Raga Shuddha Sarang belongs to the Sarang family of Ragas, and is an afternoon Raga. It is one of the many Ragas which uses both the Madhyams - Komal Madhyam (ma) and Tivra Madhyam (Ma). This creates quite a dilemma with regard to classifying this Raga.

As per the Melakarta classification of Ragas, which divides Ragas into 72 sets called Melakartas, these sets are identically split into two subsets of 36 each, distinguished by the Madhyam. For example, Raga Shankarabharanam, is in the Dheerashankarabaranam Melakarta (29th Melakarta), and is a Komal Madhyam Raga. The exact Tivra Madhyam equivalent in scale (with all other notes being the same) is Kalyani, which is in the Mechakalyani Melakarta, and is numbered 65th (29+36). So, Melakartas are divided into 36 Komal Madhyam Ragas, and equivalent 36 Tivra Madhyam Ragas.

Now, what do you do with ragas which both the Madhyams? Like Shuddha Sarang, in particular? Some other examples of such Ragas are Lalit, Kedar, Kamod, etc. So while the logical classification in the Melakarta system has its value, it does pose problems in such situations. I have come across some earlier scriptures where Sarang was defined as a Mela in itself, but the overall system of classification was different from the current Melakarta system.

Within these limitations, I have chosen to take Shuddha Sarang as a Janya (derivative) raga of Melakarta Mechakalyani, for it features phrases derived from Raga Kalyani. It is also a Bhashanga Raga (using a note outside the scale of its parent Kalyani).

In this presentation of Raga Shuddha Sarang on Chandraveena, I have employed the Alpatva (very subtle and not often used) Tivra Dhaivat (Dha). I present a Raga Alapana in three parts - Alap, Jod and Jhala also known as Alapana and Tanam.

Program Notes

Raga Alapana in Shuddha Sarang

Raga Alapana is an improvisation and a systematic presentation of a Raga. This part has no rhythmic accompaniment. It has three parts - Alap, Jod and Jhala. This format is also known as Ragam and Tanam.

Here are some notes about the Raga.

Raga - Shuddha Sarang

Scale - Sa Re ma Ma Pa Dha Ni

Family - Sarang

Melakarta - Varjita Bhashanga Janya Raga of Mechakalyani (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni)

Prahar - 3rd and 4th (equivalent to 12 PM - 6 PM)

Reading the scale

In Indian Classical Music, the seven notes in an octave are called Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni and then Sa comes again. Notes with a capitalised first letter are called Tivra (or sharp) notes. E.g., Re above. Notes written fully in lower case are called Komal (or flat) notes E.g., ma above. Sa and Pa are always written with a capitalized first letter.

Bhashanga Raga

A Janya (or derivative) Raga of a Melakarta which uses a note outside of the Melakarta notes. In this raga, ma (Komal Madhyam) is outside of Kalyani (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni).

Varjita Raga

A Varjita Raga of a Melakarta drops one or more notes from the parent scale. In this case, Ga is dropped from the original scale.

Janya Raga

A Janya Raga is a derivative Raga from a parent Melakarta scale. The Janya Raga could be Audav (pentatonic), Shadav (hexatonic) or Sampoorna (heptatonic).

Prahar

In Indian Classical Music, Ragas are classified into Prahars (time periods of a day or night) which are said to represent the most appropriate time to perform the Raga.

Credits

Artist

Chandraveena - S Balachander

Production

Sadharani Music Works - https://www.sadharani.com

Release Links

The complete recording of Raga Alapana is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apOVzTh5KEQ.

Snippets from this performance are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rpZlGxu6Q0.

Purchase CD quality audio of the performance from https://chandraveena.bandcamp.com/album/raga-shuddha-sarang.