Guest article by Subodh Agrawal
(Rains bring in romance in the air with their musical sound of raindrops, greenery and chirping of a variety of species which were, as if, only waiting for the monsoon. Pankaj Mullick sang in his famous ‘Ye raatein ye mausam’ thus – Ki do garm saanson ka ek saath ana/ Ye badli ka chalnaa ye boondon ki runjhun/ Ye masti ke aalam mein khoye se hum tum/ Tumhara, tumhara mere saath ye gungunana/ Mujhe, mujhe bhool jana/ Inhe na bhulana, bhulana, bhulana. But if manbhavan is away in saawan, the rains give pain as Kishori Amonkar sings ‘Barkha bairi bhayo’. Subodh explores in this post a group of four ragas – Chhayanat, Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar and Kamod – which characterise romance, in his by now familiar elegant style – AK)
Moonsoon has arrived after a long wait and brought with it – the season of romance immortalised in countless works of literature as well as folk, film and classical music. After toying with the idea of doing a post on Malhar and its variants I have opted to go for a group of four ragas: Chhayanat, Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar and Kamod, that are ideal for creating a romantic mood. There is a lot that is common between these ragas and it is easy to confuse between them – particularly for film songs as they usually don’t stay within the narrow confines of a particular raga. They also overlap with some other ragas like Hameer, Kedar, Bilawal and Bihag. My suggestion is to enjoy what is common between them without worrying too much about the finer distinctions.