Different Kinds of Ragas
Our previous section illustrated a few simple pentatonic ragas in an effort to show how you could get different melodies from different sets of five notes. In this and the following section, we will see how many other ways there are to group notes to form ragas. Here again, I have provided a small description of each raga mainly based on the mood (rasa / bhaava) traditionally assigned to the raga but also going by my own understanding and experience of it.
Let's begin with examples of six-note, seven-note and eight-note ragas.
Raag Marwa (hexatonic)
Raag Marwa is sung during the late afternoon hours up to sunset. It is one of the major ragas in Hindustani classical music and is sung widely and taken very seriously. One of the interesting things about Raag Marwa is that it de-emphasizes the root note "sa." Probably because of this, it is a somewhat unsettling raga, and mainly evokes dark moods of foreboding and anxiety. It can also portray compassion or resignation in the face of some inner struggle.
Raag Bhairav (heptatonic)
Bhairav is another very important raga in the Hindustani classical tradition. It is a morning raga, and solemn peacefulness is its ideal mood. It is very easy, however, for this scale to deteriorate from majestically peaceful to pathetically melodramatic, and artists must watch out for that. I think it was Pundit Vilayat Khan who once described Raag Bhairav as the music in the mind of Lord Shiva as he meditated in the Himalayas. That made an impression on me. Picture Shiva-the-terrible, absorbed in the deepest meditation in a dark cave in the Himalayas. Everything is still, except for the occasional dripping of a stalagtite. Then dawn breaks and the first rays of sunlight penetrate into the cave. Imagine the music in the mind of this man of terrifying passions at that time in his state of perfect peacefulness. And that, to me, is what Raag Bhairav should be.
Raag Pahadi
And now, a raga that can get away with using just about any note in the octave but still retains a distinct flavor all its own. Pahadi is one of those ragas that is hard to define an ascent or descent for, so here is a simple sol-fa song to demonstrate a few typical note combinations. In this example I have only combined the nine most prominent notes used. The remaining notes are used only rarely and have to be done with the greatest care and expertise to retain the raga's identity. Pahadi is an evening raga that combines both playful and pensive aspects. It is characterized by a very charming, folksy flavor.
The vast majority of ragas, however, are not symmetric in ascent and descent. They may use a different set or number of notes on the way up than they do on the way down. But what does this really mean? Well, for instance, if a note is used only in the descent, what this means is that it is always followed by a note lower than itself in the octave. For instance, in Raag Yaman, the note P is used only in the descent. So, it may be immediately followed by M, G, R or S, but not by D, N or S'. You may climb up to P on the way up: 'N R G M P. But if you want to climb further, you would have to climb down at least one step first: 'N R G M P, M D N. Of course, rules exist mainly to be broken, but only by those who have mastered them first. Here are a few examples of asymmetric ragas.
Raag Yaman
Yaman is an evening raga, sung from sunset to late evening. It is full of grace and majesty, and the main mood it creates is one of devotion and dedication. It is a raga that suggests unconditional offering of everything one has at the altar of whatever one's calling may be, asking nothing in return.
Raag Bhimpalasi
An afternoon raga, sung from late afternoon to sunset, Bhimpalasi is poignant and passionate, filled with yearning.
Raag Kedar
Kedar is one of the most lovely ragas there can be. It is sung from late evening to midnight and is said to create a mood of peacefulness. I find, however, that this raga and its playful note combinations are beautifully suited also for creating moods of joy and elation.
Raag Jog
Raag Jog is sung in small hours of the morning, just after midnight. It has a magical quality that lives up to its name (jog indicates a state of enchantment). It is quite a popular raga too, often adopted to lighter forms of music.
Raag Jaunpuri
Raag Jaunpuri is a very pretty, if somewhat plaintive, raga. It portrays deep yearning mixed with a grounding sense of resignation. Compared with its cousin, Raag Darbari, it has a distinctly feminine quality to it. It needs to be treated with a light touch and uses predominantly light ornamentation. This raga is sung in the late morning hours, up to noon or so.
Raag Darbari-Kanada
Raag Darbari-Kanada is one of the most stately ragas in the Hindustani tradition. The first part of its name, Darbari, comes from the word darbar (the king's court), and the second part, Kanada, indicates that it is originally a Carnatic (south Indian) raga. Grave and majestic, this raga is best sung in a heavy bass voice during the late evening hours, and sometimes deep into night. It is characterized by its extensive use of powerful gamak ornamentation.
Raag Bahar
Bahar means spring, and Raag Bahar is filled with the lightness and joyous celebration of springtime. It is sung through out the spring season during the early afternoon hours and lends itself best to a lively tempo.
Raag Miya-Ki-Malhar
The world-famous Raag Miya-Ki-Malhar is one of the most ravishing ragas in the Hindustani tradition.Malhar means "giver of rain" and all ragas that contain the word Malhar in their names are rain ragas. But not just any rain; it has to be the onset of the Indian monsoon. If you haven't endured four months of relentlessly rising mercury, searing heat, dry dust storms during the day and suffocating airless nights, you don't know what it feels like when suddenly one day, black clouds gather in the horizon, the thunder rumbles and temperatures drop like lead as a cool wind swirls in dried leaves and twigs ahead of the first monsoon storm. The fragrance that rises as the first raindrops touch the scorched earth is indescribable, peacocks start to dance. And that is when the Malhar ragas are sung. Miyan-Ki-Malhar can depict the joy and relief of the first rains, but on a dramatically contrasting note, it can also depict restless longing in separation and unnamed fears. Ornamentations are used to great effect in this raga to suggest the wind blowing, the thunder rumbling and lightning cracking.
Our previous section illustrated a few simple pentatonic ragas in an effort to show how you could get different melodies from different sets of five notes. In this and the following section, we will see how many other ways there are to group notes to form ragas. Here again, I have provided a small description of each raga mainly based on the mood (rasa / bhaava) traditionally assigned to the raga but also going by my own understanding and experience of it.
Let's begin with examples of six-note, seven-note and eight-note ragas.
Raag Marwa (hexatonic)
Raag Marwa is sung during the late afternoon hours up to sunset. It is one of the major ragas in Hindustani classical music and is sung widely and taken very seriously. One of the interesting things about Raag Marwa is that it de-emphasizes the root note "sa." Probably because of this, it is a somewhat unsettling raga, and mainly evokes dark moods of foreboding and anxiety. It can also portray compassion or resignation in the face of some inner struggle.
Bhairav is another very important raga in the Hindustani classical tradition. It is a morning raga, and solemn peacefulness is its ideal mood. It is very easy, however, for this scale to deteriorate from majestically peaceful to pathetically melodramatic, and artists must watch out for that. I think it was Pundit Vilayat Khan who once described Raag Bhairav as the music in the mind of Lord Shiva as he meditated in the Himalayas. That made an impression on me. Picture Shiva-the-terrible, absorbed in the deepest meditation in a dark cave in the Himalayas. Everything is still, except for the occasional dripping of a stalagtite. Then dawn breaks and the first rays of sunlight penetrate into the cave. Imagine the music in the mind of this man of terrifying passions at that time in his state of perfect peacefulness. And that, to me, is what Raag Bhairav should be.
Raag Pahadi
And now, a raga that can get away with using just about any note in the octave but still retains a distinct flavor all its own. Pahadi is one of those ragas that is hard to define an ascent or descent for, so here is a simple sol-fa song to demonstrate a few typical note combinations. In this example I have only combined the nine most prominent notes used. The remaining notes are used only rarely and have to be done with the greatest care and expertise to retain the raga's identity. Pahadi is an evening raga that combines both playful and pensive aspects. It is characterized by a very charming, folksy flavor.
The vast majority of ragas, however, are not symmetric in ascent and descent. They may use a different set or number of notes on the way up than they do on the way down. But what does this really mean? Well, for instance, if a note is used only in the descent, what this means is that it is always followed by a note lower than itself in the octave. For instance, in Raag Yaman, the note P is used only in the descent. So, it may be immediately followed by M, G, R or S, but not by D, N or S'. You may climb up to P on the way up: 'N R G M P. But if you want to climb further, you would have to climb down at least one step first: 'N R G M P, M D N. Of course, rules exist mainly to be broken, but only by those who have mastered them first. Here are a few examples of asymmetric ragas.
Raag Yaman
Yaman is an evening raga, sung from sunset to late evening. It is full of grace and majesty, and the main mood it creates is one of devotion and dedication. It is a raga that suggests unconditional offering of everything one has at the altar of whatever one's calling may be, asking nothing in return.
Raag Bhimpalasi
An afternoon raga, sung from late afternoon to sunset, Bhimpalasi is poignant and passionate, filled with yearning.
Raag Kedar
Kedar is one of the most lovely ragas there can be. It is sung from late evening to midnight and is said to create a mood of peacefulness. I find, however, that this raga and its playful note combinations are beautifully suited also for creating moods of joy and elation.
Raag Jog is sung in small hours of the morning, just after midnight. It has a magical quality that lives up to its name (jog indicates a state of enchantment). It is quite a popular raga too, often adopted to lighter forms of music.
Raag Jaunpuri
Raag Jaunpuri is a very pretty, if somewhat plaintive, raga. It portrays deep yearning mixed with a grounding sense of resignation. Compared with its cousin, Raag Darbari, it has a distinctly feminine quality to it. It needs to be treated with a light touch and uses predominantly light ornamentation. This raga is sung in the late morning hours, up to noon or so.
Raag Darbari-Kanada
Raag Darbari-Kanada is one of the most stately ragas in the Hindustani tradition. The first part of its name, Darbari, comes from the word darbar (the king's court), and the second part, Kanada, indicates that it is originally a Carnatic (south Indian) raga. Grave and majestic, this raga is best sung in a heavy bass voice during the late evening hours, and sometimes deep into night. It is characterized by its extensive use of powerful gamak ornamentation.
Bahar means spring, and Raag Bahar is filled with the lightness and joyous celebration of springtime. It is sung through out the spring season during the early afternoon hours and lends itself best to a lively tempo.
The world-famous Raag Miya-Ki-Malhar is one of the most ravishing ragas in the Hindustani tradition.Malhar means "giver of rain" and all ragas that contain the word Malhar in their names are rain ragas. But not just any rain; it has to be the onset of the Indian monsoon. If you haven't endured four months of relentlessly rising mercury, searing heat, dry dust storms during the day and suffocating airless nights, you don't know what it feels like when suddenly one day, black clouds gather in the horizon, the thunder rumbles and temperatures drop like lead as a cool wind swirls in dried leaves and twigs ahead of the first monsoon storm. The fragrance that rises as the first raindrops touch the scorched earth is indescribable, peacocks start to dance. And that is when the Malhar ragas are sung. Miyan-Ki-Malhar can depict the joy and relief of the first rains, but on a dramatically contrasting note, it can also depict restless longing in separation and unnamed fears. Ornamentations are used to great effect in this raga to suggest the wind blowing, the thunder rumbling and lightning cracking.
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