On Raga Mangal Gujari
Rajan P. Parrikar
Today's offering - a relatively new entrant into the Hindustani
paramparA: Raga Mangal Gujari. It derives from the Carnatic melakartA
#44, Bhavapriya, which represents the S r g m (tivra) P d n set of
notes.
In Mangal Gujari the pancham is varjya, rendering its scale
identical to that of the Carnatic Raga Bhavani, viz., S r g m d n.
Note, however, that the Hindustani Raga Bhavani is a very different
animal, a chatuswara (4-note) rAga of the Bilawal thAT persuasion.
Comments on the Carnatic Bhavani with references of compositions
and recordings would be useful in comparing notes with Mangal Gujari.
It is not clear if Mangal Gujari has been directly influenced by the
Carnatic Bhavani. It reveals a Todi-anga and closely resembles Gurjari
Todi in its mannerisms but for the proviso that it recruits the komal
nishAd instead of the shuddha variety found in Gurjari.
Nonetheless, there is a peripheral Carnatic connection in the
aesthetic regime. Ragas using the komal nishAd and tivra madhyam
are scarce in the Hindustani system and many weaned on that system
do not take to them right away. Almost all of the m-n swara
combination rAgas currently in the Hindustani employ - Saraswati,
Vachaspati, Shanmukhapriya, Hemavati etc - are imports from the
Carnatic domain and have not found universal or wide embrace in
Hindustani circles; those that have, have evolved within the system
(eg. Madhukauns). It is hoped that this Hindustani reluctance of the
past generation gives way with better exposure and as more vocal
compositions and performances in these ragas are made available. It
is a matter of cultivating the right habits of mind - to not be able
to harness the melodic power of a rAga such as Shanmukhapriya would
be a crying shame.
It is interesting that the Hindustani system has had within its fold
a rAga with swaras of the parent melakartA Bhavapriya. Ali Akbar Khan
played it in an October 1995 performance in San Francisco and it is
called variously as Adarangi Todi, Turki Todi, Turusk Todi. "Turusk
Todi" - a hint of its Turkic origin perhaps - finds mention in Sarangdeva's
13th C treatise "Sangeet Ratnakara" but it is not clear just what
present-day rAga it corresponds to. Similarly, I have seen another
version of Adarangi Todi that is not anything like the one played
by the (naked) Emperor of San Rafael.
Reverting to Mangal Gujari, an Aroha/avaroha set may be given as:
(m=tivra)
S r g m d n S"::S n d m g r S
It is seen at once that the swara-wise all the allied rAgas can
be summarised by the following equation -
Gurjari Todi : Miyan ki Todi :: Mangal Gujari : Adarangi Todi
It is expected that Mangal Gujari will present some pain and
discomfort to the unexposed Hindustani mind, particularly around
the komal nishAd area. There will be an overpowering desire to step
past to the shuddha nishAd and so on; these problems are subdued
with practice, by both the listener and performer alike.
The chalan of Mangal Gujari echoes Gurjari Todi. The dhaivat and
gandhAr are very strong. The komal rishab commands respect too.
The rishab-gandhAr interaction is standard Todi stuff. There is no
nyAsa on the komal nishAd but its presence is easily sensed. It may
be used freely in an up and down passage ('alanghan bahutva' is the
shAstraic term) or sometimes skipped in ascent from d to S" (langhan
alpatva). A chalan snippet may now be formulated (the comma denotes pause):
S, (S)n' r, (g)r g, r, S....Srgmd, m d n (n)d (d)m g r, r g r, S
S d, m d (d)S", S" (n)d, n m d, r g, r, S
No 'light' compositions some to mind (and there are unlikely to
be any, even from Hridaynath - rejoinders proving me wrong are welcome).
The composition priffered is by Ramashreya "Ramarang" Jha, the learned
pandit, composer and educator from Allahabad. I have heard Mangal Gujari
on AIR long ago but cannot recollect any details. "Ramarang" tells me
that Satyasheel Deshpande and Raja Kale (Abhisheki's long-time student)
have presented and recorded pieces in the rAga.
Warm regards,
r
*****
Raga: Mangal Gujari
Tala: Teental (druta)
Composer: Ramashreya "Ramrang" Jha
charaN ki As lAgi mohe
araj suniye gHareeb nawAj
AsrA tere nAma ki
pat rakh leejiye deen ki
'rAmarang' ki bigaRi banAvo Aj
Glossary:
araj = plea
deen = distressed, downtrodden
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
d d m
cha..ra...Na
dn S" n d - m g r gm rm g r S (S)n' n' d'
ki......... A.........sa lA..................gi mo...he a....ra...ja
<--smooth--> <-one smooth movement->
S r g m d n S"(n)d S"r" S"n dm gr S
su...ni...ye gHa..ree.......ba na...wA..................ja
<------------slide------------> <----gamaka tAna---->
Antara:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
(n)d - (d)m
A.........sa
d S" - S" S" S" r"g" S"r" R"g" r" S" - (n)d S" n (n)d
rA.............te...re nA..................ma ki......... pa...ta ra
<----smooth----> <--meenD-->
m - - (r)g - r gm rg g -r - S - (S)n' n' d'
kha........ lee.......ji...ye..... dee...na.... ki.... rA...ma...ran
<-----smooth----->
S (S)r (r)g (g)m (m)d n S"(n)d S"r" S"n dm gr S
ga ki bi...ga...Ri ba...nA...vo A...................ja
<----gamaka tAna---->
*****
Prince Kohli
all personal responses to him.
-Prince
--
Dr. Parrikar,
Let me just say I enjoyed the mangal gujari post.
Thinking about it, I find the whole tone scale (or part thereof)
somewhat tough to vocalize. The (gurjari) toDI aaroha is hard enough.
The switch to the komal nishaad actually makes it even tougher, I think.
Thus, it is not surprising that the lesser mortals of light singing
don't step anywhere near the raaga. I will hazard another theory.
The introduction of the pancham makes it easier on the singer. It
provides a resting ground, and a few microseconds of think-time.
So a vaachaspati, or a laachaari toDi (??) may have more takers.
Your observation re. the paucity of m-n combination raagas is profound.
I will be bold enough to suggest that its inherent atonality is perhaps
the reason. Then again, it is all in the ear of the listener.
Schoenberg and Eisler and contemporaries have broken so many tonal
barriers. Nothing appears illegal any more.
Off-hand, I can't find any examples, and probably won't, for mangal
gujari in a lighter vein. For a future listening round, I will fish
out the S.Janaki song (a kannaDa movie) in laachaari toDi, and then
a Madhu Rani ghazal in vaachaspati.
cheers
vish
--
TANSEN8106
Emmm interesting..
Never heard of this raag. Thanx for posting it and sharing it with us
Regards
.
jawa...@hotmail.com
pri...@viman.engr.sgi.com (Prince Kohli) wrote:
>
> Dr. Parrikar,
>
> Let me just say I enjoyed the mangal gujari post.
Same feelings here. A truely enjoyable and informative
post indeed, thanks "r" for this whole series.
>
> Off-hand, I can't find any examples, and probably won't, for mangal
> gujari in a lighter vein. For a future listening round, I will fish
> out the S.Janaki song (a kannaDa movie) in laachaari toDi, and then
> a Madhu Rani ghazal in vaachaspati.
>
I also cannot remember any light examples for Mangal Gujari...
However for Vachaspati, there is a gazzal by Mehdi Hassan which
goes something like "ek khalashi ko..".
Recently I have got my hands onto a set of 3 CD's of
a Mehdi Hassan concert in which he is accompanied by Ud. Sultan
Khan on sarangi... There are a gazzals in rare ragas like Bhankar,
Sahera, Vachaspati, Bhupashri (I think) in this set.
BTW, this Navras recording is ABSOLUTELY GREAT and highly
recommended for both light/classical lovers.
Abhinav Jawadekar
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Keith Erskine
: Your observation re. the paucity of m-n combination raagas is profound.
: I will be bold enough to suggest that its inherent atonality is perhaps
: the reason.
I don't think there is any inherent atonality to the tivra Ma - komal ni
swara combination. Western jazz music frequently uses the (minor 7 flat 5)
chord form, such as Cm7b5 (C-Eb-Gb-Bb) where Gb (G flat) acts as tivra Ma
and Bb acts as komal ni. (One way to think of the Cm7b5 chord is an
Eb minor triad superimposed on the 3rd degree of the C minor scale).
The interval between the two notes is shuddha Ga, or a major third, a
very consonant interval.
Perhaps in ICM the lack of symmetry of swaras about Sa and Pa prevents
exploiting similar phrases in lower and upper tetrachords, such as
R-N-S, D-M-P, etc., where phrases are nicely ended approached from
the swara one half step below, shudda Ni & tivra Ma.
: Then again, it is all in the ear of the listener.
: Schoenberg and Eisler and contemporaries have broken so many tonal
: barriers. Nothing appears illegal any more.
Very true.
Keith Erskine
I don't speak for HP, and vice-versa.
mohit....@gmail.com
I want to know about Raga kadambak. Please through some light on Raga kadambak.
Ahir Bhairav (my pen name)
amin.f...@gmail.com
> Off-hand, I can't find any examples, and probably won't, for mangal
> gujari in a lighter vein. For a future listening round, I will fish
> out the S.Janaki song (a kannaDa movie) in laachaari toDi, and then
> a Madhu Rani ghazal in vaachaspati.
>
> vish
>
> --
Indeed sir, the melodic contours of the raga seem challenging and it would be unlikely to chance upon a light melody set to this raga. I have, however, heard a particular song from the area of Marathi sangeet that comes close.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqMCQURw2po
The song, Datun Kanth Yeto, composed by Anil-Arun and rendered flawlessly by Pt. Vasantrao Deshpande, seems to shuttle from Mangal Gujari to Miyan ki Todi/Gurjari Todi and back. Both the nishads are used to good effect, though not together. If one hears carefully, a very clever S-g-d chord plays in the background, which allows for the avirbhava of some other raga as well (accessible through murchhana, i guess). There are some clear indications of Mangal Gujari and also those of Gurjari Todi and even a P d S'', reminiscent of Bilaskhani. Do hear the song and let me know your ideas.
Regards,
Farhan
ChristianAMR
Am Montag, 10. August 1998 09:00:00 UTC+2 schrieb Rajan P. Parrikar: