Dhrupad and Dhamar

Some of the widely sung, prevalent styles today in North India Classical music are: Dhrupad, Dhamar, Khayal, Tarana, Tappa and Thumri. Other minor modes include Dadra, Sawani, Chaiti, Kajari, Hori. Let us begin by looking at Dhrupad and Dhamar.

Dhrupad: Literally it is formed of two words - 'dhruva' meaning fixed and 'pada' meaning text. It is the origin and foundation of North Indian Classical music, from which other forms have been derived. In Dhrupad there are no apparent decorative touches; only 'meend' (glide from note to note), and 'gamak' (heavy oscillation between notes) are allowed.The songs are pieces of pure poetry, comprising of moral principles, devotional themes, description of seasons etc. It is very difficult to render this solemn style of singing or playing, and that is why the exponents of this style were and are very few.

Dhamar: A style of singing called 'pakki-hori' is set to a rhythm of 14 beats known as 'dhamar' (taal). This is known as 'Dhamar'. A Dhrupad singer also masters Dhamar and it is sung right after Dhrupad. In fact, Dhamar is considered part and parcel of Dhrupad. It generally depicts incidents connected to Holi and romantic situations between Krishna and Radha.

Swara - the hidden note

The acquisition of Swara is the core and substance of Indian music. The Ragas are passing, changing; what is stable and eternal is the Swara. If a seeker of music does not understand Swara and its function, he is said to demean the art to the level of mere entertainment which it was never intended to be.Whenever Indian music has been true to itself, its seeking has always been after the Swara.
In Raga music, one seeks to get to the Swara, which is not merely a frequency or a note. At most, we can try and define it as the hidden side of a note. This seeking is the most awesome challenge for a true musician; it is a necessary process of the growth of the human spirit.

Raga - an aesthetic projection

The Raga is, as the wise declare, the sequence of musical notes and the play of sound which delights the hearts of men.

"A Raga is an aesthetic projection of the artist's inner spirit; it is a representation of his most profound sentiments and sensibilities, set forth through tones and melodies. But the notes of a Raga, by themselves have no vitality or force. The musician must breathe life into each Raga as he unfolds and expands it. A characteristic of the Raga, impossible to describe but brought to it by the performing artist, is the prana_the life. Through guidance of the Guru, and by his own talent and genius, the musician learns how to make the bare notes vibrate, pulsate, come alive."
(from 'My Music, My Life' - Pandit Ravi Shankar)

What is a Raga?

There is a saying in Sanskrit, "ranjayati iti raagah" - that which colours the mind is the Raga. A Raga is the melodic framework, established by tradition or born and inspired in the spirit of a master-musician. The beauty of a Raga leads the listener to a serene and peaceful frame of mind and brings him pure joy.

Samaya: There is a tradition of rendering a Raga within a time-frame (samaya), because Ragas have hours and sometimes seasons prescribed to them. For example, Yaman is an evening Raga, Darbari is rendered at night, Todi, in the morning and Brindavani Sarang in the afternoon. It is believed that to make the most of the tones and the notes, to be most creative with the given sounds of a Raga, the time-laws of the Raga help. In fact, most musicians would say that it is a must to follow this. Keeping the time in mind is believed to provide the right psycho-physical ambiance for original creation. Or, we can also say, that time has its occult impact on us, to the artist and the listener, and we tune ourselves with greater ease to a certain level of vibration and awareness at certain times.

Dhyana: It is said that each Raga has a dhyana, a meditative presence, associated with it. It is not difficult to accept that Ragas have life in them. Or, for those who think deeper, they can well understand if we say that every Raga has a soul, a life and a journey. A Raga is eternally becoming, blossoming out into new vivid forms through the musician.

Musical Notes

'Sa' is like the cry of the peacock,
'Re' is like that of the bull,
'Ga' is like the b;eating of the goat
and 'Ma' like the call of the crane,
the cuckoo sings in Spring with the sound of 'Pa'
'Dha' is like the neighing of the horse
and 'Ni' like the trumpeting of the elephant.

All these interesting derivations of the musical interevals were devised by old scholars, who realised that the cries of many animals are amde up of two distintct notes. If the lower note is placed as 'Sa', then the different intervals can be determined from the different animal cries.

History of Raga Music - post Moghul period

Music made a quick comeback during the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748 A.D). Muhammad Shah made the best of all good things in life so much so that he was popularly known as Muhammad Shah 'Rangeela'. Among his court musicians were two famous musicians, Sadarang and Adarang. These two great musicians composed hundreds of songs sung to this day. They evolved the Khayal style of singing, which was considered more light and 'colourful' than the Dhrupad to the listeners.

History of Raga Music - from the Epics

The relation of Raga Music with the epics is quite deep. It is resumed that Ravana (of Ramayana) was a very great musician. Another part of Ramayana recounts that when Lakshmana entered the inner chambers of Sugreeva, her was enchanted by the sweet music of the Veena.

In Mahabharata we have clear references to the seven music notes (swaras).

History of Raga Music - 1000 B.C to 1000 A.D

It appears that a form of classical music known as 'Jati' came into vogue in the period between 1000B.C and 1000 A.D. The Buddhist and Jain scriptures also contain reference to 'Jati' music along with some crude sketches of the Veena.

History - From the Vedic Age

There are references dating back to the Vedic Age (2000 B.C - 1000 B.C.) that mention quite a few musical instruments. While the Sama Veda gives three types of notes with which the Vedas are chanted - udatta, anudatta, swarita (out of which developed the rest of the notes, to complete the octave) in the Rig Veda, the Veena, the flute and the Damaru are mentioned.

Legends – Part Two

Here are two more interesting legends that tell us of the beginnings of Indian Classical Music.

Once, when Lord Shiva saw Parvati in a reposeful pose, he was inspired to create the Rudra Veena, and from the five mouths facing five directions emanated five Ragas: Bhairav from the east, Hindol from the west, Megh from the south, Deepak from the north and Shree from the sky above. To this list of Ragas, there was added by Parvati herself, which was Kaushik.

Yet another legend says that Shiva was so enamored of Paravati that he seated her on a throne and and expressed a desire to dance before her. Many other Gods joined Nataraj. Goddess Saraswati played the Veena, Indra, the flute, Brahman played the Kartaal, and Goddess Lakshmi sang to the accompaniment of the Mridanga played by Lord Vishnu.

It is said that Lord Shiva gave the wealth of music to Bharata Muni, who spread it on earth.

Another legend says that Lord Shiva made a gift of music to Narada as a reward for his penance.

Legends of Raga Music - Part One

We have many different versions and legends, which could be some scattered clues for us to learn a little about the history of Indian Classical Music. These are mostly found in old religious treatises and epics.

One legend has it that Brahma, the Creator taught classical music to Shiva, who passed it on to Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning. Hence, Saraswati is the described in the ancient books as 'Veenapustaka-dharini'. This very form of music came to be handed down in succession to the sage Narada, the celestial Gandharvas and Kinnarasand finally to Bharata Muni and Hanuman.

Another legend says that Lord Shiva made a gift of music to Narada as a reward for his penance.