devta Bhairav and Suha? When I
hear these two ragas they sound vaguely familiar in a "carnatic" sort of way. And
no, it couldn't be because of the artist's style because the artist is
Pdt. Jitendra Abhisheki.
Thanks
Sriram
PS: I think the kedar/hamir issue was discussed in detail sometime back, so if you
could perhaps just point out the differences with kamod?
Rajan P. Parrikar
sri...@iastate.edu (Sriram Devanathan) writes:
>Could someone help me with differentiating between some of these "similar"
>ragas? Aaroh/avaroh, characteristic notes and phrases, etc. would be great.
I will first provide one possible set of Aroha/Avaroha for each Raga and
follow it up with my gratuitous commentary.
Key: All shuddha swaras in caps; tivra and komal notes in small case;
' and " represent mandra saptak (lower register) and tar saptak notes,
respectively; A 'U` below the notes indicates fast passage, a 'u` a
meend; () enclosing a swara is a kana swara (grace note).
>1) kamod, kedar & hamir (I can kind of differentiate between kedar & hamir!)
Raga Kamod:
==========
Aroha: S (M)R P, P D P S"
Avaroha: S" (N)D P, (m)P G M P G M R S
UUU
Raga Kedar:
===========
Aroha: S M, M (G)P, P D P S"
Avaroha: S" (N)D P, m P D n D P, m P D M, (S)R S
uuu
Raga Hameer:
===========
Aroha: S R G M (N)D N S"
Avaroha: S" N D P m P G M R S
All the above three Ragas are vakra, the first two more so than Hameer.
That is, the progression of notes is not 'linear` and the Raga usually
advertises its character by employing a unique pattern or a packet of
swaras. The above Ragas use more or less the same set of notes and hence
a casual hearing may lead one to conclude that they are "similar." But
putting them under the lens brings out the individualities immediately.
Raga Hameer is the easiest to smoke out since it has a distictive chalan
that goes - R G M (N)D N m P, G M R S. Most Indians are familiar with this
Raga (although they might not know it by that label) because they are wise
and and have no qualms about descending into filmdom. I am alluding to
Naushad-Sahab's immortal composition, "Madhuban me Radhika naache re,
Giridhar ki MuraliyaaN baaje re", rendered by Mohammad Rafi, which is
based in that Raga. Those familiar with Marathi natyasangeet will have
heard Suresh Haldankar's classic, "Vimala adhar ni kaTi moha ha, paapi"
as well as the popular 'naman`, "Naman naTavaraa vismaya kaaraa." Btw,
have you heard the popular Rama bhajan, "Sri Ramachandra krupaalu bhajaman
haran bhav bhaya daaruNam" set to Raga Hameer? It is wonderful and was
composed by that great musician and Ram bhakta, Vishnu Digambar. I don't
know if a recorded version is available. I first heard it from a Hardaas,
when I was very small at the Ramnavaami festivities in the hamlet of
MoolgaoN, Goa, and have since been held in thrall everytime I hum the
opening lines (although the complete tune escapes me now). Krishnarao
Shankar Pandit and Kumar Gandharva have fine recordings in Raga Hameer.
So does N. Rajam.
Raga Kedar has been dealt with recently. It has a very characteristic meend
associated with it: m P D M. This meend from the dhaivat to the madhyam to
uuu
the shudhha madhyam is what gives Kedar its signature.
Raga Kamod frequently employs the phrase (M)R P, G M P G M R S which
brings out its sui generis character. The tivra madhyam and shudhha
nishad are sparingly used. Unlike Kedar which ascends to the pancham via
S M (g) P, Kamod takes the (M)R P route. Check out D.V. Paluskar and
Bade Gulam Ali Khan. Sometime ago, during my "descent" into filmdom, I
discovered an Amir Khan - Bade Gulam duetin Raga Kamod, "Chhed diyaa mere
dil ki taar ko" in the film "Ragini" (presumably filmed on Kishore Kumar!).
Two other Ragas "close" to Kamod are Shyam Kalyan and Hem(Kalyan).
And so, the key identifiers for the three Ragas may be summarised as follows:
Hameer: G M (N)D, N m P, G M R S
Kedar : M (G) P, m P D M (meend from D-->M)
Kamod : (M)R P, G M P G M R S
>2) madhmad saarang & megh
Raga Madhmaad Saarang:
=====================
Aroha: S R M P n P, n S"
Avaroha: S" n P M R, n' S
Raga Megh(Malhar):
=================
Aroha: S (M)R P, M P n S"
Avaroha: S" n P M R S n' P' n'n' S
As you can see, both the Ragas employ an identical set of notes. But in
reality these Ragas are quite different in spirit and character and serve
to drive home the important point that mere scales do not a Raga make!
M-Saarang is a prakaar of Saarang, and the Saarang-ang is brought is shown
by stressing on the rishab, with phrases such as, n' S R M R, n P M R,
R M P n P M R, and so on.
Megh is a Malhar-ang Raga that will use the Malhar phrasing (to the extent
possible) to remain distinct from M-Saarang: (M)R P - a Malhar phrase,
is emphasized and this is one item that sets it apart from M-Saarang. Another
point of departure is the elevation of the komal nishad - again to
precipitate the Malhar-ang. In Megh, the andolan in the mandra-saptak is
pronounced. The descent from n to P is stretched out making it a quasi-
meend. A sample chalan that delineates these sentiments is:
S (M)R P, M P n P, S" nn P, M R S n' M' P' n'n' S.
A good performance in Raga Megh, we are told, has the effect of pleasing
the Gods, who in turn reciprocate the feeling by peeing from the heavens.
And oh, I should add that some people use the both the nishads in Megh thus
giving it an explicit Malhar flavour via: M P n (P)N S" or ever M P n, N S".
Amir Khan's rendition in Raga Megh is a masterpiece. It is a tribute to
his musicianship that recordings of whatever "basic" Raga he touched became
the model for any artist to aspire toward. In recent times, the only person
who has equalled and elevated that canon is, IMemphaticO, Bhimsen. Similarly,
in the realm of the more arcane, hybrid Ragas, we have Kesarbai, Mogubai and
Mallikarjun to thank.
>3) bhairav & jogiya
Raga Bhairav:
============
Aroha: S r G M (N)d, N S"
Avaroha: S" (N)d P G M (G)r S
Raga Jogiya:
===========
Aroha: S r M P (N)d S"
Avaroha: S" N d P M G r S
Raga Bhairav is easy to figure out with its following signature:
G M (N)d, (N)d P, G M (G)r, S
The attack on the komal dhaivat is via a touch of nishad. A pause on
that note topped with the G M (G)r gives Bhairav its body. Emphasis
in this manner on the dhaivat and rishab is quintessential to Bhairav.
Raga Jogiya is a "light" Raga and is often used for thumri, tappa, bhajans
etc. The gandhaar is dropped altogether in the ascent. None of the special
treatment that Bhairav accords the rishab and dhaivat is present in Jogiya.
Given its lightweight standing in the Raga pantheon, Jogiya is somewhat free
to screw around with other swaras and then call itself Mishra Jogiya.
Mohammad Rafi's "keh do ko'i na kare yahaaN pyaar" from Dil Ek Mandir is
a nice composition in this Raga. The celebrated natyageet "Priye pahaa"
also turns to Jogiya midway before returning to its original Deshkaar.
Btw, Raga KalingDa is quite "close" to these Ragas.
>4) bilaskhani todi, miyan ki todi & gurjari todi
Raga Miyan ki Todi:
==================
This is often referred to as just Todi.
Aroha: S r g m d N S"
Avaroha: S N d P, m d m g r g, r S
Raga Gurjari Todi:
=================
Aroha: S r g m d N S"
Avaroha: S" N d m g r S
The only difference between the above two Ragas is the absence of pancham
in the latter. Even in M-Todi, the pancham is used occasionally and in a
special way. You have to let the dhaivat "melt" into the pancham - (N)dP.
It is a beautiful manoeuvre. The Todis are also required to use a very
flattened (atikomal) gandhaar. The opening aalaap in the song from Amar
Prem, "Raina beet jaaye, Shyam na aaye" by Lata is that of Raga Todi. It
is very brief but is undescribably beautiful. When Naushad-Sahab tells us,
"jo baat Lata me hai, woh kisi aur me nahiN hai", I suspect he means the
ability to pull something like this effortlessly.
Btw, I hope people aren't offended by my frequent "descent" into "filmdom."
There won't be any peanut shells, I promise.
Raga Bilaskhani Todi:
====================
An eponymous Raga this, whose development is credited to Bilaskhan, son
of Tansen.
Aroha: S r g P d S"
Avaroha: S" n d P, d n d M g r S
The Raga is, even at first glance, distinct from the two Todis described
above, and has a very vakra roop. Bilaskhani Todi may be considered as being
extracted from Bhairavi and re-fashioned to give it its individuality. The
key idea here is: d n d M g r g r g, g P d. There should be no hint of the
pancham during descent from the dhaivat to the madhyam. This is a difficult
Raga, but is all the more beautiful for that fact, if handled well. There
is a fascinating recording by Rasiklal Andharia, which is my favourite.
I think I have given the essence of what is required to get started in
befriending these Ragas.
I could go on and on writing this and that, becoming more and more prosaic in
this mlechha-bhasha, waxing eloquent with crap like "this note has a face" or
"this Raga creates blah blah imagery". All that piffle serves only one
purpose: con people into believing what a cool cat the writer is at this
stuff or what a "deep" philosopher he/she is. Those reams and reams on
Ragas do NOTHING to your enrichment or understanding of music. To really
capture the gestalt of a Raga, there is NO substitute for listening to it,
not only from different classical exponents, but when available also via
the different ancillary forms of Indian music - folk, filmi, bhajan,
natyageet, bhavgeet, Rabby Shongeet, gHazals and so on. Remember, our great
musicians may have focussed their energies on their chosen specialty, but
they have usually never had hang-ups about listening to ANY form of Indian
music. Because they understand the importance and value of the TOTAL
integrated Indian musical experience. And because there is stuff to be
learnt from other places too! The snotty, myopic "I don't listen to anything
but kilaasickal music" attitude is a laughably foolish one.
To "know" a Raga is to first equip oneself with what it takes to recognise
its structure, then dive into it and think in terms of its swaras, exploring
all kinds of possibilities, physical and emotional, gradually internalising
the influence by letting it grow on you. In this endeavour, students we all
remain, at different stages of the game.
Regards,
Rajan Parrikar
==============
email: parr...@mimicad.colorado.edu
Sriram Devanathan
Many thanks to those who responded to my queries, and so promptly too!
One further question (since the response has been so encouraging!),
What differentiates Jansammodhini from Kalavati? I am not able to pinpoint it.
For a long time I used to think Rafi's "Koi saagar dil ko behlaata nahin" was in
kalavati, but recently I feel more and more that it might be Jansammodhini.
Are there any other filmi songs in JanS?
Sriram
PS: Are these relatively "recent" ragas?
Ajay P Nerurkar
: Could someone help me with differentiating between some of these "similar"
: ragas? Aaroh/avaroh, characteristic notes and phrases, etc. would be great.
Here are some of the most glaring differences :
Note : A + following m denotes teevra madhyam
A - following a note denotes the komal variety of that note.
: 1) kamod, kedar & hamir (I can kind of differentiate between kedar & hamir!)
In Kamod look out for the re-pa association very often brought out as a
meend from re to pa.
Kedar has shuddha ma in a pre-eminent position. Quite frequently musical
phrases will halt on this note. The aroha of Kedar drops re and ga and the
meend from ma to re in the avoraha is common. Ga is extremely weak in this
raag.
Hameer uses the characteristic phrase (pakad) : m+p gmd. Dha is used in a
very forceful manner in this raag
: 2) madhmad saarang & megh
Megh employs teevra nishaad (sometimes exclusively). In the avoraha, re is
intoned with a touch of ma as a grace note, often more than once in succession.
: 3) bhairav & jogiya
Jogiya uses d-mr- that is, drops the pa in the avoraha. Andolan on the komal
rishabh is a feature of Bhairav.
: 4) bilaskhani todi, miyan ki todi & gurjari todi
First of all bilashkhani todi uses all komal notes. Its aroha has the phrase
'n-r-g- Elongation of komal gandhar is a great clue to identify this raag.
The only essential difference between Miyan-ki-Todi and Gurjari (Gujri) Todi
is that the latter drops Pa completely.
--
Ajay
Priya Sundararajan
Sriram Devanathan (sri...@iastate.edu) wrote:
: What differentiates Jansammodhini from Kalavati?
The only difference I know is that in Kalavati, both rishabh and
madhyam are varjya, whereas in Jansammohini only madhyam is. Nishaadh
is komal in both.
: Are there any other filmi songs in JanS?
I think the following are in Jansammohini:
Kabhi tho miloge jeevan saathhi, bichhdi rahe na deepak se baathi
by Lata in the movie Sati Savitri
Kaahe tharsaaye jiyaraa, youvan rithu sajan jaake and aaye
by Usha and Asha in Chitralekha
PS: Somebody had asked whether a FAQ exists for this newsgroup. I
would also like to know that. Could somebody post the response?
Thanks.
Swami.
mu...@cip.physik.uni-dortmund.de
: Re: Todi etc
: Some months ago, at a friend's place I saw this tape of Ali Akbar
: Khan of Raga Darbari Todi just as I was leaving their place. But
: curiosity got the better of me and I listened to it for about 2/3
: minutes. It sounded just like the regular Todi. I was alert to the
: possibility of a trace of komal nishad but in the the brief snatch
: I caught, nothing unusual surfaced. I wonder if Khansaheb merely calls
: Todi by that name or whether there's more to it. Maybe I should get
: hold of the tape and give it a full hearing. Anyone has anything to
: say on this Darbari Todi?
-----------------------
When I learnt Todi for the first time, my teacher told me that it is also
called Darbari Todi. His guess was that Tansen popularised it in the
courti and hence the name .... (like Darbari Kanada?)
Anyway he said Darbari Todi, Miyan ki Todi and Todi are all the same.
Any other opinions?
muthu
Pankaj Joshi
Are you talking about Jansammohini? It has rishabh and kalavati does not.
Typical phrases are G P D n D P G R, n< R S.
I will let more knowledgible nettors answer this.
I have read that both the ragas-kalavati and Janasammohini are imports
from Carnatic music. (Ref Arvind Gajendragadkar's book on notation of
Hindi songs)
Pankaj