RMIM Archive Article "406".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM/C Archives..
# Subject: Raga Ahiri Todi
# (Series on Hindustani ragas inspired by Carnatic ragas)
#
# Posted by: Rajan Parrikar (parrikar@spot.colorado.edu)
# Author: Rajan Parrikar
#
#
Subject: On Raga Ahiri Todi
Namashkar.
Today's entree - Raga Ahiri Todi (ahIrI toDI). A short note and a
composition follow. The provenance of this melodic organism is the
Carnatic melakartA #10, Natakapriya (nATakapriyA) which features the
following sequence: S r g M(shuddha) P D n. A little consideration
shows that this scale can be generated by an appropriate
murchhAnA/grAha bhedam on Charukeshi (take the "new" Sa to be the
pancham of chArukeshi). We invite comments and recommendations on rAga
nATakapriyA from the Carnatic fellas.
On the Hindustani stage, the rAga is assigned a toDi-ang via an
appropriate Andolan about r g. The name provides a clue to its Ahir
Bhairav antecedents and it is seen that the uttarAnga portion of the
scale subscribes to that rAga. Although the rishab used is komal, it
is manifested in two flavours. One is via the toDi-like
rishab-gandhAr pair and the other is the 'Ahir Bhairav rishab' found
in, for instance, D' n' r, S. This detail makes for an engaging
melodic intercourse.
The madhyam is very strong and may be considered its vAdi swara. The r
g m passage is reminiscent of Bilaskhani Todi (and by extension,
Bhairavi) and creates the associated tirobhAva. The treatment of the
pancham is interesting. In the first mode, one may use it to test the
waters from the safety of the nyAsa madhyam (M, M P M etc) before
attempting a skirmish in the uttarAnga. In the second mode it simply
serves as a stepping stone from which to flit across the
poorvAnga/uttarAnga region demarcator.
Equipped with the foregoing snippets, a chalan may now be formulated:
S, D' n' r, S, r g, r g M, (g)r g r S..., M, M P M, M P D n D P M, D n r", S",
P D n D P M, g M P M, r g r S
From this parent scale, Ravi Shankar has abstracted a beautiful
melody and created Raga Parmeshwari. By rendering the pancham varjya
(i.e. eliminating it) he has developed a plaintive, yet exceedingly
sweet, rAga. Without the pancham, there is occasion for a tirobhAva of
Bageshree in addition to the Ahir Bhairav and todi-like facets. A
careful hearing of Parmeshwari should lead to a fuller appreciation of
its parent melody and the manner in which pancham enters the
frame. Would the rAga be enhanced if laced by an occasional pancham (a
la Bageshree)? That's something to think about. Parmeshwari has grown
beyond its puerperal instrumental affiliation and has made its way up
into vocal territory. Ratanjankar has a few compositions
out. Abhisheki too is said to teach the rAga and perhaps present it in
performance. I know one of his students has a recording released.
Offhand I do not recall any light/filmi compositions that are Ahiri
Todi/ Parmeshwari-ish. We again extend an invitation to Vish Krishnan
(or Sir Vish, as he is referred to in some circles) to shed some more
of his pocket change. Perhaps he has, in the course of his C-fishing,
occasionally drifted into Ahiri Todi waters. Let's wait and see.
Another little detail: Subbarao lists an Ahiri Todi that is quite
different from the one described here. I do not subscribe to his
nomenclature in this instance.
The composition proffered is due to Ramashreya "Ramrang" Jha of
Allahabad, amongst the finest living Hindustani vAggyekArs. He is a
selfless teacher and a highly learned man, with a natural flair for
swara and sAhitya. Among his well-known disciples is the promising
young vocalist Shubha Mudgal. It belongs to my privileged moments to
have had him explain and demonstrate the following bandish (over the
telephone!).
Warm regards,
r
ps: Shri Senders, the short note on virAT bhairav will hit the screen
in a day or two.
*****
Raga: Ahiri Todi
Tala: Teental (druta)
Composer: Ramashreya "Ramrang" Jha
mahimA tere nAma ki barani na jAye
baranata hAre Shiva SanakAdi, Adi muni Narada Sharda
mahimA nAma ki Rama te bhAri, veda purAna pukAri,
sumirata nAma "rAmrang" TAre geedh ajAmil ki ApadA
Glossary:
mahimA = glory
barani/baranata = varNan, description/exposition
SanakAdi = Sanaka plus the other 3 sons of Brahma
geedh = greedy (comes from the same root word for "vulture" - geedhaDa)
ajAmil = base
ApadA = distress
Key:
(1) All shuddha notes in caps (M=shuddha madhyam, m=tivra madhyam)
(2) The " and ' following a note denotes its tAr-saptak and mandra-
saptak affiliation, respectively.
(3) The grace note is enclosed in parenthesis of the type () and it
operates on the note immediately following it.
Asthaie:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
n (D)P D PM P
ma....hi....mA te....re
<---smooth--->
M g - r S r g M P D MP (D)n (n)D PM P P
nA.............ma ki ba...ra...ni na jA....ye ba....ra....na..........ta
<----slide---->
M - M P D n S" r" S"r" g" r" nS" r" S" (D)n D
hA........re shi..va sa........na...kA.........di A...........di mu....ni
<-smooth-> <--smooth-->
MG M P D S"n DS" nD PM gr gr S
nA........ra...da shA............ra...dA..........
<--------gamaka tAna---------->
Antara:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
(n)D (D)P D - n
ma....hi....mA...........
S" - S" S" S" - r" g" r" - S" S" - S"r" g" r"
nA........ma ki rA........ma te bhA........ri ve..........da..... pu
<-----------smooth------------>
S" n D P PD n D P M - - M g r S r
rA........na pu...kA..................ri.......... su....mi....ra..........ta
<------smooth------> <------slide------>
g rg M (M)g (M)g M P D PD n D S" n D P M
nA........ma rA........ma...ran..ga TA.........re gee.........dha.... a
<-smooth->
P D n S" S"n DS" nD PM gr gr S
jA........mi...la ki..... A.........pa...dA.....
<----smooth----> <---------gamaka tAna---------->
*****
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian