EASWARAN ANANTRAM
INDIAN SCIENTIFIC MUSIC TIME THEORY OF MUSIC – PART 2
We have seen in the previous articles how every note has a specific emotion to substantiate and every raga has a mood to establish
In the last article we learnt about “ Prahar ” as the unit of time . Eight prahars throughout the day spread out as 4 for the day and 4 for the night
The ragas are performed as per the mood of the time . That ’ s right ! Every time has a mood attached to it . Let ’ s check them out now :
1 . Prahar 1 : The early morning – pre-sunrise twilight . The scene that comes to our mind is a red-sky , the sparrows chirping and a few crows cawing . People getting up from their slumber . Not fresh yet , a melancholic feel to getting up , there is every morning . Isn ’ t it ? This is best described by ragas with a Komal Re , Komal Ga and Komal Dha – Bhairav and its types like Ahir bhairav , Nat Bhairav , etc ., Todi and its types – Miyan ki todi , Gujari todi , etc . Listening to these ragas definitely will calm you down and remind you of the dawn .
2 . Prahar 2 : Morning . The sun is up and you ’ re on your way to work . The sun ’ s yellow rays shine to bless all living beings , invigorating isn ’ t it ? The notes also change to depict this scene . This prahar is dominated by ragas with the Shuddha Rishabh , Shuddha Gandhar and Shuddha Dhiavat . The moods change from a melancholy to a happy tune , reminding us of the beauty of life . The ragas include : Bilawal and its types – Shuddha bilawal , Alhaiya Bilawal , Devgiri Bilawal , etc .
3 . Prahar 3 : Afternoon starts and so does the Sun ’ s journey towards the west . Ragas here are a combination of peace ( of having your lunch ) and a happiness . The Raga type of Sarangs falls into the afternoon raga category – Brindavani Sarang , Shuddha Sarang , Miyan ki Sarang , etc ., The Komal Ga also slowly takes into prominence as the sun is going down . Ragas like Bhimpalas and Patdeep are also late afternoon ragas
4 . Prahar 4 : Late afternoon and early evening . The working class is most agitated during this time . Eager to go home and getting work done for the day . Tivra madhyam gains prominence and komal Ga retains its stance . Re remains shuddha for most part of this . Ragas that are performed during this prahar include – Madhuvanti , Madhmad Sarang , Multani and more
5 . Prahar 5 : Early evening twilight to darkening and setting of the sun . People returning home from a gruelling day ’ s work . Komal Re again takes over while the Dha alternates between komal and shuddha . The Tivra madhyam keeps its prominence . Ragas during this time include – Marwa , Puriya Dhanashree , Yaman , Bhoop etc ,
6 . Prahar 6 : The late evening and early night time . Dinner with your loved ones . Everyone ’ s happy . Tired but happy . Tivra madhyam ’ s prominence is replaced by the Shuddha Madhyam ’ s love again . Shuddha Re and Shuddha Dha show up again . Ragas include – Des , Hamsadhwani , Bageshree
7 . Prahar 7 : This is when the midnight starts . The gentle & tiring darkness takes over putting people to sleep . The ragas here are – Durbari Kanada , Hindol , Jog Kauns , Malkauns , Malgunji . Dha takes over a Komal stance here to portray the tranquillity of the night
8 . Prahar 8 : The night to pre-daw twilight time . The Darkness at its maximum before the sun comes back on . Komal Re takes over again . Madhyam slowly alternates between shuddha and tivra . Ragas during this time include : Sohini , Lalit , Bhatiyar , Lalit-Bhatiyar .
And hence , the cycle continues . Hope , reading this article was fun . But I would say , why not try searching for these ragas on the net and give it a listen yourself ? Why listen to the words of a random writer ? Happy Reading !
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