After a long time i am writing about music again. Classical Music. And, i am loving it.
This is a series for ‘Splainer – a platform i quite enjoy reading. The idea was to create a series that will get people into listening to music, without any of the complications of soft or hard notes. So, here goes. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. This appeared in January
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Editor’s note: It’s a shame that Indian classical music often feels inaccessible to so many of us. Even if we enjoy listening to a performance or an artist as a layperson, we rarely understand the rich tapestry of tradition that gives them meaning. So we are delighted that Harini Calamur—who is a writer, veteran journalist and also a classical music aficionado—has agreed to do a beginner’s guide to Hindustani music. Each instalment in this series comes with its own delightful playlist:) Enjoy!
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Usually, a Hindustani music concert ends with a performance of Raga Bhairavi. A thumri, a bhajan, a tarana – an exposition filled with joy. But I start the series of pieces with Bhairavi, simply because it is the raga that most of us have come across, even without realising that we have heard a raga. It is part of our folk, our classical, and our popular cultural heritage. And as a people we are drawn to it like a magnet.
Bhairavi is the raga that most of us have encountered through our own exposure to Hindi film music. There are so many compositions in Bhairavi, or its adaptations, that it is really difficult to keep count. Through the decades Bhairavi has been used to denote a contemplative, philosophical mood. Songs such as Ramayavatsavaya (Shree 420), Chingari ko Bhadke (Amar Prem), Sapnon se Bhare Naina (Luck by chance) – to name a few – are all based on Raga Bhairavi.
Of all the Ragas, there is none more primeval than Bhairavi. Named after the Devi herself, she is considered to be the most elemental form of energy (adi shakti). And, as such a number of ancient compositions are based on this. Raga Bhairavi is that unlike many of the other Ragas, it carries all the swaras on the musical scale.
Bhairavi Instrumental
For many of us, our introduction to listening to classical music comes from listening to the purity of the bansuri. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia is one of the greatest exponents of the flute, and his rendition of Bhairavi is a special favourite. Here is another instrumental rendition – an alaap in Raga Bhairaviby Sarodiya Debasmita Bhatacharya. (an alaap is a prelude to the full exposition of the raga).
Bhairavi Thumris
A thumri usually is about the yearning (of a woman) for her lover. But, in the bhakti tradition it can also be the longing we have for God. Often when singers in the classical tradition render a thumri, it is difficult to say whether they are singing to their lover or to God. This Thumri , by Sufi singer Abida Parvin – Baju Bandh Khul Khul Jaaye – based on Raga Bhairavi. The same composition is sung in a more classical style by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. This is one of the compositions that is based around the immortal romance of Krishna and Radha. And its rendition can be both sensual and mystic.
One of the most famous Bhairvi thumris is less about the longing for either the lover or the Lord, but a longing for the Land. Written by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah after the British exiled him from Luckonw, after the first war of Independence. This thumri has been sung many times over, but the rendition by Kesarbai Kerkar is one of my favourites. There is a more contemporary version of it on kappa tv by the indie band Mrittika, which is definitely worth listening to.
Bhairavi Bhajan
Most Hindustani classical music concerts end with a Bhajan. And, this one by Bhimsen Joshi is very famous. Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada. A number of Mira Bhajans are sung in Raga Bhairavi – like this one by Rashid Khan, Koi kahiyo re parbhu aavan ki
Qawaili in Raga Bhairavi
There are many based on raga Bhairavi – but none more famous than Nusrat singing Ali Maula Ali
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- Ramayavatsavaya – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW72kDrJvwA
- Chingari Ko Bhadke – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPm8cUL7mKg
- Sapnon se Bhare Naina (Luck by Chance) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njxeRQzPEOw
- Bhairavi by Hari Prasad Chaurasia – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klTeQ97Dm3I
- Bhairavi by Debasmita Bhattacharya – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_R0S0ftugw
- Abida Parvin – Baju Bandh – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEC9zd8X21w
- Bhimsen Joshi – Baju Bandh – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpG_1v2sUaU
- Kesarbai Kerkar – Babul Mora – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-TW1zs46f0
- Mrittika – Babul Mora – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mPrURw6zR4
- Bhimsen Joshi – Jo Bhaje Hari ko Sada – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqlYN2hHYtY
- Rashid Khan – Koi kahiyo re parbhu aavan ki – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeCv4xLGjJA
- Nusrat – Manqabat In Raga Bhairvi – Maulah Ali Maulah Ali – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xjPPiosQWw