Basant or Vasant 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 ...

Raga

Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the composition of a tune. In the

Guru Granth Sahib Ji The Guru Granth Sahib ( pa, ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the rel ...

, there are a total of 60 raga compositions and this raga is the forty-ninth raga to appear in the series. The composition in this raga appear on a total of 29 pages from page numbers (Ang) 1168 to 1170. Basant denotes the changing of the season and the newness of spring. This Raag encourages the mind to brush away its selfishness, just like spring-cleaning removes all the cobwebs and creates a fresh start. There are feelings of hope and expectation of a new beginning and the start of a new cycle. However, these emotions are not dependent on the physical change of the season, but are an encouragement of an internal effort to change.

Origin

Vasant is a Sanskrit word for "spring". The word is much older than the Sikh religion and any usage of the word in relation to melody or Sikh tradition is a later rendition of the word. The variants noted in the

Holy Book Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

are Basant-Hindol and Shudh Basant which also called Desi Basant in the local language. Basant is a very old raga dating from the 8th century.

Guru Nanak Dev Ji Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...

Guru Amar Das Ji Guru Amar Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਮਰ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 5 May 1479 – 1 September 1574), sometimes spelled as Guru Amardas, was the third of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and became Sikh Guru on 26 March 1552 at age 73. Befor ...

Guru Ram Das Ji Ram Das (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਮ ਦਾਸ, pronunciation: ; 24 September 1534 – 1 September 1581) was the fourth of the ten Gurus of Sikhism. He was born in a family based in Lahore. His birth name was Jetha, and he was ...

Guru Arjan Dev Ji Guru Arjan (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਅਰਜਨ, pronunciation: ; 15 April 1563 – 30 May 1606) was the first of the two Gurus martyred in the Sikh faith and the fifth of the ten total Sikh Gurus. He compiled the first official edition of t ...

and Guru Tegh Bahadar Ji composed Shabads in this raga. Performed in slow tempo, this gentle melody depicts quiet joy. The descending scale is usually found at the beginning of a composition with the ascending form follows later. * Aroh: * Avroh: * Vadi: * Samvadi:

Variants

* Shuddha Basant * Adi Basant * Basant Bahar * Hindol Basant

Film songs

Tamil

Notes

References

Sources

External links

Giani Darshan Singh Sohal

Gurmat Sangeet Project

Raj Academy of Asian Music

Sikhnet: Shabad for Printing

Film Songs in Rag Basant

{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Hindustani ragas Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib