Songs based on classical ragas

Film songs based on classical ragas (6): The Majestic Malkauns

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(Followers of SoY are familiar with Subodh’s elegant writings on songs based on classical ragas.  He surpasses himself with this article on one of the most popular and accessible ragas – Malkaus – which he describes as the greatest pentatonic raga.  He bears his scholarship lightly with his fluent and easy style of writing.  Here is his fifth article in the series – AK

PS. Please see comment no 12 in the comment box.  Because of some problem, a large part of this post has disappeared.  Full version has been revived in the other post with the same title.  Interested readers are requested to visit the other post.  This post is not being deleted because many valuable comments are here – AK)

MalkaunsI began this series with ten iconic film songs in different ragas – songs that are good enough to be used by students of classical music to get an intuitive feel for the raga. I deliberately left out the greatest iconic song of all – Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj in Malkauns, because I hoped to do a separate post on this raga. Finally, I am here to share my love for this great raga with the SoY family.

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Film songs based on classical ragas (5): The Majestic Malkauns

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(SoY readers are familiar with Subodh’s elegant writing on songs based on classical ragas.  He surpasses himself with this outstanding article on one of the most popular and accessible ragas – Malkauns – which he describes as the greatest of pentatonic ragas.  Subodh carries his scholarship lightly with an easy and fluent style of writing. – AK)

MalkaunsI began this series with ten iconic film songs in different ragas – songs that are good enough to be used by students of classical music to get an intuitive feel for the raga. I deliberately left out the greatest iconic song of all – Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj in Malkauns, because I hoped to do a separate post on this raga. Finally, I am here to share my love for this great raga with the SoY family.

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A novice’s romance with Raga Durga

Remembering Durga, Sangeet Mahakumbh at Patna and Pandit Kumar Gandharva

DurgaThere are great romantic lovers like Dev Anand renowned for their ways with women.  And there are illiterate, bumbling ones no less endearing like Raj Kapoor with Padmini in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hai – so has been my romance with Raga Durga for over 35 years.

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Film songs based on classical ragas (4): The romantic quartet

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)

Chhyanat, Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar, KamodMoonsoon 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.

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Film songs based on classical ragas (3) – Music from the mountains

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(When I wrote my last post acknowledging the second anniversary of Songs of Yore, I mentioned Subodh Agrawal’s guest series on classical ragas and hoped he wrote more often. Soon after in a very sweet gesture, he sent me his article on Raga Pahadi as his gift to mark the anniversary of SoY. In literary discourse, ‘Lok’ and ‘Shastra’ are supposed to be opposite of each other which do not meet. Pahadi is one of the Ragas which straddle both folk and classical, which makes it universal, extremely pleasant and, not surprisingly, a big favourite of composers of Hindi film songs. I am grateful to Subodh for letting SoY begin its third year with his guest article on Pahadi. – AK )

Raga PahadiThere are several ragas that draw upon the rich cultural heritage of folk music. There is Mand based on the folk music of Rajasthan; Pilu from the Hindi heartland and Pahadi from the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand. Many other ragas like Desh, Tilak Kamod, Vrindavani Sarang, Jhinjhoti, Gara, Kafi and Khamaj also straddle the boundary between classical and folk, but the three mentioned above excel in giving a classical expression to the pristine beauty of folk music.

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Film songs based on classical ragas (2) – A date with Yaman

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(Subodh Agrawal’s second article in this series has been a long time in coming.  I am responsible for part of the delay as it came when I had scheduled my post on the Best songs of 1955.  But when you read it you would agree it has been well worth the wait. Subodh bears his scholarship lightly, and writes in a style as lucid and fluent as the Raga Yaman itself. Here is his piece on one of the most popular ragas which would delight both connoisseurs as well as lay listeners. – AK)

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I have never understood why Yaman is the first raga to be taught to students. Yes, it does have a simple structure – in the sense that it has no komal svaras, but its simplicity is deceptive. Creating beauty in Yaman requires a high level of skill and sensitivity. It sounds bland and pedestrian in the hands of a novice or an artist of average capability. There is, however, no limit to the heights it can attain in the hands of a master. No wonder it is one of the favourite ragas of our film industry’s composers, some of whom – Roshan for example – have given their best in this raga.

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Best film songs based on classical ragas

Guest article by Subodh Agrawal

(My friend Subodh Agrawal is a great music lover and a keen follower of my blog. He once suggested I write on films songs based on classical ragas. This was already in my mind, but then I realised Subodh is much better equipped to do it. I am grateful that he accepted my request to do a guest series of articles on this theme. This curtain raiser showcasing his favourite 10 iconic songs on different ragas is delightful to read not only because of his deep insight but also for his fluent and witty style of writing. I am sure there are many more to come from his pen. – AK)

 

Classical RagasI was trying to motivate AK to do a few lists on songs based on ragas. He bounced it back to me, thanks to some pretensions I have of knowing something about classical music. I have accepted the commission with some reluctance, being well aware of how little I actually know about it.

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