NAVYA C
Ragas for the Night
The characteristic of a day might be filled with
hope, brightness, energy and optimism, but
the night is as equally beautiful as it gets. The
serene calmness of darkness around, the moon
light, the entire character of a place changes
during the night. Just as the sun sets in, the
night speaks untold secrets about life, deep about
philosophy, musings about introspection and
what not? In fact, one cannot appreciate day
without having a darker phase such as night!
Our Indian Classical Music is so incredibly adept
that it appreciates the importance of night as
much as day in selecting the right tunes. It is
also said that certain notes and scales make more
sense during the night compared to the day.
Listening or performing such scales during the
night brings about a whole new perspective of
the raga itself. The Carnatic raaga Nalinakanthi
(Which means the glow of the night) itself is a
great example of this phenomenon. The brilliant
composition Manavi Aalakincharaadate is
composed in this raaga by Saint Thyagaraja.
Coming to Hindustani music, the classification of
ragas based on the time of the day and night are
even more clearer. The exquisite raag Malkauns
is a wonderful night raaga with its pentatonic
structure. This raag also has a mythological
perspective with its evolution happening
during the masterful dance of Lord Shiva- the
Taandav. Hence, the raaga brings out a supreme
quality of vigor when rendered or heard.
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Keeravani is another raaga which is present
both in Carnatic and Hindustani systems of
music which has highest appeal during the
night. Called as the harmonic minor scale in
western classical music as well, Keeravani
occupies a prime place for its ‘tugging the
heartstrings’ kind of emotions it triggers.
Ambavaani Nannadarimpave composed by
Muttaiah Bhagavatar is a fantastic composition
in this raaga. Hindustani composers go the extra
mile in bringing out the beauty of this raag in
their own interpretation and style. Legends
like Pt. Shivkumar Sharma brought this raag
to life with their instrumental expertise.
For a lighter musical musings, Raag Khamaj
in Hindustani is another amazing choice.
With its soothing notes and placements in the
scale, the raaga evokes simplicity in a new
avatar. Just as the night passes by , Khamaj
would make sure that your tiredness goes out
from the body and the mind and rejuvenates
the yearning soul. Raaga Sahana also comes
into this soothing category which lulls the
mind and puts you to a restful sleep!
Just as cold winters sets by, take a back
seat and explore the beautiful night
raagas of Indian classical music and
unfold new dimensions of listening!