A Lilting Melody - Raag Lalat

As you progress on the musical trek, you will notice some peculiarities in Indian raag system. That the notes used in a raag are predominantly komal (sharp) if it falls in the twilight zone and shuddha (flat) notes are the hallmark of raags sung in the middle of night or day is very special feature of the system. Now that we are in the morning ambience, let’s look at one more melodious composition from the morning repertoire – Raag Lalat!

A typical pre-dawn melody, Lalit (also known as Lalat at times, esp. in Maharashtra) excels in the upper half of octave. The framework of this raag leaves out Pancham (fifth note) but uses both flat and sharp Madhyam (fourth note). ‘Ni-Re-Ga-Mâ-Mã-Mâ’ is the typical phrase by which Lalat is established. There are a number of famous and immortal compositions sung by generations of vocalists and instrumentalists in this raag. The traditional Gwalior composition ‘Mäi Ghungaravä’ embodies a romantic feel to the raag while ‘Jogiya more ghar’, immortalized by greats like Ustad Amir Khan or Pt Rajan-Sajan Misra, brings out the joy at re-union after long years.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan’s presentation of Lalat on sarod has been widely popular for past several decades while his guru-bandhu Bharat-Ratna Pt Ravi Shankar gave the raag a deeper feeling in his rendition of Ahir-Lalat, a jod-raag derived from the main melody. Ustad Shahid Parvez, in recent years, has also played Bhinna-Lalat beautifully on sitär combining Raags Bhinna-Shadaj and Lalat.

It is worth mentioning here that Lalat once upon a time, used to be sung with Shuddha-Dhaivat instead of the Komal-Dhaivat as it presently does in recent times. Lalat with Pancham (fifth note) used in descent (avarohä) was also prevalent in historic times although it is heard very rarely these days. Pt Ulhas Kashalkar recorded a delightful Lalat-Pancham way back in early-eighties that is still a much sought-after recording for connoisseurs even today. Lalat also gels well with other pre-dawn raag-matrices to create melodious sound-scapes. Raag Triveni (a combination of 3 pre-dawn raags), Raag Bhavmat-Bhairav (a combination of Bhairav, Lalat & Bhatiyar conceptualized and popularized by Pt Kumar Gandharv) are some of those gems that have emphasized individual creativity embodied in Indian Classical Music.

Popular music has seen a number of songs based on Lalat – ‘Ek shahenshähne banawäke haseen Taj-mahal’ from Naushad’s ‘Leader’ being the most famous composition. But Manna Dey-Lata duet ‘Preetam Daras Dikhäo’ from ‘Chächä Zindäbäd’ also features high on popularity ratings. The male duet ‘Tu hai mera prem devatä’ sung by Manna Dey-Mohd Rafi is another immortal number. But the most melodious composition in Lalat in the recent years has been the Jagjit Singh’s ‘Koi Päs Aaya Savere Savere’. The ghazal-maestro has made magnificent use of this early morning melody in bringing out the melancholy in this ghazal. A half-hour mini-digest of sorts on Raag Lalat recorded for All India Radio under the title 'Swar-Rang' has been posted for your pleasure under the section ‘For your listening pleasure…’

Marathi repertoire also boasts of some hummable numbers based on Raag Lalat. Sudhir Phadke’s ‘Te maze ghar’ or Pt Jitendra Abhisheki’s ‘He sakhi shashivadane’ are typically ‘Lalat’ compositions. But the most popular, perhaps, is the natyageet sung by inimitable Pt Vasantrao Deshpande, ‘Tejonidhi Lohagol’. Although it is based on Raag Triveni (comprising Lalat, Bhatiyär and Bibhäs – a recording of this rare combination by Vijay Koparkar, disciple of Pt Vasantrao Deshpande, is available as a link under ‘For your listening pleasure…’ section), Lalat is the most dominant melody here. The fitting lyrics complement the composition by Pt Abhisheki and one truly gets into the mood worshipping the Sun God – truly a lilting melody, this Lalat!

Bhairav - Heralding the Dawn...!

You must experience this – the early dawn, a bit of chill in the air and the calm and serene ambience! You and the world around you are in complete harmony with each other. May be some misgivings about the night-that-was, a little anxiety about the day-to-come, but the promise of the bright sunshine to follow gives your soul the confidence that everything will just be fine! You actually yearn for this serenity forever but life often denies you these small pleasures. This, precisely, is the essence of Raag Bhairav!

One of the oldest raags in the Hindustani tradition, Bhairav takes its name after Lord Shiva and also follows the nature of this supremely serene yet powerful deity. Employing all seven notes in the octave, this sampoorna raag is also the main melody of Bhairav thaat and is sung in the early dawn. With tremendous potential for interpretation and improvisation, this is a favourite melody for vocalists and instrumentalists, alike. ‘Ahir-Bhairav’, ‘Bairägi-Bhairav’, ‘Shivmat-Bhairav’, ‘Bhavmat-Bhairav’ are some of the variants of this raag and all are equally popular. ‘Mero Allä Meherbän’ is the one of the most popular compositions sung by Pt Jasraj in his inimitable Mewati style and personifies Bhairav with its emphasis on the higher notes of the octave. A sample of ‘Bairägi-Bhairav’ can be found elsewhere in this blog under the "For your listening pleasure...". Do experience the ambience first hand!

Popular music has also made extensive use of the ambience created by Bhairav. Remember Raj Kapoor and Nargis in ‘Jägo Mohan Pyäre’ from ‘Jägate Raho’? This immortal song typically exemplifies Bhairav’s intensity and ability to generate confidence. ‘Mohe Bhool Gaye Sänwariyä’ by Lata Mangeshkar also brings out the ethos superbly. Raag Ahir-Bhairav also features prominently in film music. The famous Manna Dey song ‘Poocho Na Kaise’, or ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ number ‘Albelä Sajan Aayo Ri’, adapted from a traditional bandish, are the perfect examples of this raag. ‘Man Aanand-Aanand Chhäyo’, Vanraj Bhatiya’s haunting composition from Shashi Kapoor’s ‘Vijeta’, is also based on Anand-Bhairav, a rarely sung melody of Bhairav lineage.

Life has become too hectic to enjoy early morning serenity every day. But dig out a cassette or a CD and listen to Bhairav and indulge in the ambience to herald a new dawn in your own mind!

The 'Raag' Matrix

The raag system in Hindustani music has its own rules and guidelines. A raag must, for example, have a minimum of five notes (including the base-note Sa) to begin with and both halves of the octave must be represented in those notes. The vaadi-swar, the most important note of the combination that is given special emphasis during presentation, of the raag should also be properly defined. The next most important note, called samvaadi-swar, should also be defined and must not belong to the same half of the octave as that of the vaadi-swar.

Consider this example – Raag Bhoop has five notes, Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha, all shuddha (the first, second, third, fifth and sixth flat notes). Ga (the third note) is its vaadi-swar, which belongs to the first-half (poorvang) of the octave while Dha (the sixth note) is the samvaadi-swar falling in the second-half of the octave (uttarang). Since the most important note in this raag is in octave’s first-half, the presentation of this melody will always be dominated by the lower notes constituting the first-half. This raag, therefore, is called a poorvang-pradhan raag.

There are a number of combinations of various notes which are recognized as valid raags and some of them employ all seven or more (a combination of flat and sharp / minor) notes. These raags are classified into various thaats (categories) according to the notes used in the combination. There are ten such thaats that have been universally accepted in Hindustani style.

Another peculiarity of the Raag Matrix is that each of them has been assigned a time-slot in the 24-hour cycle. This again is unique to Hindustani music and it has been universally accepted that a raag will make the maximum impact if sung in its proper time-slot. Take, for example, the case of Raag Ahir-Bhairav. This melody is a twilight raag sung just before sunrise. If you remember the famous Manna Dey song ‘Poocho Na Kaise Maine’ based on this raag, you will realize that the composition makes you yearn for the early morning sunlight streaming through your windows and takes you right into the early dawn ambience.

Let’s get melodic and look at some of the famous raags in the forthcoming posts...!

Beginning with the basics

‘Ranjayate Iti Räg:’ (meaning – that combination of musical notes which pleases or appeals to mind is a raag) is one simple definition of a raag in Indian music tradition. The musical notes – we call them Sä, Re, Ga, and so on while Western music has Do, Re, Mi, etc – are nothing but frequencies and the system of twelve musical notes, seven flat (shuddha) and five sharp (teevra / komal), is universal. It is only the interpretation and system of its usage that creates various musical traditions.

If we consider the mathematical permutations and combinations enabled by these twelve notes, the number of raags that can be constructed can be huge. But there are some basic rules governing the architecture of raag such as, minimum number of notes in a raag, their placement, the ascent (äroha) and descent (avaroha) from Sä (the base-note), typical phraseology (chalan) within its framework, etc. Taking into account all these rules and the basic principle of the ‘pleasing / appealing nature of the combination’ embodied in the definition, the number of valid raags that can be derived comes down to a few hundred. This is the main body of the wealth in Indian Classical music.

A musical tradition derives its strength from three basic components – Swara (the note), Laya (tempo) and shabd (lyrics). Different musical traditions give different importance and prominence to one or more of these components and evolve separate styles known commonly as ‘gharänä’ in musical parlance. The musical systems world over have numerous such traditions and each is beautiful and pleasing in its own way. The West has its Jazz, Pop or Blues while we, in India, have North Indian (Hindustani) and Carnatic as two basic styles and various traditions such as Gwalior, Kirana, Mewati, etc as gharänäs in Hindustani music.While it may sound very simplistic speaking about basics of music in such short paragraphs, we must appreciate that each and every style of music, however small or insignificant, has been a creation of a genius mind and has probably taken ages to perfect and perpetuate.

Taking this line further, we must appreciate that there’s a fundamental difference in musical approach between Indian and Western styles. While Indian music has always relied on ‘melody’, the Western focus is on ‘harmony’ where multiple voices and/or instruments play together, at times in different notes, to create harmonic soundscape. This difference leads to evolution of contrasting styles where one seeks congruence in diversity while the other seeks one-ness in everything associated with it.

Another important difference between these styles is that the Western scale (system of twelve notes to an octave) is ‘fixed’ or ‘standard’. But Hindustani system not only uses all twelve notes from an octave, but also employs the frequencies in-between them. These half or quarter notes are called ‘Shrutis’ and are unique to Indian music. The use of shrutis enables us to present a note differently in different raags and project different moods and soundscapes. An apt illustration of this premise can be found in the audio clip by Shri Vijay Koparkar attached here in the form of a hyperlink.

One more difference is that the Western music is, most often, written, i.e. the progression through various notes, rhythm patterns and instruments is written down in the form of a ‘musical score’ by a composer and the scope for improvisation or different interpretation available to a performer is extremely limited. Indian raag system, on the other hand, lays down a framework of notes, their passage through the octave and typical phrases associated with specific raag leaving the presentation to the performer. A performer, therefore, has freedom to interpret the raag according to his creativity and present it. Hindustani music has, therefore, been termed as a ‘fountain of spontaneity’ where one raag may be presented by different artists in their individual styles and flavours.

For example, a symphony composed by Beethoven, the celebrated German composer-organist, has been performed for past couple of centuries in the same fashion by various orchestras because it has been written down. While Raag Yaman, on the other hand, has been played by generations of artists with interpretations changing with times. This system, due to its inherent freedom, allows for individualistic expression and a unique experience with each performer. The freedom of expression may even go to an extent where the interpretation of a raag by one artist may change from one moment in time to another and the listener will be treated to a different picture of a raag.

The Initiation

Actually speaking, I never thought about this way of expression. But it was a random conversation with my son that got me thinking. I was travelling with Pt Arun Kashalkar to Mumbai and my son was also with us in the car. After listening to us talk about music for about 3-4 hours, he suddenly asked me, "Baba, why don't you start a blog? Whatever you two have been discussing is the perfect content for a blog...!" I never thought of blogs as a medium of expression - I've always written for newspapers with the common reader in mind. But this reaction from my son set me thinking seriously. Although I have written extensively on Indian Classical Music, my reader was always a known quantity - at least to me. With the blogs going out to the entire cyber-community, I always thought that I lost touch with the identity of my reader and never really gave it a serious consideration. But this is it - I have taken the plunge and will take it up in the right earnest and put down my thoughts out to the cyberspace.

But who would take efforts to read it...? I am not a practising musician, nor one who's trained in the revered 'Guru-Shishya' tradition - I really got my moorings in ICM from all those artists who treated me as a friend and tried to give me some insight into the domain. Really, I'm a total nobody - except that I love Indian Classical Music (ICM) to such an extent that it's THE PASSION in my life. With this passion, life also gave me loads of opportunities to listen to quality music, meet with colorful personalities in this field and enrich my experiences. Whatever I have written so far, has come out of the wealth of experiences so gathered. This blog is just an attempt to create a space for my random thoughts - some may call them ramblings - but I do think that there's a soul-mate somewhere in this cyberspace who finds consonance with my thoughts and, maybe; likes to read them. The blog may feature excerpts from my previous writings or reactions to events / happenings around us or, just as I mentioned above, stray / random thoughts. So let's get blogging...