Kamal Music Center

Description

Raag Kafi is the primary rag in Kafi That.  There are many popular film songs in Kafi rag including “Biraj Me, Holi Khelat Nand Lal”.  It is asampurna-sampurna rag that is very straightforward in its execution. (continue reading…)

Gujari Todi is a very common morning rag in Todi That.  There are a number of popular film songs in Gujari Todi, including Ik Tha Bachapan.

There are fundamental differences between Mian Ki Todi and Gujari Todi.  Where Mian-ki-Todi has a Pa that is very weak, Gujari Todi has no Pa at all, therefore they sound very similar.  The absence of Pa makes this rag shadav – shadav jati.  As is typical of the vadi / samvadi theory there are differences of opinion concerning the vadi and samvadi; Dha, Ga, and Re have variously been declared to occupy these positions.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Shadav – Shadav

Time

morning

That

Todi That

Pakad

Drone

Sa – Komal Dha

Description

Durga is a very popular late evening rag.  However there is sometimes confusion.  The confusion stems from the fact that an unrelated rag known as Madhuradhwani is also sometimes called Durga.  In this page we will only be concerning ourself with the common form, and leave any discussion of Madhuradhwani for another time.

The name Durga is derived from the name of the goddess Amba or Parvati.  She is the wife of Shiva, and is associated with great power.  She is also referred to as “Ma Durga” or “Durga Mata”, which means “Mother Durga“.  She is said to represent patience and fearlessness.

The origin of rag Durga is obscure.  It has been suggested that this rag is derived from the south Indian Shuddha Saveri.  This is certainly possible, for it is very common for North Indians to “borrow” rags from the South.  But in such cases, they usually retain their south Indian names (e.g., Charukesi, Kalavati).  Why would Durga acquire a new name?

We must be open to the possibility that this scale may simply be a basic part of the larger South Asian musical culture.  It could have been circulating for a long time, and when I mean long time, I mean millennia.  As such, it is possible that it was only recently formalised by North Indian classical musicians.  The close relationship that Durga has to other pentatonic rags (e.g., Malkauns, Bhupali), coupled with the almost world-wide presence of these scales, certainly means that it is a possibility.  The structure is so simple, and the harmonic relationship is so fundamental, that scales with these intervals show up internationally, apparently with independent origins.

Rag Durga is based upon Bilaval that.  From this that, the Ga and Ni are omitted, therefore this is an audav rag.

Identification of this rag in lighter songs is sometimes difficult.  This is because Durga is linked to other common rags such as Malkauns andBhupali by a process known as murchchana.  Although this is not the time to go into the details of murchchanana, let it suffice to say that if you take Durga and start the scale from Ma you get Bhupali.  Furthermore, if you take Durga and start the scale from Dha, you get Malkauns.  The best way to keep these rags separate is with a good clear drone; this may be provided by the tanpura or a similar source.  Since such dronestend to be missing in the lighter forms of music, the distinction between these rags is occasionally obscured.  One well known film song in Durga is“Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne”.

It is fairly easy to perform and compose in rag Durga, because it does not share its modality with any other north Indian rag.  Unlike theBhupali/ Deshakar mode which is very cramped and crowded, you do not have to worry too much about Durga spilling over into a different rag.  That being said, there are some common phrases and a pakad which makes Durga’s the character more identifiable.

Here is the basic form of Durga:

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Audav

Time

Late Night

That

Bilawal that

Pakad

Drone

Sa – Pa

Deshkar is a rag which is quickly disappearing.  It is being merged into Bhupali and in the process, it is loosing its identity.  Therefore whatever you read in this page must be taken with the understanding that Deshkar’s relevance is somewhat suspect.  It is entirely up to you as to whether you wish to go “old school” and consider Deshkar and Bhupali to be separate, or whether you wish to follow contemporary usage which merges them together.  (I know that there are “old school” readers right now who are mad at me for even bringing this up, but remember, I am only describing the present state of affairs.  I did not create it.)

Deshkar is considered to be a a morning rag.  It has the exact same notes as Bhupali.  According to the old school, Deshkar tends to remain in the upper tetrachord revolving very heavily around the Dha.  Even though Ga is considered to be the samvadhi, it should not be rested upon for too long; otherwise Deshkar impinges upon Bhupali.

To make matters even more tricky, one should be careful about using meeds to slide down from Sa to Dha or from Pa to Ma.  Excessive use of these meeds, causes Deshkar to impinge upon Shuddha Kalyan.

But Shuddha Kalyan and Bhupali are not the only rags vying for this mode.  There are also Jait Kalyan and Audav Devgiri.  Although these are much less common rags, they still must be attended to.

It is this impingement of rags which seems to be partly responsible for its subsumation into Bhupali.  Many classical musicians are not particularly excited about developing any 5 note rag (audav rag) to begin with.  It is correctly noted that that audav jati rags have a somewhat limited scope for development.  In the case of these rags, it is even more confining because there is the added requirement of not mixing them together.

The result is that many classical musicians abandoned both Deshkar as well as Bhupali for classical performances; but still use ikt for semiclassical songs.  In the semi-classical and lighter styles things are different.  For quite a long time, we have heard Bhupali in bhajans, film songs, geets and whatnot.  Remember, in the lighter interpretations, one is free to explore every aspect of Bhupali’s modality without fear of being accused of improperly mixing rags.

But why is Bhupali absorbing Deshkar, and not the other way around?  This is probably a reflections of North Indian musicians tendency to follow the timings of the rags.  Remember that Bhupali is a night time rag while Deshkar is a morning rag.  Most concerts are held in the night; this creates many more opportunities to perform Bhupali.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Audav

Time

Morning

That

Bilawal that

Pakad

Drone

Sa – Pa

Desh is a very beautiful and romantic night-time rag.

This rag presents major problems for anyone attempting to perform it in a pure fashion.  The major difficulty arises from its modality.  It uses all seven notes and allows for there to be two nishads.  This forces Desh to impinge upon a number of other rags such as Khammaj, Tilak Kamod, and Sorat.  Attempting to perform Desh without impinging upon these other rags is like trying to move around in a crowded second class train compartment.  It is NOT an easy task.

This obvious difficulty is addressed in a delightful fashion.  There is a strong tendency to perform Desh in lighter styles, such as dadra, orthumree, where impinging upon other rags is not only acceptable, it is de rigueur.  Therefore, if performing Desh is like a crowded second class compartment, then it is a second class compartment where everyone there is your relative and you are going to a wedding function.

There are a number of famous film songs based upon Desh.  Probably the most famous is Vande Matram (the old version), but a number of other popular film songs are there.  A few examples are: “Gori Tore Naina, Nainava Kajar Bin Kare Kare” (Main Suhagan Hun), or “Dukh Ke Ab Din Bitat Nahi” (Devdas).

Arohana

Ascending Structure

Alternative Ascending Structure

Avarohana

Jati

Audav / Sampurna - (general discussion of jati)

Time

Late Night - (general discussion of time and rag)

That

Khammaj that

Pakad

There can be no doubt that Darbari Kanada is one of the most popular rags in the entire North Indian system of classical music.  A few common songs are “Ghunghat Ke Pat Khol Re Tohe Piya Milenge“, “Jhana Jhanak Tori Baje Payaliaya“, “Mujhe Tumse Kuch Bhi Na Chahiye“, “O Duniya Ke Rakhwale“.  This rag is also known as Durbari, or Darbari Kanara and a host of other transliterations.  It is said to have been invented by Tansen who sang in the durbar (royal court) of the Emperor Akbar, hence the name Darbari Kanada.

The vadi / samavadi theory is generally discounted by modern musicologists, but for those who are inclined to follow this, Darbari Kanada has been particularly problematic.  Some suggest that Re and Dha are the vadi and samvadi; however, others suggest that it should be Ga and Dha.

Darbari Kanada has some interesting musical characteristics.  It is a night time rag. It is said to be sampurna – sampurna, but it must be presented in a vakra (twisted) fashion to distinguish it from related rags such as Jaunpuri, Asawari, or Adana.  It is especially important to emphasize the lower register (mandra saptak) and the lower tetrachord (i.e., purvang) to distinguish this rag from Adana.

Darbari Kanada has an interesting approach to its intervals.  The minor 3rd (komal Ga) and the minor 6th (komal Dha) are much lower than usually found; this lower than normal flattening is often referred to in Indian music as ati-komal.  Therefore, ati-komal Ga is just ever-so-slightly higher than a natural 2nd (shuddha Re) and the ati-komal Dha is just ever so slightly higher than a natural 5th (Pa).  It is this extreme alteration of the intervals that helps give Darbari Kanada its distinctive character.

Here are Darbari Kanada’s overall characteristics:

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Sampurna

Time

Night -

That

Asawari That

Drone

Sa – Pa

Description

Chandrakauns is a very beautiful and striking rag.  It is also surprisingly easy to perform.  One should keep in mind, that there are actually two versions of Chandrakauns.  There is an old obsolete version, and there is the modern version.

The name Chandrakauns is interesting.  The prefix “chandra” means “moon”.  Although the etymology of the term “kauns” is obscure, it generally is used to represent five note rags.  There are several forms of both pronunciation and spelling, Chandrakosh is the second most common pronunciation.

Old Form – This is an example of how quickly rags can change.  Where a century ago, this might have been the only form that you would hear, today you will probably only hear this in old recordings.  The old form as was mentioned by Bhatkhande has the structure:

This form of Chandrakauns has a strong feel of Bhageshree about it.

Modern Form – The modern and most widely accepted version of Chandrakauns is an audav rag that is essentially identical to Malkauns with one small change.  In Chandrakauns the Nishad is shuddha rather than komal.  At first glance, one would think that the shift from the komal Ni to the shuddha Ni would make this rag more harmonically balanced and have a much more mellow feel.  However we must remember that the mind performs a musical inversion where the Madhyam is perceived to be the tonic.  With such an inversion, the shift from komal Ni to shuddha Niactually increases the feeling of tension.  It is this tension that is the characteristic “massala” which makes Chandrakauns so strikingly beautiful.

For quite some time Chandrakauns has been a popular rag for the lahara.  The lahara, also known as the naghma (nagma), is a repetitive melody used in the accompaniment of tabla solos and in kathak pieces.  Bollywood in turn has picked up on this, and has further reinforced the association by frequently using Chandrakauns based laharas in scenes that depict traditional tawaifs (an Indian version of the geisha) and traditional kathak dances.

Here are the characteristics of Chandrakauns:

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Audav - (general discussion of jati)

Time

Late Night

That

Not one of Bhatikhande’s 10 thats, but some suggest that it is Kafi

Pakad

Drone

Sa – Ma

Description

Rag Bilawal is the most basic rag in Bilawal that.  Indeed, the name of the that is derived from this rag.  Interestingly enough, this rag has been declining in popularity over the years.  This rag is sometimes referred to as Shuddha Bilawal to distinguish it from the more popular Alhiya Bilawal.

Bilawal is considerd by most to be Sampurna – Sampurna.  However, some are of the opinion that it should be considered Shadav – Sampurna due to the weakness of its Ga in the arohana.

The vadi / samavadi theory is generally discounted by modern musicologists, but for those who are inclined to follow this, it has been suggested that the vadi and samavadi are Dha and Re respectively.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Sampurna – Sampurna

Time

Morning

That

Bilawal that

Drone

Sa – Pa -

Description

This rag is very popular.  Some common songs in this rag are “Boliye Surali Boliyan”, “Hamare Dil Se Na Jana Dhokna Na Khana”, and “Tere Sur Aur Mere Geet”.  It is a late night rag (9:00pm-midnight) of audav-sampurna jati.  Its strong characteristic is the use of both madhyams.  Opinion differs as to which Ma should be given prominence.  The orthodox approach is to give importance to the shuddha Ma.  However, more modern interpretations tend to give importance to the tivra Ma.  It is this emphasis on tivra Ma which causes some musicians to assign this rag toKalyan that.

Bihag has a moderately complex structure.  This is due to the large number of rags which use both madhyams.  One must pay particular attention to the pakad or else one may impinge upon Hamir, Yaman Kalyan, Kedar, or any of a number of related rags.  The swarup (pakad) isPa Má Ga Ma Ga.  For those who still adhere to the vadi / samvadi theory, it has been suggested that the vadi is Ga and the samvadi is Ni.  TheRe and Dha are not used in the arohana but are used in the avarohana.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Audav-Sampurna

Time

Late night

That

Bilawal that

Pakad

Description

Bhupeshwari is a truly remarkable rag.  It is found in the background music of films, in qawwalis, and other light musical forms.  It is also beginning to be performed in classical styles.  It is of recent invention, but in a short period of time it has spread throughout India and Pakistan.  Common examples are Aziz Nazan’s “Chadta Suraj Dhere Dhere” and Mehdi Hassan’s “Ab Ke Hum Bichray”.

It is a rag which appears to be developing before our eyes (or ears).  It is a rare event to witness the birth of a rag.  Because it has developed only within the last few decades, it tantalises us into thinking that perhaps we can actually document the birth of this rag.  Unfortunately the details are still remain beyond our reach.

Many feel that we can ascribe this rag invention to a particular person.  According to some, it was developed by Alladiya Khan of the Jaipur Gharana.  However, we must remember that Alladiya Khan died in 1946.  If this is so, then why is it that Bhupeshwari appears to be unknown until several decades after his death.  According to others, Bhupeshwari was invented by Pandit Mani Prasad of the Kirana school.  This time-scale seems to make sense, but serious questions arise as to whether this was a completely organic creation or was he “inspired” by some pre-existing work.  Whether any of these claims are true is difficult to say.

There is some inconsistency in the nomenclature for this rag.  In India, three names arose.  The major school, and possibly the oldest was to call it Bupeshwari.  This is an obvious inspiration from “Bhupali”, which is its closest North Indian relative.  There was another school that came up with the term Bhupkali.  Again this is an obvious link to Bhupali.  Today only Hari Prasad Chaurasiya seems to use this name; it appears that the name “Bhupkali” never gained many supporters.  To make the situation more complicated, as the rag was enfolded into the corpus of South Indian rags it acquired the name Vasanthi.  The South Indians do not seem at all inclined to adopted the name Bhupeshwari, so it is unlikely that the name Vasanthi will go away; but it is likely that this name will remain permanently relegated to the south, and not have a generalised acceptance.

Even though Bhupeshwari seems to be emerging as the dominant name, there are still linguistic pressures at work.  Variations such as“Bhupeshri” are also starting to emerge.  These variations are the result of long understood linguistic processes, and are certainly no surprise.  Equally unsurprising is the lack of a commonly accepted spelling; therefore Bhupeshwari, Bhoopeswaree, Bhoopeshree, Bhoopeswari, etc. are all to be found.

But the origin of the rag and its nomenclature are not the only problems, for there are more thornier issues; particularly the problem of it’s parent modality.  The fact that this is an audav rag (only five notes) brings up many practical issues.  We are are left to try and deduce the pitches of non-existent notes.  (If this sounds crazy, it is!  This is like trying to determine the hair colour of a man who is absolutely bald.)  In the south, some suggest that this rag is derived from the 16th mela Chakravakam, but others hold that it is 25th mela Mararanjani, the 26th mela Charukesi, or even the 27th mela Sarasangi.  The situation is not much better in the north; this rag does not fit into any of Bhatkhande’s 10 thats.

So this is what is so amazing.  By all the “rules”, of north Indian music, this rag is absolutely crazy, but it works!  It is an amazingly powerful ragwhich has all off the pathos of Shivaranjani.  This is itself amazing, because it is markedly dissimilar to Shivaranjani in it’s harmonic structure.  But the sheer power of the rag has quickly propelled Bhupeshwari into the public consciousness, where it is becoming very popular in light, classical, and filmi sangeet.

In spite of the historical and theoretical problems posed by Bhupeshwari, it is a remarkably simple rag.  It is simply Bhupali / Deshkar that uses a komal Dha instead of the shuddha form.  The rag is defined entirely by its modality, therefore there are not any tricky pakards that you have to navigate.  This gives a lot of flexibility in its performance.  However, many north Indian classical musicians feel that audav rags are inherently limited in their possibilities for full development.  Bhupeshwari shares this quality with Malkauns, Chandrakauns, Kalavati and other five noterags.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Audav

Time

-NA-

That

-NA-

PAKAD

-NA-

Drone

Sa – Pa