A Veritable Treasure Trove - Raag Yaman On the Lighter Side...

Raag Yaman has given us innumerable songs that have stood the test of time and changing public tastes.  We look at some of the truly 'timeless' numbers from the Hindi Film-world in this post!

Having said that Rāg Yaman is one of the most versatile matrices capable of expressing a range of emotions, we can find numerous songs in the Hindi film and non-film domain. Practically every singer / composer has given us a few gems in Yaman and Yaman-Kalyān, but the melody-queen Latā Mangeshkar still reigns supreme in the domain.

We begin our day with Latā-didi’s ‘Shree Rāmchandra Krupālu’ in the early hours and drift off to sleep late in the night with ‘Beeti nā bitāyi rainä’ (Film: 'Parichay' with Bhupendra). The range of songs in-between is simply amazing! Consider just a few – ‘Sansārse bhāge phirate ho’ (Film: Chitralekha), ‘Lau lagāti’ (Film: Bhābhi ki Chudiyān), ‘Jeevan dor tumhi sang’ and ‘Tum gagan ke chandramā’ (both from Film: Sati Sāvitri), ‘Kinu sang khelu holi’ (Meerabāi’s devotional song), ‘Jāre badarā bairi jā’ (Film: Bahānā), ‘Jiyā le gayo ji’ (Film: Anpadh), ‘Mausam hai äshikānä’ (Film: Pākizāh), ‘Chhupālo yun dil mein pyār’ (Film: Mamtā with Hemant Kumar), ‘Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi’ (Film: Barsāt Ki Rāt) and a host of others truly memorable ones!

Other artists from film-world are not far behind. Talat Mehmood, with his velvety voice, has given us ‘Aānsoo samazke kyoon mujhe’ (Film: Chhāyā) and ‘Seene mein sulagate hai aramān’ (Film: Tarānā with Latā) while Mukesh has left behind ‘Tum bin jeevan’ (Film: Anitā), ‘Sārangā teri yād mein’ (Film: Sārangā), ‘Chandan sā badan’ (Film: Saraswatichandra) and ‘Bhooli hui yādon’ (Film: Sanjog) for posterity. Mohammed Rafi, the voice with an incredible range, sang ‘Man re tu kāhe na’ (Film: Chitralekhā), ‘Lagtā nahin hein dil merā’ (Film: Lāl Quilā), ‘Ehsān terā hogā mujhpar’ (Film: Junglee) and ‘Abhi na jāo chhodkar’ (Film: Hum Dono) in Rāg Yaman.

Late KL Saigal, the immortal singer, is also best remembered for ‘Mein kyā jānoo kyā jādoo hai’ (Film: Zindagi), ‘Diyā jalāo’ (Film: Sangeet Samrāt Tānsen) and ‘Do nainā matwāle’ (Film: Meri Bahen / aka My Sister) sung in Yaman-matrix.

Even Kishor Kumar, not particularly known for his classical leanings, has given us ‘Woh shām kuchh ajeeb thi’ (Film: Khāmoshi) and ‘Aāp ke anurodhpe’ (Film: Anurodh) based on this matrix. Yesudās, the southern superstar, is still best remembered for ‘Jab deep jale ānā’ (Film: Chitchor) from his forays in the Hindi film world. And who can forget veteran Mannā-dā  with Ashā Bhosale when they belt out effortless tāns in ‘Re man sur mein gā’ (Film: Lāl Patthar)...!

The younger generation also feels gravitated to the irresistible magic of Yaman’s scale and the evidence can be found in compositions like ‘Aāye ho meri jindagimein’ (Film: Rājā Hindustāni), ‘Ghar se nikalate hi’ (Film: Pāpā Kehte Hai) and ‘Sochenge tumhe pyär’ (Film: Deewānā). Shankar Mahādevan’s ‘Breathless’ composed in Rāg Yaman stayed atop the best-seller charts for a considerable time.

But the icing on the cake, also my personal favourite, in Yaman is ‘Ranjish hi sahi’ sung by Mehdi Hasan, the ghazal-maestro. Oh gosh, what a wealth of compositions and we have not even scratched the surface...!

To round off this lovely riot of songs, here's a 'fun-medley' of some evergreen Yaman songs for your pleasure – a true treasure trove indeed!!!  We will round-off this Yaman-trek with the next post especially devoted to Marathi compositions in this pleasure-domain...

Meet the Lord - Räg Yaman

With a complete scale and an impossible range of possibilities to match, Raag Yaman is treated with reverence. Let’s look at the matrix in its classical ‘avtär’…

कमल चरण करित स्मरण नमन सर्व मंगला,

तन-मन हो भाव सुमन, 'यमन' येथ रंगला...

This is without doubt the most popular räg-matrix really! A räg that uses the complete scale, capable of expressing an exhaustive range of emotions with an unfathomable depth of potential in presentation! It has also been referred to as the Lord of Rägs – come let’s get acquainted with Räg Yaman!

Technically speaking, Yaman belongs to the ‘Kalyän Thät’ and is sung in the first quadrant of night. The matrix uses all seven notes in the scale and, barring teevra madhyam (sharp fourth note), all others are flat. With typical phraseology that drops Sä or Pa in the ascent but uses them out of sequence in descent (e.g. ‘Ni-Re-Ga-Ma-Dha-Pa’ or ‘Ni-Dha-Ni-Re-Sä’), Yaman never fails to achieve an effect of well-being, serenity, and a pleasant ambience all around. Yaman-Kalyän, its sister-melody that’s very close in nature to Yaman, differs only in its usage of both shuddha and teevra madhyam (flat and sharp fourth notes) and both these matrices have been sung extensively by artists over past few centuries. Here is a typical layout and phraseology of Yaman for you -

With its enormous potential, Yaman has always beckoned artists to discover something new in its phrases and all great vocalists and instrumentalists have given us their own flavour of this räg over changing times. Recorded material from several all-time greats from earlier generations has left behind some sparkling gems in Yaman for posterity. The greats of current generation have also explored the vastness of Yaman in their own inimitable way.

To begin with, here’s Late Smt. Heerabai Barodekar’s Yaman that personifies ‘Kiränä Gäyaki’ with its emphasis on purity and completeness of ‘swar’ and serenity in presentation.

And listen to Pt Kumär Gandharva’s all-time hit recording of Kalyän (Kumar-ji always referred to this räg-matrix as ‘Kalyän’) that refuses to fade from popularity charts.

Or take ‘Swar-Bhäskar’ Pt Bhimsen Joshi’s Yaman recorded about thirty-five years ago. Although his ‘täleem’ is typically ‘Kiränä Gäyaki’, some ‘Punjab & ‘Patiyala’ influence is very much evident in this presentation by young Bhimsen-ji. Some very aggressive tän-patterns and the overall approach seems to have been borrowed from his early forays in the North India in search of a ‘Guru’! You will definitely discover new moments of pleasure every time you hear ‘Eeri äli piyä bin’.

In the instrumental territory, I have for you a wonderful ‘äläp-jod-jhälä’ on sitar by Pt. Budhäditya Mukherjee played recently in a concert in Pune. (The recording quality may not be top-drawer since this was recorded from the auditorium.)

To round off, here’s a traditional bandish from ‘Gwalior Gharänä’ presented by Vijay Koparkar that typically projects the pleasant personality of this evergreen räg-matrix.

It is inevitable that Räg Yaman, with its immense potential, presented an irresistible proposition to composers in light and popular music. The number of songs composed in this matrix and the range of emotions they express is really unbelievable. But more about Yaman’s versatility in its lighter form in the next post…

The Bitter-Sweet Melancholy - Räg Madhuwanti

I don’t know why, but I was (kind of) putting off writing on this räg matrix for some time now. One reason, probably, is that the true nature of this räg still eludes me and I am unable to put my finger on the pulse of this matrix. But then I go back to the basic premise which says that a composition that is able to project a picture in the minds of listeners will be celebrated as a ‘räg’ and it solves my conundrum!

Räg Madhuwanti actually derives from Räg Multäni but differs from it where it uses Shuddha Rishabh & Shuddha Dhaivat (flat second & sixth notes, respectively). This brings Madhuwanti in a time-slot that’s a little later than its parent matrix – Madhuwanti is generally sung in the early hours of the fourth (last) quadrant of the day. All phraseology and chalan are similar to that of Multäni but use of Shuddha Rishabh & Dhaivat brings some degree of calm and, at times, melancholy feelings in the matrix. Listen to this very popular ghazal from ‘Dil ki Rähen’ (1973) composed by Late Madan Mohan-ji in the melancholy vibes of Madhuwanti.

But then there are other moods of Madhuwanti that are more subtle and better expressed in the expansive format of classical music. What I have for you is an elaborate and well laid-out Madhuwanti by Vijay Koparkar. This recording is part of a workshop on classical vocal music held in Nashik a few years back and Vijay presents four compositions one after another presenting different shades and moods of the matrix.

But we close this episode with yet another melancholy number composed by Sudheer Phadke, the maestro of Marathi Bhäv-sangeet. All his compositions from ‘Geet-Rämäyan’ are based solidly on various räg-matrices but carry the mood of ‘GaDiMä’ lyrics so well that the listener is completely immersed in the ethos of the totality, not just the composition! So lose yourself in Seetä’s quiet grieving question to Lord Räm as he prepares to leave for vanaväs…