Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by

Miyan Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...

, the celebrated court singer of the

Emperor Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

in the sixteenth century. In the twentieth century, Bageshri raga found widespread popularity in

Carnatic Music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

. The popular Hindi music director C.Ramchandra favoured composing songs in Bageshri, as he found it simple. In a 1978 interview at BBC studios with Mahendra Kaul, he explained this, while playing songs like ( Radha na bole - Azad, 1955) that were set to Bageshri.

Theory

The

theoretical A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

aspects of Bageshri are as follows:

Scale

Arohana Arohana, Arohanam or Aroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the ascending scale of notes in a raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The pitch increases as we ...

: S g m D n S' :

Avarohana An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avaroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the descending scale of any raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The notes descend in pitch ...

: S' n D m P D g m g R S

Vadi & Samavadi

: Vadi : Madhyam (Ma) :

Samavadi The Samavadi is the second-most prominent (though not necessarily second-most played) note of a raga in Indian classical music. The primary note of the raga is the '' vadi''; the vadi and samvadi are in most cases a fourth or fifth apart. A '' ...

: Shadja (Sa)

Pakad In Hindustani music, a ''pakad'' (Hindi: पकड़) is a generally accepted musical phrase (or set of phrases) thought to encapsulate the essence of a particular raga. The pakad contains the melodic theme of the raga, on listening to the paka ...
or Chalan

D n s, m, m P D, m g R S :Varjit Swara - P & R in Aaroh :Jati : - Audav-Sampoorna (Vakra)

Organization & Relationships

Thaat A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...

Kafi (raga) Kafi () is a '' raga'' in Hindustani classical music. It corresponds to Kharaharapriya in Carnatic music and Dorian mode in Western music Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande classified most ''ragas'' into ten ''Thaats''. Kafi ''Thaat'' is one of them. ...

Samay (Time)

The time for this raaga is (middle of the night).

Carnatic music

In the twentieth century, Bageshri raga found widespread popularity in

, in which it is said to be derived from the equivalent Melakarta of Kafi thaat, the 22nd

Melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melak ...

called

Kharaharapriya Kharaharapriya is a rāga in Carnatic music. It is the 22nd ''melakarta'' rāga (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāga system. It is possible that the name of the ragam was originally ''Harapriya'' but it was changed to conform to the K ...

.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications This raga is a

janya ''Janya'' is a term meaning "derive". In Carnatic (South Indian) music a ''janya raga'' is one derived from one of the 72 ''melakarta'' ragas (fundamental melodic structures). ''Janya'' ragas are classified into various types based on a varie ...

raga (derived) as it does not have all the seven notes in the ascending scale.

Structure and Lakshana

Bageshri is an asymmetric scale that does not contain ''panchamam'' or ''rishabam'' in the ascending scale. It is called a ''audava-sampurna'' rāgam, in Carnatic music classification (as it has 5 notes in ascending and 7 notes in descending scale). Its ' structure is as follows (see ''swaras'' in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms): * : * : This scale uses the notes and .

Popular compositions

Bageshri has become a popular raga in Carnatic music. This scale has been used in a few

krithi ''Kriti'' (Sanskrit: कृति, ''kṛti'') is a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music. ''Kritis'' form the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format of Carnatic song. "Kriti" also means C ...

s (compositions). In addition, many devaranamas, ashtapadis, thiruppugazhs, and other lyrics have been set to tune in this raga. It is typically sung in concerts after the main piece, in ''viruttams'', ''padams'', ''bhajans'' and

ragamalika Ragamalika, literally a garland of ragas, is a popular form of composition in Carnatic music where different segments of the composition are set to different ragas. It is also known as ''Raga Kadambakam,'' and forms parallel to the composition form ...

. Here are some popular compositions in ''Bageshri''. *''Eru mayil eri vilayadu''composed by

Arunagirinathar Arunagirinaadhar (Aruna-giri-naadhar, ', ) was a Tamil Saiva saint-poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. In his treatise ''A History of Indian Literature'' (1974), Czech Indologist Kamil Zvelebil places Arunagirinathar's ...

*''Sagarasayana'' by M. D. Ramanathan *''Maname Ariyen'' by

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

*''Antakanadutarige KiMchittu dayavilla'' by

Purandaradasa Purandara Dasa ( IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-pro ...

*''Govindamiha'' by Narayana Theertha

Film Songs

Language:
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Language:
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Notes

References

Sources

External links

SRA on Samay and RagasRajan Parrikar on RagasRajan Parrikar on BageshreeFilm Songs in Rag Bageshree
{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Hindustani ragas Janya ragas