A Raga is a combination of notes having a distinct melodic structure. Such a combination which isranjak(pleasing) to the ears of listeners can only be considered to be a Raga. For proper definition of the melody structure of a Raga, many more characteristics need to be considered and a scale or a combination of notes in a Raga is only a preliminary piece of information. There are many Ragas, which are scale-congruent i.e.,they share the same scale, but their melody structures are different.
(I) Introduction: In Hindustani Classical Music, a Raga is the core concept on the basis of which vocal or instrumental music is performed. Pandit V. N. Bhatkhande has elaborately dealt with the theory of Ragas in his treatises. A summary of the characteristics of a Raga described by him is given below:
1. Swaras (Notes)- A Raga uses five or more swaras (notes)out of the twelve swaras. i.e. seven shuddha(authorised or perfect)swarasS, R, G , M, P, D and N as well as five vikrita(changed)swarasi.e. Komal(flat or minor)r, g,d and n and oneTeevra(sharp or augmented)m; there are, however some exceptions of Ragas having three or four swaras. The notes used in a Raga are calledUpayojitaswaras or scale of the Raga. A keyboard image showing the twelve swaras with their nomenclatureused in this website with ‘C major’ as Shadja(keynote or base), is shown below.
1 a. Shadja(keynote or base) i.e. S, cannot be omitted in any Raga. Shadja i.e. S, is a reference note and pitches of other notes are defined w.r.t its frequency. It, therefore, naturally follows that Shadja i.e. ‘S’ must be used in each Raga as a reference point.
1 b. It was also stated that bothMadhyam ‘M’ and Pancham ‘P’ should not be omitted in a raga; either ‘M’ or ‘P’ may be omitted.
1 c. It was also stated both vikrita(changed)- such as, komal (flat or minor) or teevra (sharp or augmented),and shuddha(authorised or perfect) states of one note should not be used in a Raga, i.e. in a Raga both r and R, g and G, m and M, d and D or n and N should not be used. However, in practice, we find many Ragas where both shuddha and vikrita states of a note are used .e.g. Lalat, Bihag, Kedar ... using M and m; etc.
2.The combination of notes, in a Raga should be delightful to the hearts of listeners i.e. the combination should be melodious and be pleasant to listeners. This is a principal condition which a Raga must satisfy.
3. Notes occurring in the scale of Raga Bilawal are treated as Shuddha; i.e. S, R, G, M, P, D and N, for reference.
4. All Ragas are bound by rules, pertaining to the Vadiswara; i.e. the Principal Note in a Raga, Vadiswara assumesgreat importance in improvisation of the Raga.
4 a. Samvadi,is the note next in importance to Vadi, in a Raga. It is located in that half of the Saptak(Septet), which does not include Vadi. Usually Vadi and Samvadihave a Shadja-Madhyamasamvad (Consonance)or Shadja-Panchamsamvad (Consonance)i.e. the relationship between Vadi and Samvadi is spaced by nine or thirteen shrutis (microtonal intervals). Some exceptions are noticed in this case also, for example, Komal Re ‘r’ is considered as Vadi and ShuddhaDha ‘D’ as Samvadi in Raga Marwa.
4 b. Anuvadi swaras - All notes included in a Raga other than Vadi and Samvadi, are called Anuvadi notes.
4 c. Vivadi - Notes entirely omitted in a Raga are called Vivadi swaras. A vivadiswara may be used exceptionally in a Raga to add colour to it.
5.A Raga either has Poorvanga or Uttaranga i.e. first or second half of Septet, as its chief area of elaboration depending on location of Vadi. The tonal interval between S and M and P and S’’ is considered as Poorvanga and Uttaranga of the Septet.
6. Raga-time or Raga - season association is considered as an important characteristic of a Raga. The traditionally accepted association of Ragas with certain Prahar(time quadrant)of day and night is explained in brief as follows:
(Convention followed for quadrants of day and night is: Day I-7 a.m. to 10 a.m.; II- 10a.m. to 1 p.m.; III- 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; and IV- 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Night I- 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; II- 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.; III- 1 a.m. to 4 a.m.; and IV- 4 a.m. to 7 a.m.)
i)Sandhi-prakash (Twilight) Ragas, i.e. dawn or dusk Ragas generally have prominence of KomalRishabh – ‘r’ and shuddhaGandhar and Nishad – ‘G’ and ‘N’ e.g. Bhairav, Kalingada at dawn; or Poorvi,Marwa at sunset.
ii) Ragas with Shuddha Re, Ga and Dha – ‘R’ , ‘G’, ‘D’; such Ragas are preferred in the first quadrant of the day e.g. Bilawal, Deshkarand first quadrant of the night e.g. Kalyan, Khamaj.
iii) For Ragas with Komal Ga and KomalNi – ‘g’ and ‘n’, preferred time is mid-day e.g. Asavari, Todi, Sarangprakarsand midnight e.g. Kafi, Bhairavi, Kanadaprakars.
II) Other common terms used in Classical Music. Given below are some terms commonly used in connection with thetheory of Ragas.
1. Aroha and Avaroha – These terms clarify the notes to be used in Ascent and Descent while elaborating the Raga,
e.g. Raga Asavari – Scale (Upayojita Swaras) S R g M P d n;
Aroha – S R M P dS’’ (note – ‘g’ and ‘n’ are omitted) (Audava);
Avaroha – S’’ nd P M g R S (Sampoorna);
Raga Asavari therefore is classified as, Audava-Sampoorna Raga (i.e. a Raga having 5 notes in Ascent and 7 notes in Descent). Shadavais a term where 6 notes are used in Aroha or Avaroha.
2.Meend (Glissando) – Meend is an important melodic embellishment in which continuity of intonation is maintained from a higher to a lower note. The phenomenon is presented in both vocal and instrumental music and is one of the distinctive features of a Raga e.g. g ->S and d -> M in Raga Malkouns.
3. Kanaswara (GraceNote) – A higher or lower note which is attached to the main note with a very subtle touch is called Kanaswara. Appropriate use of Kanaswara in elaboration of a Raga helps in establishment of the Raga swaroop(Melody structure)and enhances beauty of the Raga, e.g. in Raga Poorvi. Use of komal Re ‘r’ when approaching Shuddha Ga-‘G’ in the phrase P m G M (r)G{‘r’ in bracket before G signifies a Kana of ‘r’ to the main note G}.
4a) Nyasa swaras (Melodic foci) - It describes a musical note with a special status in a Raga. It is a note on which a performer can pause for some time. In other words, resting on a particular note in a Raga helps in clearly bringing out the nature of a Raga or establishes the effect of the particular Raga. e.g. S, G, D and N in Raga Poorvi. Nyasa swaras in Aroha and Avaroha may be different for a Raga in line with the melody structure of the Raga.
4b) Preferred Phrases and Phrases to be avoided- Many established Ragas; or new combinations, similar Ragas or Mishra Ragas (Combinations of 2 or more Ragas in one Raga)pose a peculiar problem. In such Ragas, their melody structures overlap. In other words, they have common phrases which can be used in many such Ragas. It therefore, becomes necessary to define preferred phrases and phrases to be avoided for such Ragas consistent with melody structure of each Raga. Such phrases are indicated in the web site for better understanding of the melody structure of a Raga.
5.Pakada (Key Phrase) - It is a group of minimal number of notes characteristic of any Raga and offers a good grip on the Raga and is considered as a distinctive tonalphrase.
6. Chalana (Melodic outline) – It is a characteristic manner of organising the tonal material in manifestation of a Raga. It also highlights grammatical peculiarities or tonal phrases presented in elaboration of the Raga.
7.Raganga (Family of Ragas) - Pandit N.M. Khare, a disciple of Pandit Vishnu DigambarPaluskar, presented a new system of classification of Ragas, based on selected aspects (anga)in groups of Ragas. He advocated 26 groups of Ragas.
In the website 15 prominent families of Ragas are considered in the data base to facilitate search by Raganga (Family).
8. Thata (Mela)– A sequentially arranged and complete scale of seven primary notes in ascending as well as descending order is known as Thata(Mela , Krama, sansthan, makam/--mukamare nearly synonyms of Thata).
In Carnatic music, Pandit Vyankatmakhiexplained systematic derivation of seventy two melas from twelve (Shaddha and vikrita) swaras, each mela having seven notes. E.g. S r R M P d D, ....up to S g G m P n N. In Hindustani classical Music , Pt. V.N. Bhatkhande propounded a system of ten main thatas and one hundred and ninety five Ragas derived from them.
III) Other Information - It would not be out of place to make a brief mention of the following two systems for Classification of Ragas:
(i) Raga-Ragini System - This method considered classification of Ragas into Raga, Ragini, Putra, PutraVadhu. 132 Ragas were considered; however, there were divergent opinions among experts on the grouping of Ragas and the basis for classification was not clear. (Period 13th to 18th Century A D).
(ii) Jati-Raga Classification - The system was introduced by Pandit GovindraoTembe. 15 Jatis (classes) were identified based on combination of Teevra, Komal swaras e.g. Teevra, Mrudula etc. However, the names of Jatis lacked standardization and there was no relation between names of Jatisand Ragas in the Jati. The system did not gain much popularity because of these drawbacks.
IV) Application of the Fundamentals in the web site - It may be mentioned that Thata– Raga system, with number of Thatas limited to ten, poses certain limitations in classifying Ragas. In order to improve accuracy of classification, both Thatas (10) and 32 Melakarthas of Carnatic Music are considered in this website for information and search. Out of 72 Melasincluded in the table of Pandit Vyankatmakhi,40 Melakarthas which include both Shuddhaand Vikritastates of the same swara i.e. r and R or g and G or d and D or n and N are omitted as Ragas in Hindustani Classical Music rarely use such combinations.
It is hoped that the information furnished above will suitably help, a not-so-familiar enthusiast of Hindustani Classical Music, in understanding and enjoying the textual and audio material contained in the website.
| References –
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| 1. |
BhatkhandeSangitShastra -vol.s I to IV; |
| 2. |
Music Contexts- A concise Dictionary of Hindustani Music by Pandit Ashok Da. Ranade.
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| 3. |
Sangeet Visharada – by Vasant.
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| 4. |
“AbhinavGeetanjali” – by Pandit RamashreyaJha.
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| 5. |
Raga Vargikarana- Dr. S.A. Tenkshe.
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