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Indian music is very unique
in that, it is highly spiritual in nature.
The singer/artist tries to reach God through
his music. Like all the other Indian classical
Performing Arts, classical music too, is
a journey of the Jeevatma or the
soul towards the Paramatma or the
Divine.
As they say, ‘Western
music moves the heart, while Indian music
moves the soul’.
“Geetam Vadyam
Nrithyam Trayam Sangeetam Uchyatey”
This phrase in Sanskrit implies that the
word ‘Sangeetam’ or
music includes the practice of Geetam
(Vocal Music), Vadyam (Instrumental
Music) and Nrithyam (Dance).
‘Sangeeta sadhana’,
or the practice of such music, is the key
to attaining the Divine, according to Indian
music.
NAADA
India’s rich cultural
system is made up of the silken fabric of
dance and music. Both the pure Classical
Indian forms as well as folklore rely heavily
on one aspect of Sangeetam – the nada.
The nada can be defined as sound or more
specifically, as resonance.
“Ananda lakshanam
anahata namnee deyshey
nadatmana parinatam thoo aroopam eeshey
prachnan mukheyna manasA paricheeya manam
samshanti nethra salilai: pulakaischa dhanyA:”
This Sanskrit sloka describes
the nada. It says, “The true nature
of nada is bliss. The source of this Divine
Energy is the anahata chakra, which
is situated in the heart region. This chakra
or spiritual center is the seat of the Primeval
Sound, ‘aum’, the creator
of the world. This Divine Energy is formless
and can be perceived only through mystical
experiences. So state the great seers, in
an extremely ecstatic state, shedding ceaseless
tears of joy”.
According to Sarangadeva
of Sangeeta Ratnakara fame, nada
is produced thus:
- The Atma or the soul
desiring to speak or sing, stirs the mind.
- The mind strikes the
fire residing in the body.
- The fire strikes the
wind in the body.
- The wind residing
in the Brahmagranthi and rising
along the upward path, manifests successively
on the navel, heart, throat, head and mouth.
Thus the nada is produced
by the conjuction of prana or life-force
(‘nA’) and anala
or fire (‘da’).
NADOPASANA
Sangeetam
and sangeeta sadhana is an important
part of India’s rich cultural heritage.
Music is akin to the Divine and the upasana
or the practice of music is regarded as
a prayer to the Divine Light.
Saint Thyagaraja,
one of the Trinity of Carnatic (south Indian
classical) music, extols the importance
of this aspect in several of his compositions.
In his Telugu kriti (or composition),
‘Naadatanumanisam’,
he states:
‘Nadatanumanisam
Sankaram Namamimey Manasa Sirasa’,
meaning, “I bow to that Lord Siva
who is the very essence of nada or resonance
(sound)”.
Yet another famous
composition of Thyagaraja goes as follows:
‘Sobhillu
Saptaswara Sundarulu Bhajimpavey ManasA’,
where the composer talks about the Divine
Light glowing through the seven swaras
or notes.
There are several
stories relating to each God in Indian mythology.
While this can astound and overwhelm any
foreign student interested in studying Indian
art and culture, it is a normal way of life
in India!
The Hindu pantheon
contains thirty-three crores of Gods, Goddesses
and Divine Beings. Idol worship is one of
the main types of religious worship in India.
While this can be quite confusing to say
the very least, the ultimate aim of the
Hindu seeker is to go beyond idol worship
and realize the true state of the formless
Brahman, the Ultimate One.
Nadopasana, or
the worship of that One Universal Power
through music, is the final aim of the musician
or singer.
Nada gives rise to srutis, which in turn
gives rise to swaras or notes. It is these
notes that give rise to various ragas
of Indian music.
SRUTI
“Shrooyatey
Iti Sruti” – any sound
that is heard is called Sruti.
This definition, however,
is very general. Sruti goes to mean the
smallest interval of a sound that can be
perceived by a trained ear. Classical Indian
music abounds with semi-tones and quarter-tones
to enhance the quality of music. Some of
the quarter-tones used are very subtle and
can only be heard by those who are deeply
involved in the study of music.
Sruti also has various
other meanings. It can mean the ear, hearing,
even the Vedas. The term sruti
also denotes the drone instrument, which
constantly gives the singer/musician the
required pitch.
Indian music relies very
heavily on srutis and sruti values. Subtle
and gross differences in sruti values is
what gives us the swaras or notes in Indian
music.
SWARA
The swara or the note
is derived from the roots of the two words,
‘Swayam’ and ‘Ranjakam’.
So the word ‘swara’ means, ‘that
which pleases on its own accord’.
World music has seven universal notes.
The number seven is of
great esoteric significance in our lives.
We have seven days of the week, seven colors
of the rainbow, the seven seas, the Saptarishi
or seven sages and so on.
The seven notes of Western
music are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La and Ti,
while its Indian counterpart is Sa,
Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni.
The origin of the swara
The origin of swara goes
back to the Vedic period. Tracing the origin
of the swara is an interesting journey.
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GODDESS GAYATRI
-
THE GAYATRI MANTRA |
The saman Chant
- The earliest Aryan
dwellers chanted the Rig Veda hymns
with just one note. This was the first stage,
wherein the Gayatri mantra, or
the ‘Om Bhur Bhuvaswaha’
was chanted only with one note.
- Then came the gatha
or the gathika, wherein two notes
were used for chanting. This is when cadences
came into being, along with the chant.
- The third stage was
the most important one – when the
saman chant was introduced in hymns. This
stage included chanting with three swaras
or notes. It is believed that Indian music
came about after the introduction of the
sama veda.
Mythological origin of the swara
There is a fascinating
mythological tale about the origin of the
swaras, as follows:
It is believed that Lord
Shiva once addressed a celestial congregation,
for the welfare of mankind. While the subject
of His address became the Vedas, the differences
in His tonal quality became the seven swaras.
Shiva is known to have
five faces or the ‘panchavaktra’,
which are, Satyojata, Vamaka, Tathpurusha,
Isana and Aghora.
He first addressed the
audience at the centre, and then the immediate
left and right. The centre tone became the
basic note or the sadja (sa),
while the ones on the immediate left and
right became the ‘ni’
of the lower octave and ‘ri’
respectively.
Shiva then addressed
the audience to the far left and right.
Here, two notes emanated out of each face,
to reach to the farthest sides. So there
emanated the notes ‘dha’
and ‘pa’ of the lower
octave on the left side and ‘ga’
and ‘ma’ on the right.
This totaled to seven
swaras, Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha
and Ni.
Mother Nature’s contribution to
the Indian swara system!
One interesting fact
that the origin of swaras gives us is that
they were derived from Mother Nature Herself!
The tonal quality of each note is associated
with the call of a specific animal or bird,
as listed below:
NAME
OF
SWARA |
NOTATION
WRITTEN |
NOTATION |
SOURCE |
Sadja |
Sa |
S |
Cry
of the peacock |
Rishabha |
Re |
R |
Lowing
of the bull |
Gaandhaara |
Ga |
G |
Bleating
of a goat |
Madhyama |
Ma |
M |
Call
of the heron |
Panchama |
Pa |
P |
Call
of the cuckoo |
Dhaivata |
Dha |
D |
Neighing
of the horse |
Nishaada |
Ni |
N |
Trumpeting
of the elephant |
The 12 swaras
Though the seven note
system in music is universally accepted,
Indian system adds an extra 5 notes, depending
on the variation of the srutis. The manipulation
of these swaras is what gives rise to one
of the most important concepts of Indian
classical music, the raga.
The 12 swaras are as
follows:
| NAME OF
THE SWARA |
NOTATION |
| Sadja |
S |
| Komal Rishabha |
R1 |
| Teevra Rishabha |
R2 |
| Komal Gaandhaara |
G1 |
| Teevra Gaandhaara |
G2 |
| Komal Madhyama |
M1 |
| Teevra Madhyama |
M2 |
| Panchama |
P |
| Komal Dhaivata |
D1 |
| Teevra Dhaivata |
D2 |
| Komal Nishaada |
N1 |
| Teevra Nishaada |
N2 |
RAGA – THE SOUL OF INDIAN MUSIC
The following is the
Sanskrit definition given to the word, ‘raga’:
“Ranjayati
Iti Raaga:”
That which pleases the
ear is referred to as a raga. The raga can
be defined as a melodic type or melodic
mould. It is a collection of notes in a
particular order, giving rise to a melody
type. The raga is the very soul of Indian
music.
It is very difficult,
almost impossible, to define a raga in just
a word or two. Though the above-mentioned
definition of a raga exists, it is only
valid for academic purposes.
As Harold.S.Powers states,
"A raga is not a tune, nor is it a
'modal' scale, but rather a continuum with
scale and tune as its extremes." The
Indian raga is far more complex than the
simple modal scale and encompasses in itself
a variety of ways in which you can treat
its notes or swaras. The raga is also much
more complicated than just a tune. The raga
can also present itself as a method of on-the-spot
creative improvisation (like the Alapana
or the raga vistara) by the musician/artist.
Ragas are ever-changing,
dynamic entities. They veritably pulsate
with life and help produce an almost unlimited
flow of ideas in the artist. The raga, being
so vast a subject, goes beyond the most
detailed definition and has to be experienced
by both the singer and the listener to be
properly understood.
Raga is the pivotal concept
of Indian music. It is uniquely melody-based
and is a fine example of ‘absolute
music’. Nowhere else in world music
can you see the existence of a phenomenon
like the raga. Hence the Indian raga system
generates much interest among musicians
and musicologists of world music.
The raga is a compilation
of a series of notes in an octave, which
bear a definite relationship to one another
and occur in varied phrases of permutation
and combination, thereby giving a shape
and a unique personality to it. The raga
must have a minimum of five notes in the
order as prescribed by the ancient texts
on music. Further, it must have a Sa and
either the Ma or the Pa. There are exceptions
in Carnatic music, of course, but those
ragas have limited scope and do not sound
very pleasing when sung for too long.
The raga is ornamented
with various shakes and graces too, thereby
enabling it to emote and breathe life and
expression into a song.
Western music places
importance on scales. Western classical
music deals with various major and minor
scales as the basis of its music. These
scales are of equal temperament, meaning
they are rendered in the same way by each
and everyone singing or playing that particular
scale.
Indian music, on the
other hand, stresses on scales of unequal
temperament, or what is termed as ‘just
intonation’ or ‘correct intonation’.
Here, the notes of each raga or melody are
rendered in different raga. The notes of
a scale are embellished with shakes and
oscillations, which enhance the beauty of
the raga. These shakes are referred to as
‘gamakas’.
It is the usage of these
gamakas or ornamentations that makes Indian
music what it is today. These gamakas give
character and a unique emotional quality
to the raga as a whole.
Healing properties of ragas
Ragas are said to have
healing properties, if sung properly. Emperor
Akbar’s great court singer, Tansen,
is said to have been able to light oil-lamps,
bring rain and even save lives with his
music. There is also a historical reference
to how he brought a dead man to life by
singing a particular raga.
Ragas in Indian music
are known to have healing properties. While
ragas like Sahana heal the body
of mild ill-health, Todi relieves
severe sinus headaches. Singing the Carnatic
ragas Bharavi and Athana
restore sagging spirits and bestow a feeling
of well-being both on the singer and his
audience.
RAGA AND RASA
The raga, as discussed
earlier, is capable of emoting and expressing
feelings and thoughts. This happens through
the clever use of the appropriate srutis,
swaras and pakads (the most important
phrases of a raga).
This emotional quality
of the raga is known as the rasa, or the
quality of that emotion. Raga and rasa go
hand-in-hand in Indian classical music.
If rendered properly, every raga is capable
of giving rise to some emotion, both in
the person singing it and among the general
audience too.
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RASA IN AESTHETICS -
AN APPLICATION OF RASA THEORY
TO
MODERN
WESTERN LITERATURE
BY PRIYADARSHINI PATNAIK
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The Natya Shastra,
an ancient treatise on Indian Performing
Arts (believed to have been written by Bharata
Muni, somewhere between 400 BC and 200 AD),
talks about the ‘navarasas’
- nine types of rasas or emotions. These
are:
- Shringara
(Love/Eroticism)
- Hasya (Mirth)
- Karuna (Compassion/Pathos)
- Raudra (Anger)
- Veera (Valour)
- Bhayanaka (Fear)
- Bibhatsa (Disgust)
- Adbhuta (Wonder/Amazement)
- Shanta (Peace/Serenity)
Each raga admits of one
predominant rasa. One raga might
even portray more than one emotion, if treated
in different ways. Oscillating one note
feebly may give rise to veera rasa, while
shaking it more vigorously could give rise
to raudra rasa.
The exposition of the
raga and the resulting rasa(s) all really
depends on the caliber of the musician and
the extent to which his imagination stretches
to define the boundaries of the raga.
The Gaana Rasa
Though the Natya
Shastra speaks only of nine rasas,
one more rasa may be added to the list and
that is gana rasa. Gana rasa is
the pure aesthetic enjoyment of music, without
any other emotion involved. This may also
be termed as ‘Sangeetananda’
or joy derived from singing or listening
to music.
This capacity of the
raga to give rise to rasas or emotions is
what makes Indian music occupy a unique
place in the history of world music.
Of course, one experiences
a plethora of emotions when one listens
to artists like Bach, Beethoven or the famous
singer, the late Amalia Rodrigues. But the
extent to which the rasa theory of Indian
classical music has been systematized makes
it a cut above the rest of world music.
RAGAS AND RAGA DEVATAS
Each raga in Indian
music is assigned a particular form and
the singer/musician sings melodies keeping
this image in mind. The raga devatA
or the presiding deity of the raga is as
important as the raga itself.
This is yet another point
where Indian classical music stands out
from the rest of the world music. Each raga
or melodic mould is actually personified
and given a form and shape.
The concept of the raga
devatA, in fact, is so important, that it
is often said that singing raga phrases
wrongly would cause injury or even headaches
to the raga devatA!
CLASSIFICATION OF RAGAS
Raga, being a very vast
subject, it has been classified in several
ways, from time immemorial.
Graama/murchana/jaati classification
Various methods of raga
classifications have been tried out by experts
from as early as the 9th Century, considering
aspects of music that held its sway in that
particular era. One of the earliest attempts
of raga classification was the grama/murchana/jati
differentiations.
But many of these classifications
have not helped in the present scenario,
as the ancient ragas themselves have evolved.
Besides, many hundreds of new ragas have
also come into existence today. So they
would fit nowhere in the ancient system
of raga classification.
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THE SCALES OF INDIAN MUSIC
(A COGNITIVE APPROACH TO
THAAT/MELAKARTA)
BY PRITHWINDRA MUKHERJEE
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Classification into Melakartas and Thats
Ramamatya expounded the
72 Melakarta (the full raga or
the parent raga) system for Carnatic music
in the 16th Century, which was further elaborated
and clarified by Venkatamakhi in the 17th
Century. This type of raga classification
is the very anchor of the Carnatic system
of music and has come to stay in this system.
Famed scholar and musicologist
Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkande, studied
the Melakarta system in detail and came
out with a monumental contribution to the
world of Hindustani music. Out of the 72
Melakartas, he selected 10 sampoorna
or full ragas and referred to them as Thaats.
The 10 Thaats, which are the basis of Hindustani
music today, are Bilaval, Khamaj, Kafi,
Asavari, Bhairavi, Kalyan, Todi, Purvi,
Marva and Bhairav.
Again, there are controversies
regarding this classification too, but Bhatkande’s
Thaat system is the widely accepted by most
musicians in Hindustani music.
Raga classification has
also been done on various grounds –
on the number of notes they take, on the
mood they create, on the bhava
or feeling/expression they generate, the
time they are sung at, the features they
take and so on and so forth.
Classification of Janya Ragas
After the sampoorna ragas,
there came the janya ragas. These child
ragas, which were derived from the Melakartas,
had one of few notes missing in them, or
would take notes foreign to the parent raga.
So ragas were further classified on such
basis.
Depending on the swaras
they took, these Varjya (with notes
missing in them) janya ragas were classified
as follows:
Audava –
Taking5 notes in the aroha/avaroha
(the ascent or descent)
Shaadava – Taking 6 notes
Vakra – Taking notes in a
zig-zag manner, not following the right
order
Upaanga – Taking notes in
conformity with the parent raga
Bhaashaanga – Taking foreign
notes or ‘anyaswaras’,
not belonging to the parent raga.
RAGA AND THE TIME THEORY
It is believed that
certain ragas are most beneficial while
sung at an appropriate time during the day.
Both the Hindustani and Carnatic music systems
believe in the time theory, but it is the
former that places much emphasis on this
theory.
The time theory was first
constructed and propagated about 500 years
ago by the famous Hindustani (north Indian
classical music) musician, Pandit Bhatkande.
Pandit Bhatkande is hailed as the father
of Hindustani music, as he was the one who
built a systematized module for Hindustani
music.
Hindustani singers faithfully
follow the time theory by rendering ragas
only at their specified timings. The time
theory is split into two parts – the
Purva ragas and the Uttara
ragas. The Purva Ragas are those sung between
12 noon and 12 midnight, while the Uttara
Ragas are ideally sung between 12 midnight
and 12 noon.
The ragas to be sung
between twilight and dusk are called Sandhi
Prakash ragas. These are supposed to
be sung around 4 and 7 o’clock, both
in the morning and evening.
Besides the time of
day, seasonal ragas also exist. It is best
to sing certain ragas at certain times of
the year. For example, raga Basant Bahar
is best sung during spring, raga Amritavarshini
during the rainy season or to bring in more
rain and so on.
The reason for compartmentalizing
these ragas is probably because they already
have the capability to generate a particular
emotion, which can be heightened by that
season. Spring is a season for the heart
to blossom with love. Singing a raga that
exudes the Shringara rasa, brings
out the real beauty of the raga.
MUSIC, PAINTING AND POETRY
There has been a close
inter-relation between music, painting and
poetry. Much of Indian music has come into
existence through the heartfelt outpourings
of brilliant composers like Mirabai, Tulsidas,
Purandaradasa Thyagaraja, His Highness Maharaja
Swati Tirunal and so on. So, Indian music
and poetry have a strong link that binds
them together.
A clear link has been
drawn between music and painting too. Since
each raga is capable of emoting and is given
a unique personality, it was inferred that
these ragas could be actually expressed
on canvas.
The connection between
the raga and painting came into the fore
between the 16th and 19th Centuries, when
painting of miniatures was encouraged by
the Moghul rulers.
There have since even
been several successful attempts at interpreting
music through the use of colors and painting.
THE RAGAMALA PAINTINGS
The Bhakti (devotion)
and Bhajana (sacred) tradition
was petering out by the 13th Century and
the new trend was towards secular music
– the singing of ragas. A number of
new ragas were coming into existence, bringing
this field to the forefront.
Nevertheless, musicians
of the old school still believed in the
rasa theory and the time theory. They also
believed in the raga devatA concept and
carried on with propagating their views
on music.
The 14th Century saw
a change in the music scene. Music literature
included a description of ragas in short
Sanskrit verses called ‘dhyana’
(meditation/contemplation). These little
poetic verses highlighted the characteristics
of the ragas, breathing life into them and
giving each of them a particular swaroopa
(persona) of a deity, nayaka (hero)
or a nayika (heroine).
This is what led to the
raga-ragini systems and the subsequent
creation of the ragamala paintings,
a series of portrayals of these raga-ragini
bhavas (expressions) on canvas.
These ragamalas or garland of ragas, is
what clearly illustrated the close connection
between poetry, painting and music.
To quote H.J.Stooke,
“Poetry, painting and music were thus
brought into a new relationship” with
the advent of the ragamalas.
The ragamala paintings
usually depict the raga as a human, divine
or semi-divine figure, with or without other
characters around. The theme for such paintings
is usually Shringara (romantic)
or Bhakti (devotional) oriented. Most of
the paintings also have the raga or ragini
name inscribed in them, as also the dhyana
or the Sanskrit verse, as mentioned above.
The ragamala paintings
are an obsolete art today, as it has no
relevance in today’s music. Ragas
have evolved through the decades, so many
of these paintings do not seem relevant
to the raga they mention. Besides, these
paintings do not have any provision to describe
newer and later raga additions. So this,
though a wonderful system at one time, has
faded away into obscurity now.
THE RAGA-RAGINI CLASSIFICATION
The raga-ragini system
makes for an interesting study. Because
the ragas in Indian music have been given
a sacred, demi-God status, it is only natural
that they were classified into ‘human-like’
groups and assigned familial relationships
with each other.
The raga-ragini system
of raga classification occurred between
the 16th and 19th Centuries and preceded
the modern classification of ragas, as it
exists today.
The raga-ragini system
tries to draw a parallel between the dynamic
and the static – the Prakruti
and the Purusha. Further, the raga-ragini
system also illustrates the fluctuation
in human behavior and responses to situations.
It is related to the various mood changes
in a person, with apt ragas to portray these
emotions.
It is the classification
of ragas on the raga-ragini basis, that
gave rise to the close link between poetry,
art and music, as mentioned before. Various
nayaka-nayika (man-woman) relationships
and emotions were depicted with poetry,
painting and music.
Again, Hindustani music
relies more heavily on the raga-ragini system.
Carnatic music merely acknowledges the existence
of this theory.
The raga-ragini (male-female
raga) classification can be traced right
since the time of the treatise, ‘Ragatarangini’,
written by Lochana Kavi. This book discusses
in detail several songs of the Maithila
dialect of the Hindi language. These songs
were set to many ragas and raginis prevalent
during that time. In his book, Lochana Kavi
has dealt with both regional and local ragas
and raginis of Mithila during that time.
The raga-ragini classification
of ragas is created with the following principle:
There are 6 principal
male ragas, namely Bhairav, Malkauns,
Hindol, Deepak, Shri and Megh
ragas.
These ragas have five
wives or raginis each and these raga-ragini
‘couples’ also have 8 children
or raga putras each. This gives
us a total of 84 ragas.
Mentioned below is a
detailed list of the ragas, raginis and
their children:
raga –
Bhairav
Raag Bhairav is known to be the first raga,
that emanated from Siva himself. A simple
and common raga, this is seldom heard in
concerts today, as it is deemed as a morning
raga.
raginis – Bhairavi, Punyaki, Bilawali,
Aslekhi, Bangli
putra ragas – Harakh, Pancham,
Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilawal
raga –
Malkauns
Malkauns is one very beautiful raga, derived
from the Bhairavi Thaat. This raga is said
to have been created from Siva’s Taandav
(cosmic dance), so it has a vigour and energy
about it.
raginis - Gaundkari, Gandhari, Seehute,
Devagandhari, Dhanasri
putra ragas - Mustang, Maru, Mewara,
Khokhat, Parbal, Chand, Bhora, Nad
raga –
Hindol
This raga depicts love and personifies kaama
or love and the beauty that is Krishna.
A simple raga to sing, it is also very pleasing
to the ears.
raginis - Telangi, Devkari, Basanti,
Sindhoori, Aheeri
putra ragas - Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb,
Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda
raga –
Deepak
Tansen, one of the ‘navaratnas’
in Emperor Akbar’s court, is said
to have lighted lamps with this strong,
vibrant raga.
raginis - Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi,
Kamodi, Gujri
putra ragas - Kaalanka, Rama, Kuntal,
Kamal, Kusum, Gaura, Champak, Kanra
raga –
Shri
This is a very old raga, taken from the
Poorvi Thaat. As the name suggests, it is
also a very auspicious raga.
raginis - Bhairavi, Gauri, Karnati,
Sindhavi Asavari
putra ragas - Salu, Sagra, Sarag, Gund,
Gaund, Kumbh, Hamir, Gambhir
raga –
Megh
As the name of the raga suggests, it lets
us envision monsoon in all its primitive
force and lets us conjure up images of thick
clouds, thunder and lightning.
raginis - Sorath, Asa, Gaundi-Malari,
Gunguni, Sooho
putra ragas - Biradhar, Kedara, Gajdhar,
Jablidhar, Jaldhara, Nut, Sankar, Syama
This system of raga-ragini
classification was also accepted and upheld
by the Tansen school of thought.
The raga-ragini classification
had not accepted very easily by scholars
at that time. Many musicologists argued
that this basis for classification of ragas
was merely imaginary and nothing to do with
the actual ragas.
But the raga-ragini theory
started gaining importance when the scientific
principle of the male-female raga elements
showed up in the Vadi-Samvadi swaras
or notes. Vadi-Samvadi notes are notes showing
the male and the female character of the
swara.
THE ANCIENT RAGA-RAGINI PARIVARA SYSTEM
In actuality, the raga-ragini
parivara (family) system is believed
to have existed many centuries ago, much
before the bifurcation of Indian music into
Hindustani and Carnatic music.
Indain music was one
before the 13th Century, that is, till the
Moghul invasion. It was after this that
there was such a clear line of distinction
between north Indian and south Indian music.
Though both systems are similar even to
date, the difference lies in the way the
notes are treated and sung.
The ancient raga-ragini
system too had six main ragas, each with
5 wives or raginis. Each of these raga-raginis
had 8 sons or putras and 8 daughters-in-law
or vadhus. So then the ragas totaled to
132.
There is no unanimity
among the different schools of Hindustani
music regarding what the main ragas are
and who their respective raginis are either.
There is another school of thought that
names six other ragas as the main ragas.
According to them, the six major ragas are
Kanada, Vasanta, Mallara, Vibhashaka,
Gandhara and Dipaka. According
to this school, Kanada’s raginis are
Mayuri, Todi, Gaudi, Varati, Vilolika
and Dhanasri.
This school of thought
also points out to the existence of dasa
and dasi (male and female servant)
ragas and dhoota and dhooti ragas
too, giving them certain specific characteristics.
The raga Kanada’s
raginis, Mayuri and Todi have been mentioned
to have dasi ragas like Shyama, Vaya,
Vagiswari, Saradi and Vrindavani.
Paraj, according to them, is also
a male dasa raga of these ragas.
This raga-ragini ambiguity
lasted for a long time, but disappeared
as soon as the MelakartA and Thaat (parent
raga) systems came into being in Carnatic
and Hindustani music respectively.
REASONS FOR THE DECLINE OF THE RAGA-RAGINI
SYSTEM
The ragamala paintings
ceased to be of great importance from the
19th Century onwards. Now, it is an obscure
art and has lost all its followers.
Further, many of the
original ragas and rAginis have evolved
and transformed with the passing years,
so their ancient iconography held good no
more.
Yet another reason for
the decline of the raga-rAgini system is
that contemporary musicians and singers
no longer perceive the connection between
the ancient poetic descriptions and paintings
of the ragas and rAginis.
CONCLUSION
The raga-rAgini classification,
though not practically viable in today’s
music scenario, is very useful from the
historical, academic, artistic and philosophical
point of view. Knowing more about the raga-rAgini
classifications and studying them in detail
could also enhance our own knowledge of
the subject of music and could probably
even help us sing and perform better in
future.
This article was written by:
Saipriya Viswanathan. Saipriya is a teacher and performer of Bharata Natyam, Carnatic vocal music and Carnatic Veena. She is a recipient of several awards for both dance and music, including the Sur Mani and Singar Mani titles. She is a recipient of the Govt. of India Merit Scholarship for dance and is a diploma holder in Carnatic vocal music. Our efforts have been directed at making this article informative and refreshing for you. We will truly appreciate all forms of feedback. Please send your feedback to newsletter@dollsofindia.com.
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