I won my case against Valley School

Fourth Additional District Consumers Disputes Redressal Forum
Bangalore Urban District
Sahakara Bhavan
Cunningham Road
Bangalore 560052

31-May-2006

Sri Siddanagoud, President and C. Ramachandrappa, Member allowed complaint 1648/2005
by Vasudev Murthy against the Valley School, KFI, Haridvanam, Thatguni, Bangalore 560062 for recovery of Rs. 25,000 with costs.

Contact me if you want to know more.

'Small' Raagas

Small Raagas






There are a few Raagas which may be called 'small', for lack of
a better term. 'Limiting' might be another word option, but that
would wrong as well.

These Raagas have an implosive quality which tend to force a
performer to sound cramped. Playing this for more than a short
period causes a sense of deja vue, because it sounds like the
same sequence of notes is being repeated again and again. This
may be a flaw of the performer too, true, but something undefinable
in the Raaga serves to make it sound best when performed for brief
periods.

This is not a function of a number of the notes in the Raaga
at all; Malkauns and Bhupali are oceans despite having limited
notes. It may be a reflection of the movement within a Raaga;
you can only do so much.

Here are a few examples


Dhaani

This Raaga is a short step away from Bhimpalasi, a vast Raaga.
Dhaani misses the  Dhaivat and so the rendition of the Raag is
fraught with the danger of a performer slipping in that note,
because its so tempting. Listen to Bhimpalasi first; Click on
the last option  'Prabhu Tero Naam'.

(Bhimpalasi is a deeply moving Raaga - I read somewhere that
Ali Akbar Khan said it could make even animals cry. The structure
of Bhimpalasi is here. )


  
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Lata Mangeshkar in Hum Dono




Kirwani

A migrant from Carnatic Music, its become quite popular in the
Hindustani realm. Here is the formal scale.

On the violin, its a real challenge. That's because, if your
violin is tuned as S-P-S-P, shifting between strings causes
continuous changes in the middle and ring fingers. Hard to
explain. Nevertheless, its a lovely and deeply pleasing Raaga
and very exciting. Its quite popular in Marathi Natya Sangeet

Here are a few examples

  
Example 1
Example 2 (Nikhil Banerjee - what a guy!!)
Example 3
Example 4 - Yaad na jaaye beete dinon ki
Example 5 - Pandit V G Jog. This brings back memories of the
very first time I accompanied him in Dallas, circa 1992





Kalavati

A sweet Raaga, here's a rendition by Amir Khan.

Here's an example by Shiv Kumar Sharma.

And a classical Hindi film (a tiny sample) favourite.

Slightly away is a Janasammohini;
Here is a lovely song in the Raaga.


Shivaranjani

Okay, this is easy. Here's the structure.

This is another popular Raaga and used frequently in film
songs. It gets a bit tedious because it gets melancholy-
that's my point. We can take these only in short doses.
You'll remember the famous song from Mera Naam Joker.

Notice the wailing violin pieces. Its tough to believe
that the mere softening of a single note (Gandhar) of
the more energetic Bhupali makes this  melancholy Raaga.

Mishra Shivaranjani is more amenable - the 'Mishra'
implying the mixing of foreign notes for effect.

Here's Shiv Kumar Sharma again.


Maand

Is this a small Raaga? Its difficult to make the claim except
to say that this is a very earthy Raaga, basic to the folk tunes
of India. You'll hear this mostly as a light interlude in some
concerts.

Here's the structure.

Examples:


  
Padma Talwalkar - a nice Bhajan
Girija Devi



An extract from my book, about Raag Maand:

When the men of our land went to fight wars as soldiers for
Kings they had never seen, we prayed for them and welcomes them
back with tunes composed in me. When the rains came and the first
tender shoots of sugarcane poked inquiringly through the soil
searching for the sun, I was there. I am Raag Mand, the Raag of
Mother Earth.


Disclaimer: I know nothing about music. With a little
effort, you can write something quite similar. 

Desh - Sorath - Tilak Kamod

Desh - Sorath - Tilak Kamod





 
In a previous post, I mused that Malhar seems to bring out the monsoon
season so swiftly. No wonder that Raaga was named such; no otherwould
have done justice to the rains.

The naming of Raagas must have been done by some very gifted and
blessed individuals. Take a look at Raaga Desh. Does the fact that the
word translates to 'country' or 'land' give the scale a patriotic tinge or
is it the other way around - that such a scale could only have been
named Desh?

Some thought leads me to believe that the extended Shuddha Nishadh
gives this Raaga a distinctive Patriotic flavour.


Here is an introduction to Desh - Shubra Guha.

The term 'pakad' (which Shubra speaks of briefly) refers to a
distinctive signature that every Raaga possesses. The awesome
Paluskar has a fantastic set of small pieces which present the
essence of each Raaga within a few seconds of beginning.

Here are more examples, each showing the power of music to
invoke (sometimes irrational) emotions in us. The Nine Rasas
(or emotions /feelings) are captured exquisitely in our music,
though of course, we would want to avoid music that invokes
fear and loathing in us (though it is possible; please visit me in
Bangalore and I shall play the violin for you. Fear will strike your
heart, he he).

  
Example - the late Pandit V G Jog
Example - Rashid Khan
Example - Girija Devi
Example - the late Roshanara Begum
Example - Munir Khan
Example - Amjad Ali Khan
Example - Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Example - Shamim Ahmad Khan
A Carnatic Example - Devotional.
Saxophone by Kadri Gopinath

Desh is not to be confused with Deshkar, which is a pentatonic
Raaga similar to Bhupali but with a devotional tinge. It should
also not be confused with Desi. Another fantastic example of
Desi is of Nikhil Banerjee.

The span of Desh works well across all octaves, unlike Malhar
or Darbari which sound more effective in the lower octaves.

Desh and Malhar blend beautifully to give us Desh Malhar; the
technicalities can be skipped. I was not able to find a sample.

Moving along, we find Sorath, a more delicate and timeless
version of Desh. Sorath is employed in Sikh Shabads to excellent
effect. Desh is more popular because it gives a  more room to
manoeuver. I am not in complete agreement with the version
sung here, but Shruti Sadolikar obviously knows best.

I am quite taken by this piece by Bundu Khan.

From http://searchgurbani.com/raags/raag_sorathi.php I find
this description

This raga is sung at the third part of the night i.e., from 12 a.m.
to 3 a.m. The season of its recitation is winter (sharad) i.e.,
during October and November. In Guru Granth Sahib it has hymns
from pages 595 - 659 (64 pages).

Here is a Sikh Shabad in Sorath.

Another nice example.

Here is something I wrote about Sorath in my worst-selling book.

"How beautiful the focused, calm mind is. No thought dares disturb
the mind that has found peace through singing me. The eternal
truths are twined within every phrase you make and create within
me and they do not see the need to hide or be elusive. Why be
reborn?  You can commit no evil when you sing me. Your sins melt
and drip away as you go past Nishad and into the next octave,
exploring, exploring, asking the same questions over and over and
waiting to listen to the answers again and again because they are
so clear. Your mind will dive deeper and deeper into the depths of
your soul, finding more and more and yet returning effortlessly to
the present, understanding that the restlessness of the outer world
is an illusion that has to be endured till your soul is ready to move
on from its temporary home. Your body does not seek your attention
anymore. Your mind becomes the incense for the outside world.
After singing me, listen to silence and see that there was no
difference after all."

Tilak Kamod is a great favourite of mine. This lovely Raaga is ideal
for putting babies to sleep and I remember composing a few tunes
in this Raaga when my son was small. He did not sleep too well,
unfortunately, hehe.

Tilak Kamod is quite close to Desh but has interesting variations. The
duo Pa->Sa is a signal. Re-Ma(extended)- Ga is the lullaby touch. And
so is Sa->Ni

Here are some examples


  
Shubra Guha again.
Ashwini Bhide - a nice fast piece in Ek Taal.
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan in a rare taal, Chachar.
Shobha Gurtu - a wonderful Thumri
Bhimsen Joshi
Rais Khan shines, as always.
The late great Pannalal Ghosh - may I die please, asap?
Vishwa Mohan Bhat - a Lori (lullaby).
A wonderful example by Ustad Bismillah Khan.





Here are some words I wrote on Tilak Kamod a long time ago.

The moon sighs with delight as the rays of its light gently
fall upon the face of your child. The glowing innocence on its
face is a challenge to its own beauty, and the moon smiles. It
seems as if the whispering cadence of the notes of this comforting
Raaga will never end as long as the child sleeps, with dreams
filled with flowers, colours and the ever-present love of its
parent.

Subtle differences make for unfathomable joy. The reader who has
not had the fortune of learning formally should not feel intimidated.
Plenty of listening is just as good. Do not let regrets bog you down.
Let music fill your home, car, thoughts and heart.

Cordially

VM


WARNING:
Do not be misled. I know nothing about music and cannot accept
liability for decisions or conclusions reached because you were
tricked by this article. Listen at your own risk.