Siva Thandavam Full Songs - Okarikokarai song
Vaayamoodi Summa Iru Da Mugamoodi Song.mp4
Makayala | Naan | Official Video Song
Attakathi HD Song Aadi pona
Vaayamoodi Summa Iru Da Mugamoodi Song.mp4
Makayala | Naan | Official Video Song
Attakathi HD Song Aadi pona
Beginner Ragas
Introduction
Every student of Hindustani Classical Music usually begins his formal training with ragas like Yaman and Bhoop. He is then introduced to other ragas like Durga, Bhimpalas, Kafi, Bihag and Malkauns. In case you ever wondered, what is special about these ragas that make them ideal candidates for being taught to newbies, this article helps explain it. It is important to note that the ragas mentioned above are by no means ‘simple’ as one can easily tell listening to masterful renditions of these ragas by vocal or instrumental maestros. Extremely complex and intricate note patterns can be woven in these presumably simple ragas. Every raga is an ocean in itself and the complexity level that it can be taken to is limited only by the capacity of the artist rendering it. As such, this discussion is not about determining why certain ragas are simple and certain others are complex because in reality, there is no such thing as a ‘simple’ raga.
That said, it is still a widely acclaimed fact that certain ragas make ideal candidates for beginner students while yet others are usually abstained from being taught until the student has had a few years of rigorous training. This article attempts to discuss the factors that are instrumental in classifying a raga as ‘beginner’ or ‘advanced’.
Misconceptions
It is common belief that ‘shuddha swar’ ragas are easier on beginners than ‘komal swar’ ragas. This is however, not a universal rule. An excellent example illustrating this fact is raga Malkauns, a pentatonic raga. Out of the 5 swars that go to make this raga, 3 are of the ‘komal’ nature. Nevertheless, Malkauns is absorbed and reproduced with ease by beginners! Other ragas such Kafi and Bhimpalas which also employ 2 komal swars each, are common ‘beginner’ ragas. Conversely, if a raga contains all shuddha swars, it does not necessarily become a default choice for beginners. For example, while Bhoop and Durga are favorite choices for novices, other ragas like Bhinna Shadaj and Hansadhwani are not taught until much later. We can therefore argue that it is not the shuddha or komal nature of notes that ultimately decides whether a particular raga can qualify as a ‘beginner’ raga.
Note Separation
In order to understand what makes a raga easy or hard to reproduce for beginners, we must first understand how the 12 notes (7 shuddha, 1 teevra and 4 komal notes) in an octave are situated in relation to each other. The following illustration depicts their placement albeit in an overly simplistic manner. The reason we say that is because although we consider each octave to consist of 12 notes, each note is further comprised of multiple microtones or shrutis. Thus, there are altogether 22 microtones in any given octave. Each microtone is essentially at a particular frequency. Since each of the 7 basic notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni) have different number of microtones, the difference in frequencies of two adjacent notes is not uniform throughout the octave, adding to the complexity in understanding the situation. To keep matters simple though, we will discuss only in terms of the 12 notes as depicted below. (Throughout this discussion, all shuddha swars are denoted using uppercase letters whereas all komal swars and the teevra maddhyam are denoted by lowercase letters.)
It is important to note that the terms ‘easy’ and ‘difficult’ as mentioned in the following paragraphs refer to the ability of a student (or lack thereof) to accurately reproduce the notes of any given raga. A raga belonging to the ‘easy’ spectrum comprises of notes that are separated by a distance of 1 or 2 notes. As the distance between 2 consecutive notes in a raga increases beyond 2, the raga slowly moves away from an ‘easy’ (beginner) to more of a ‘difficult’ (advanced) spectrum. As the distance increases even further to 4 or 5 notes, the huge gap between 2 consecutive notes of the raga in question makes it very hard to reproduce and certainly does not remain a beginner’s cup-of-tea.
Let us consider the example of ragas Bhoop and Hansadhwani to help explain this concept. Both these ragas are pentatonic in nature and consist of all shuddha swars. The notes comprising raga Bhoop are S R G P D S’ while those comprising raga Hansadhwani are S R G P N S’. In effect, the D in Bhoop is replaced by N in Hansadhwani. How does a single note shift change a hard-core beginner raga (Bhoop) to one that is not easy for a beginner student to sing (Hansadhwani)? This can easily be explained using the table given above. While P and D are separated by 1 note (‘d’) in Bhoop, P and N are separated by 3 notes (‘d’, ‘D’, ‘n’) in the case of Hansadhwani. This gap makes it difficult for a beginner to reproduce these notes with the correct tonal accuracy. The chasm is further widened in case for raga ‘Shree’ (ascent – S r m P N S) where we have 4 notes separating ‘r’ from ‘m’, thereby making it an outcast from the ‘beginner raga’ collection.
Conversely, if a raga has 3 or more notes situated right beside each other, the complexity of the raga increases manifold. An example is that of raga Lalit flaunting the G-M-m cluster. As can be seen from the table given above, these three notes are in close proximity to each other making it hard for a newbie to reproduce the exact tonal frequencies. Another example is raga Ramkali with its m-P-d(-n-d-P-m-P) cluster.
Chalan
The other important aspect that disqualifies ragas from being taught to beginners is the ‘chalan’ of a raga. The word ‘chalan’ literally means ‘movement’ of the raga and defines how raga progression can occur. In certain ragas with complex chalan, notes need to be sung in a certain order. In other words, there are restrictions on which notes can follow or precede certain other notes. A simple example is raga Bilaskhani Todi with aroha - S r g P d S’ and avaroha – r’ n d M g r S. The shuddha maddhyam is completely skipped in the ascent while the descent cold shoulders the pancham. Other examples of ragas with complex chalan are ragas Bhatiyar and Ramkali that are meant only for fairly advanced students.
Microtones
Furthermore, there are ragas that employ specific microtones that are difficult to reproduce for the untrained voice. A striking example is raga Marwa. Although Marwa has its constituent notes spaced out fairly evenly and has a straightforward ascending and descending order (’N r G m D N S’ / r’ N D m G r S), one of the aspects that makes it a complex raga to sing is the presence of the flatter-than-normal komal rishabh. This microtone is of a frequency situated between the regular komal rishabh and the shadja and lies very close to the shadja. Accurate placement of this shruti is not possible without prolonged and intensive training in classical music. Other examples of ragas that employ swar shrutis that are flatter or sharper than normal are ragas Miyan ki Malhar (employing a sharper-than-normal komal gandhar) and Darbari Kanada (employing a flatter-than-normal komal gandhar).
Last but not the least, ragas that employ peculiar note treatments like oscillation or ‘andolan’ on one or more of its constituent notes also fall outside of the beginner’s spectrum of ragas. ‘Andolan’ begins at an adjacent note and repeatedly lands on the note that is being oscillated upon (called the ‘andolit’ swar). In this process it touches all the intermittent microtones giving a resounding effect. Examples are ragas Bhairav (andolit swar - komal rishabh and komal dhaivat) and Darbari Kanada (andolit swar – komal gandhar).
Conclusion
It is apparent from the foregoing discussion that the simplest ragas to reproduce for beginners are the ones in which all constituent notes are spread out fairly evenly, have a straightforward ascent and descent and are devoid of the presence of unusual microtones or special note treatments like ‘andolan’. Once we cross this realm, ragas exhibit varying levels of complexity and tend to become harder to master. Such ragas are best attempted slowly and steadily after a student has put in several long hours of rigorous training and riyaaz under the watchful eyes of a qualified Guru.
Today the quintessential voice of Hindustani, nay, Indian, Classical
Music has been lost to this world. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi-ji passed away
this morning at Pune in India at the age of 88. To define Bhimsenji in
terms of his Kirana Gharana would be a futile attempt at marking the man
and his magic. His art transcended the fineries of Gharana definitions -
his became a style all his own. To a majority of lovers of Khyal music
his voice, his singing style became the benchmark by which they informed
their musical sensibilities.
My own awakening to classical music came through his singing. I remember from a very early age being struck by his song "Ketaki Ghulab Juhi” performed with Manna Dey in the film Basant Bahar. My re-introduction to the UK classical music scene on my return there in 1985 was through a series of his concerts in London which led to my long association with Jay Visva Deva of Sama Arts Network which in turn led to the eventual creation of the Navras Records label in 1992. My own late father's utter devotion to Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Saheb's music (Bhimsenji's Guru's Guruji) also must have had some subconscious influences on me. Whichever way I look at it, my absorption in Hindustani music had the aura of Bhimsen Joshi bestowing its magic on my sensibilities.
So today I deeply mourn the loss of this legendary maestro, a lion among vocalists, and yet a rare Maestro who had no ego, no tantrums, just a lot of quiet dignity, a man of simple needs and no demands! He was at peace with his achievements and his craft in that he did not seek any approvals, any awards. Even during his performances, at the end of each item, he would not wait for the applause to die down before he would move on into the start of his next rendering - so un-preoccupied he was with his own ego. Once when barely 100 people turned up at a busy week day concert of his in London, responding to an apologetic promoter he simply said it did not matter to him if there were 10, 100 or a 1,000 people in his audience. He would be still giving them his utmost! He would not be affected or offended by the size of his audience.
I had the privilege of attending the Sawai Gandharva Festival at Pune some years back when he just resumed performing there after a break of a year or two due to his brain tumour and subsequent surgery. He was rather shaky in his performance - his voice was weak and trembling a bit - but the audience was just happy to see him sing and with tears in their eyes and as if saying to him, "don't worry Panditji - we know what you are trying to sing and that's all we are hearing the way it always was.." When I went to bid him farewell at the end of the festival he just said to me "Baxi Saheb, maine theek to gaya na?" - (Baxi Saheb, was my singing okay?) - a legend asking a simple listener like me and that was the measure of his innate humility! Despite scaling such heights he was still willing to submit to being judged by his audience as the ultimate determinant of his prowess! And from that state of his health he recovered his usual gusto and virtuosity with some more gems of performances, including the "Tapasya" concert (October 2001 at Mumbai’s Shanmukhananda Hall) released by Navras on CD and DVD.
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was born in Gadag (now in the state of Karnataka) on 4th February 1922, well away from the main centres of activity of Hindustani music, and with no family tradition of professional music-making to build on. Legend tells of how, determining on a musical quest, he left home at the age of 11 and travelled over much of the subcontinent, learning his art from several masters in musical centres such as Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur. Best known as a disciple of the renowned singer Sawai Gandharva Rambhau Kundgolkar, Bhimsen Joshi has been consequently regarded as a representative of the Kirana gharana made famous by Sawai Gandharva's guru, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.
Bhimsen Joshi has been performing in public since the age of 19, both in India and abroad, till around 2007. It is a measure of his stature in the Indian music world that he has received such high national honours as the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna (The Gem of India). This last and the rarest of honours ever given by the Indian Government was bestowed upon him so late in his life as to almost make it a travesty. I hope the powers that be will remember this and do not make such omissions in the future to such deserving individuals.
He has earned the respect of all for his musicianship, and for the immense power and majesty of his performances. For many he epitomised this aspect of musical expression, the grandeur of the serious Hindustani ragas, although he is also appreciated as a singer of the devotional bhajans and other light classical genres such as the Thumri. His voice, style and sheer presence are instantly recognisable, his performances amongst the essential experiences of Indian music. The Navras Catalogue contains 13 CD titles (20 discs) and one DVD title of Panditji, including some rather rarely performed ragas from his repertoire. A special 2 volume Tribute Album comprising of tracks from various Navras albums of Bhimsenji will be uploaded for digital download on platforms such as I-Tunes and E-Music by the end of this week under the title “The Voice of India : Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - A Tribute”. Physical CD sets will be available in a couple of months’ time.
We have been greatly privileged to have been blessed with his presence on our Catalogue and in our musical lives. No doubt a very major presence in the annals of Indian Classical Music, his music and presence will remain forever in the minds and hearts of all music lovers.
Every student of Hindustani Classical Music usually begins his formal training with ragas like Yaman and Bhoop. He is then introduced to other ragas like Durga, Bhimpalas, Kafi, Bihag and Malkauns. In case you ever wondered, what is special about these ragas that make them ideal candidates for being taught to newbies, this article helps explain it. It is important to note that the ragas mentioned above are by no means ‘simple’ as one can easily tell listening to masterful renditions of these ragas by vocal or instrumental maestros. Extremely complex and intricate note patterns can be woven in these presumably simple ragas. Every raga is an ocean in itself and the complexity level that it can be taken to is limited only by the capacity of the artist rendering it. As such, this discussion is not about determining why certain ragas are simple and certain others are complex because in reality, there is no such thing as a ‘simple’ raga.
That said, it is still a widely acclaimed fact that certain ragas make ideal candidates for beginner students while yet others are usually abstained from being taught until the student has had a few years of rigorous training. This article attempts to discuss the factors that are instrumental in classifying a raga as ‘beginner’ or ‘advanced’.
Misconceptions
It is common belief that ‘shuddha swar’ ragas are easier on beginners than ‘komal swar’ ragas. This is however, not a universal rule. An excellent example illustrating this fact is raga Malkauns, a pentatonic raga. Out of the 5 swars that go to make this raga, 3 are of the ‘komal’ nature. Nevertheless, Malkauns is absorbed and reproduced with ease by beginners! Other ragas such Kafi and Bhimpalas which also employ 2 komal swars each, are common ‘beginner’ ragas. Conversely, if a raga contains all shuddha swars, it does not necessarily become a default choice for beginners. For example, while Bhoop and Durga are favorite choices for novices, other ragas like Bhinna Shadaj and Hansadhwani are not taught until much later. We can therefore argue that it is not the shuddha or komal nature of notes that ultimately decides whether a particular raga can qualify as a ‘beginner’ raga.
Note Separation
In order to understand what makes a raga easy or hard to reproduce for beginners, we must first understand how the 12 notes (7 shuddha, 1 teevra and 4 komal notes) in an octave are situated in relation to each other. The following illustration depicts their placement albeit in an overly simplistic manner. The reason we say that is because although we consider each octave to consist of 12 notes, each note is further comprised of multiple microtones or shrutis. Thus, there are altogether 22 microtones in any given octave. Each microtone is essentially at a particular frequency. Since each of the 7 basic notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni) have different number of microtones, the difference in frequencies of two adjacent notes is not uniform throughout the octave, adding to the complexity in understanding the situation. To keep matters simple though, we will discuss only in terms of the 12 notes as depicted below. (Throughout this discussion, all shuddha swars are denoted using uppercase letters whereas all komal swars and the teevra maddhyam are denoted by lowercase letters.)
S
|
r
|
R
|
g
|
G
|
M
|
m
|
P
|
d
|
D
|
n
|
N
|
S’
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
It is important to note that the terms ‘easy’ and ‘difficult’ as mentioned in the following paragraphs refer to the ability of a student (or lack thereof) to accurately reproduce the notes of any given raga. A raga belonging to the ‘easy’ spectrum comprises of notes that are separated by a distance of 1 or 2 notes. As the distance between 2 consecutive notes in a raga increases beyond 2, the raga slowly moves away from an ‘easy’ (beginner) to more of a ‘difficult’ (advanced) spectrum. As the distance increases even further to 4 or 5 notes, the huge gap between 2 consecutive notes of the raga in question makes it very hard to reproduce and certainly does not remain a beginner’s cup-of-tea.
Let us consider the example of ragas Bhoop and Hansadhwani to help explain this concept. Both these ragas are pentatonic in nature and consist of all shuddha swars. The notes comprising raga Bhoop are S R G P D S’ while those comprising raga Hansadhwani are S R G P N S’. In effect, the D in Bhoop is replaced by N in Hansadhwani. How does a single note shift change a hard-core beginner raga (Bhoop) to one that is not easy for a beginner student to sing (Hansadhwani)? This can easily be explained using the table given above. While P and D are separated by 1 note (‘d’) in Bhoop, P and N are separated by 3 notes (‘d’, ‘D’, ‘n’) in the case of Hansadhwani. This gap makes it difficult for a beginner to reproduce these notes with the correct tonal accuracy. The chasm is further widened in case for raga ‘Shree’ (ascent – S r m P N S) where we have 4 notes separating ‘r’ from ‘m’, thereby making it an outcast from the ‘beginner raga’ collection.
Conversely, if a raga has 3 or more notes situated right beside each other, the complexity of the raga increases manifold. An example is that of raga Lalit flaunting the G-M-m cluster. As can be seen from the table given above, these three notes are in close proximity to each other making it hard for a newbie to reproduce the exact tonal frequencies. Another example is raga Ramkali with its m-P-d(-n-d-P-m-P) cluster.
Chalan
The other important aspect that disqualifies ragas from being taught to beginners is the ‘chalan’ of a raga. The word ‘chalan’ literally means ‘movement’ of the raga and defines how raga progression can occur. In certain ragas with complex chalan, notes need to be sung in a certain order. In other words, there are restrictions on which notes can follow or precede certain other notes. A simple example is raga Bilaskhani Todi with aroha - S r g P d S’ and avaroha – r’ n d M g r S. The shuddha maddhyam is completely skipped in the ascent while the descent cold shoulders the pancham. Other examples of ragas with complex chalan are ragas Bhatiyar and Ramkali that are meant only for fairly advanced students.
Microtones
Furthermore, there are ragas that employ specific microtones that are difficult to reproduce for the untrained voice. A striking example is raga Marwa. Although Marwa has its constituent notes spaced out fairly evenly and has a straightforward ascending and descending order (’N r G m D N S’ / r’ N D m G r S), one of the aspects that makes it a complex raga to sing is the presence of the flatter-than-normal komal rishabh. This microtone is of a frequency situated between the regular komal rishabh and the shadja and lies very close to the shadja. Accurate placement of this shruti is not possible without prolonged and intensive training in classical music. Other examples of ragas that employ swar shrutis that are flatter or sharper than normal are ragas Miyan ki Malhar (employing a sharper-than-normal komal gandhar) and Darbari Kanada (employing a flatter-than-normal komal gandhar).
Last but not the least, ragas that employ peculiar note treatments like oscillation or ‘andolan’ on one or more of its constituent notes also fall outside of the beginner’s spectrum of ragas. ‘Andolan’ begins at an adjacent note and repeatedly lands on the note that is being oscillated upon (called the ‘andolit’ swar). In this process it touches all the intermittent microtones giving a resounding effect. Examples are ragas Bhairav (andolit swar - komal rishabh and komal dhaivat) and Darbari Kanada (andolit swar – komal gandhar).
Conclusion
It is apparent from the foregoing discussion that the simplest ragas to reproduce for beginners are the ones in which all constituent notes are spread out fairly evenly, have a straightforward ascent and descent and are devoid of the presence of unusual microtones or special note treatments like ‘andolan’. Once we cross this realm, ragas exhibit varying levels of complexity and tend to become harder to master. Such ragas are best attempted slowly and steadily after a student has put in several long hours of rigorous training and riyaaz under the watchful eyes of a qualified Guru.
My own awakening to classical music came through his singing. I remember from a very early age being struck by his song "Ketaki Ghulab Juhi” performed with Manna Dey in the film Basant Bahar. My re-introduction to the UK classical music scene on my return there in 1985 was through a series of his concerts in London which led to my long association with Jay Visva Deva of Sama Arts Network which in turn led to the eventual creation of the Navras Records label in 1992. My own late father's utter devotion to Ustad Abdul Karim Khan Saheb's music (Bhimsenji's Guru's Guruji) also must have had some subconscious influences on me. Whichever way I look at it, my absorption in Hindustani music had the aura of Bhimsen Joshi bestowing its magic on my sensibilities.
So today I deeply mourn the loss of this legendary maestro, a lion among vocalists, and yet a rare Maestro who had no ego, no tantrums, just a lot of quiet dignity, a man of simple needs and no demands! He was at peace with his achievements and his craft in that he did not seek any approvals, any awards. Even during his performances, at the end of each item, he would not wait for the applause to die down before he would move on into the start of his next rendering - so un-preoccupied he was with his own ego. Once when barely 100 people turned up at a busy week day concert of his in London, responding to an apologetic promoter he simply said it did not matter to him if there were 10, 100 or a 1,000 people in his audience. He would be still giving them his utmost! He would not be affected or offended by the size of his audience.
I had the privilege of attending the Sawai Gandharva Festival at Pune some years back when he just resumed performing there after a break of a year or two due to his brain tumour and subsequent surgery. He was rather shaky in his performance - his voice was weak and trembling a bit - but the audience was just happy to see him sing and with tears in their eyes and as if saying to him, "don't worry Panditji - we know what you are trying to sing and that's all we are hearing the way it always was.." When I went to bid him farewell at the end of the festival he just said to me "Baxi Saheb, maine theek to gaya na?" - (Baxi Saheb, was my singing okay?) - a legend asking a simple listener like me and that was the measure of his innate humility! Despite scaling such heights he was still willing to submit to being judged by his audience as the ultimate determinant of his prowess! And from that state of his health he recovered his usual gusto and virtuosity with some more gems of performances, including the "Tapasya" concert (October 2001 at Mumbai’s Shanmukhananda Hall) released by Navras on CD and DVD.
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was born in Gadag (now in the state of Karnataka) on 4th February 1922, well away from the main centres of activity of Hindustani music, and with no family tradition of professional music-making to build on. Legend tells of how, determining on a musical quest, he left home at the age of 11 and travelled over much of the subcontinent, learning his art from several masters in musical centres such as Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur. Best known as a disciple of the renowned singer Sawai Gandharva Rambhau Kundgolkar, Bhimsen Joshi has been consequently regarded as a representative of the Kirana gharana made famous by Sawai Gandharva's guru, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan.
Bhimsen Joshi has been performing in public since the age of 19, both in India and abroad, till around 2007. It is a measure of his stature in the Indian music world that he has received such high national honours as the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and the Bharat Ratna (The Gem of India). This last and the rarest of honours ever given by the Indian Government was bestowed upon him so late in his life as to almost make it a travesty. I hope the powers that be will remember this and do not make such omissions in the future to such deserving individuals.
He has earned the respect of all for his musicianship, and for the immense power and majesty of his performances. For many he epitomised this aspect of musical expression, the grandeur of the serious Hindustani ragas, although he is also appreciated as a singer of the devotional bhajans and other light classical genres such as the Thumri. His voice, style and sheer presence are instantly recognisable, his performances amongst the essential experiences of Indian music. The Navras Catalogue contains 13 CD titles (20 discs) and one DVD title of Panditji, including some rather rarely performed ragas from his repertoire. A special 2 volume Tribute Album comprising of tracks from various Navras albums of Bhimsenji will be uploaded for digital download on platforms such as I-Tunes and E-Music by the end of this week under the title “The Voice of India : Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - A Tribute”. Physical CD sets will be available in a couple of months’ time.
We have been greatly privileged to have been blessed with his presence on our Catalogue and in our musical lives. No doubt a very major presence in the annals of Indian Classical Music, his music and presence will remain forever in the minds and hearts of all music lovers.