On Raga Narayani
Rajan P. Parrikar
Next in line for Carnatic-inspired rAgas in the Hindustani
paramparA: Raga Narayani (nArAyaNi). A brief note is followed by
a well-known composition.
The rAga derives from the 28th melakartA Harikambhoji (Hindustani
Khamaj) but drops the gandhAr completely from the parent scale. The
Aroha/avaroha set is as follows (M=shuddha):
S R M P D S"::S" n D, P, M R S
The Arohana resembles that of Durga. Other elements in the A/A set
above suggest a potential kinship with a few other rAgas. To wit,
Sur Malhar, Sorat and Gorakh Kalyan. Hence a few swaric tightropes
must be negotiated and special prayogas employed if Narayani is to
emerge unsoiled.
Let us consider the key elements of Narayani:
(the ' indicates mandra and the " tAra saptak swaras)
(a) S, n' D', M' P' D' S - this mandra saptak movement is
characteristic of Narayani (note its use in the bandish too).
(b) R M P n D P, M P n D, P - the M P n D P cluster is kept in high
circulation and often punctuated by an elongation, first of the
dhaivat and then of the pancham. Some chhAyA of Sur Malhar may seep
in but there is none of the malhAr-anga here nor the sArang-like
n P M R phrasing dear to S-Malhar. The nishAd is occasionally
stretched on way to the dhaivat but the strong presence of the
pancham helps keep an encroaching Gorakh Kalyan at bay.
(c) P M R M R S, R M P D S" n D - the meenD from M to R is
UUU--->meenD
reminiscent of Sorat. Swara-wise there is here resemblance to Durga
too. But the key elements in Durga's makeup - D M R, M R P, M R (R)D' S -
are eschewed.
(d) M P D S" D S", D S" R" M" R" n D M P n D, P - the antarA is
typically launched via M P D S". Again, any inchoate chhAyA of
Gorakh Kalyan is disabled by the halt on the dhaivat and pancham
and by a de-emphasis of the komal nishAd (which, it may be recalled
comes in for special treatment in G-Kalyan).
As always, a comprehensive picture of the rAga can be had only
by exposure to a rendition. Another important adjunct in the process
is to work through a composition. The attached bandish due to
S.N. Ratanjankar finds currency among the ranks of vocal performers;
I do not know if a commercial recording is available. I understand that
Parween Sultana sings the same bandish. But it is the Begum's student
Dipali Nag who has been known to assasinate both the rAga and the
bandish. She's bong (i.e. has nothing going for her) and hence no
further comment is deemed necessary.
For reasons unknown, Raga Narayani is not very popular with
composers of popular music (to be sure, the rAga is not heard
very often even on the classical stage). Neither is Gorakh Kalyan
(although this one is popular among the classical punters). These
rAgas deserve more sunshine. Lata's dulcet rendition - dil ki kashTi
bhaNvar meiN - from the film "Palki" comes to mind. I understand from
Sir Vish Krishnan that Naushad has publicly stated that it was
conceived by him in Raga Narayani. However, it is observed that
Naushad-sahab is caught in two minds - more precisely, between the
two rAgas Narayani and Gorakh Kalyan. Eventually he gives in to both.
Nevertheless this remains a good 'light' exposure to the rAga. Any
others?
We invite comments from Carnatic punters and references to
Carnatic compositions and recordings.
Warm regards,
r
*****
Raga: Narayani
Tala: Teental (druta)
Composer: Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar
sahelariyAN gAvo ri Aj
more mandar mangal gAvo bajAvo
sukh soN Anand badhAie
shubh ghaRi shubh mahurat manAvo
Nand ghar jAyo kuNvar kanhAie
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
S (M)R (P)M (D)P n
sa.....he....la...ri.....
D P - (P)n D P M - (M)R - S M R S n'
D'
yAN........ gA........vo ri.... A..........ja mo....re
man...da....ra
<--smooth--> <--smooth-->
M' - P' D' S - S S (M)R (P)M (D)P (n)D n DP M
P
man.......ga...la gA........vo ba...jA.....................vo......
su....kha
<smooth>
DS" R"S" n D - MP DP M (M)R - S
soN..... A....nan.......da..... ba...dhA........ie
Antara:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16
M P (S")D S" D
shu...bha gha...Ri.....
S" S" - D S" R" M" R"S" n - DP n DP (P)M -
P
shu..bha... ma...hu...ra...ta ma...nA.........vo nan...da
gha.........ra
<-----smooth-----> <smooth>
M - RS S (M)R MP Dn DP M - RS
jA........yo kuN..va...ra..... ka...nhA........ie
<--smooth-->
*****
jawa...@my-dejanews.com
parr...@ferrari.colorado.edu (Rajan P. Parrikar) wrote:
> As always, a comprehensive picture of the rAga can be had only
> by exposure to a rendition. Another important adjunct in the process
> is to work through a composition. The attached bandish due to
> S.N. Ratanjankar finds currency among the ranks of vocal performers;
> I do not know if a commercial recording is available.
Thanks Rajan for this post.
Either in the 1992 or 1993 Sawai Gandharva festival Smt. Malini
Rajurkar had sung this raga beautifully. I don't remember the
bandishes though. I also feel that Alurkar's have released either
the above performance or may be a studio recording of hers of
Narayani commercially.
Abhinav Jawadekar
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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WARVIJ
by Prabhudeo Sardar, from Indian CBS. I will check my
files and post at least the mukhdas of the khyals.
The bandish I sing in Narayani is a fairly standard text
"Bolan laagi koyaliya" in madhya tintal; while lyrically
quite simple the composition has considerable appeal. I
have performed it a few times and people really seem to
enjoy it.
Thanks Rajan for the post.
BTW I believe there is another Narayani of considerably
different structure which is the province of the Ali Akbar
Khan school. Would anybody care to elaborate?
Warren
Vivek R. Datar
>In article <6pmohc$b...@drn.newsguy.com>,
> parr...@ferrari.colorado.edu (Rajan P. Parrikar) wrote:
>> As always, a comprehensive picture of the rAga can be had only
>> by exposure to a rendition. Another important adjunct in the process
>> is to work through a composition. The attached bandish due to
>> S.N. Ratanjankar finds currency among the ranks of vocal performers;
>> I do not know if a commercial recording is available.
>Thanks Rajan for this post.
>Either in the 1992 or 1993 Sawai Gandharva festival Smt. Malini
>Rajurkar had sung this raga beautifully. I don't remember the
I have also heard Malini Rajurkar live here in California singing
Narayani.
For Gorakh Kalyan name of Manik Varma comes to mind. She gave
a performance on Mumbai DD several years back and sang Gorakh Kalyan
(another thing is that she had to sit on a chair, since because
of some back problems she could not sit on floor and sing in
those days, I don't know how much effect it has on the "mahoul",
but she had no problem whatsoever).
Marathi song "Mogara Phulala" composed by Hrudaynath is also
in Gorakh Kalyan. My Guruji back in Mumbai taught me this raag
as just Gorakh, and told me that it is also known as Gorakh
Kalyan, however I have never seen anybody refering to this as
just Gorakh, thus I don't know if this was just one of his names
or it is for real.
Again, thanks for the post Rajan.
-Vivek
jawa...@my-dejanews.com
vda...@cisco.com (Vivek R. Datar) wrote:
>
> Marathi song "Mogara Phulala" composed by Hrudaynath is also
> in Gorakh Kalyan.
Another Hridaynath song "ti geli tevha rimzim paus ninadat hota"
is also in Gorakh Kalyan.
Abhinav Jawadekar
Rajan P. Parrikar
In article <199807291450...@ladder03.news.aol.com>,
war...@aol.com (Shri Warren Senders) wrote:
>There is a very lovely recording of Narayani available
>by Prabhudeo Sardar, from Indian CBS. I will check my
>files and post at least the mukhdas of the khyals.
Is this a newer recording? Do you have his lovely Shuddha
Sarang? What is on the reverse side of that plate? Sardar
was a very accomplished musician who didn't make it to the
superstar league.
>The bandish I sing in Narayani is a fairly standard text
>"Bolan laagi koyaliya" in madhya tintal; while lyrically
>quite simple the composition has considerable appeal. I
>have performed it a few times and people really seem to
>enjoy it.
How does the mukhDA go? Narayani indeed presents some
lovely melodic opportunities.
>BTW I believe there is another Narayani of considerably
>different structure which is the province of the Ali Akbar
>Khan school. Would anybody care to elaborate?
Interesting. I must add, however, that the rAga is fairly
'old' and is described to in 'old' granthas. The Carnatic Narayani
which is the precursor to the H-version uses the same notes. The
prayogas are probably quite different.
>
>Warren
*****
In article <vdatar....@brownale.cisco.com>,
vda...@cisco.com (Shri Vivek Datar) wrote:
>Marathi song "Mogara Phulala" composed by Hrudaynath is also
>in Gorakh Kalyan.
Yes, and Hridaynath has composed another one - Lata's Ghalib
gHazal (I forget the words). Doesn't Mehdi Hassan have a gHazal
out in Gorakh Kalyan?
>My Guruji back in Mumbai taught me this raag
>as just Gorakh, and told me that it is also known as Gorakh
>Kalyan, however I have never seen anybody refering to this as
>just Gorakh, thus I don't know if this was just one of his names
>or it is for real.
There is no kalyAN-anga in Gorakh Kalyan. One story attributes
its name to Sant Gorakhnath whence the name. Incidently, a murchhAnA
on the Gorakh Kalyan scale can yield a Yaman scale (shift the Sa
to the komal gandhAr).
*****
I am informed via email that Deepali Nag is old enough to be
Parveen Sultana's mother. I must confess to having visions of
a wrinkled old prune in a sleevless blouse while typing in the
name. Who did Ms Nag learn from?
Warm regards,
r
Mandar Mitra
> I am informed via email that Deepali Nag is old enough to be
> Parveen Sultana's mother. I must confess to having visions of
> a wrinkled old prune in a sleevless blouse while typing in the
> name. Who did Ms Nag learn from?
Maybe I exaggerated a bit. Her maiden (?) AIR broadcast was
in 1939. She learnt from Faiyaz Khan, Tassaduq Hussain Khan,
and Bashir Ahmed Khan.
m.
WARVIJ
>by Prabhudeo Sardar, from Indian CBS. I will check my
>files and post at least the mukhdas of the khyals.
He is a wonderful singer with an exquisite voice and a
very good mind. The cassette is not CBS; it is Swarashree
Enterprises no. PS 001 (see if you can figure out the coding,
gang!).
Sardar sings Narayani:
vilambit: Bamana re bichar
drut: Sahelariyan gavo ri
Also khyals in Bihagda and Sughrai, and a Kannada
vachana in Misra Jangla.
A very attractive and satisfying hour of music.
Warren
apha...@hotmail.com
>............ The attached bandish due to
> S.N. Ratanjankar finds currency among the ranks of vocal performers;
> I do not know if a commercial recording is available. I understand that
> Parween Sultana sings the same bandish. But it is the Begum's student
> Dipali Nag who has been known to assasinate both the rAga and the
> bandish.
FOA, thank you for a very instructive post on Raga Narayani. Re. the bandish
you have mentioned (Sahelariya gaavo ri aaj), I have the EP record of Parveen
Sultana's rendition of it: believe you me, it is G-O-O-D!! The recording is
about 25 years old; that was the time when her voice sounded good and she had
yet to give in to the temptation of overdoing the rapid-fire sargams and the
"ati-taar" forays! A recording worth preserving, and listening to over and
over again!
Warm regards
Abhay
> Raga: Narayani
> Tala: Teental (druta)
> Composer: Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar
>
> sahelariyAN gAvo ri Aj
> more mandar mangal gAvo bajAvo
> sukh soN Anand badhAie
>
> shubh ghaRi shubh mahurat manAvo
> Nand ghar jAyo kuNvar kanhAie
Dilip V. Sarwate
>Either in the 1992 or 1993 Sawai Gandharva festival Smt. Malini
>Rajurkar had sung this raga beautifully. I don't remember the
>bandishes though. I also feel that Alurkar's have released either
>the above performance or may be a studio recording of hers of
>Narayani commercially.
In 1989, Alurkar Audio Video released a studio recording of Smt. Malini
Rajurkar singing Raga Narayani. The bandishes are
BamanA re bichAre ... in vilambit ek taal and
SahelariyA gAwo ri Aaj in drut teen taal
My cassette is labeled AA 170. I don't know if the recording has been
released on CD. I suppose that Neelam Audio Video (http://www.neelam.com)
might be a source for people interested in finding the recording.
The other side of the cassette has a vilambit khyal in Raga Marg Bihag
followed by a drut in Raga Maru Bihag.
TANSEN8106
The best rendition of Gorakh I have ever heard is by Ustads Salaamat-Nazakat
Ali Khan. Truely outstanding. In my view the brothers were masters at singing
Gorakh and Abhogi Kanada. I also believe that raag Gorakh should not be called
Gorakh Kalyan. More about this later.....
The best rendition of Naraini which I have heard is by Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.
See ya all later.
Tansen8106
