Ragas in Indian Classical music have often taken inspiration from folk tunes. They have then become formalised according to the principles of the Indian Raga system. Read my posts on what makes Indian Classical music “Classical” and on Lakshana which define the grammar of Indian Classical Music.

Raga Bairagi could be an example of this phenomenon. There is a tribe of people in India known as Bairagi, who are basically devotees of Vishnu. The word Bairagi is likely an alteration of the word Vairagi which means “one who has let go of worldly desires”. Many people of this sect perform pujas and other priestly duties in temples. Many saint poets of India have been from this community. One famous example is Swami Haridas, Guru of Tansen. Considering this background, and many shlokas that are chanted in Raga Bairagi, is it possible that this Raga originated from this community?

Today it a well developed Raga, presented in many classical concerts. Some classifications put Raga Bairagi under the Bhairav family. I am of a different opinion. Let us briefly look at it. Bhairav’s notes are Sa re Ga ma Pa dha Ni while Bairagi’s notes are Sa re ma Pa ni. As you can see, Bairagi excludes Ga, dha and utilizes ni when Bhairav Ni. I think, neither in phrasing or consonances nor in terms of the scale, does Bairagi have any relation to Bhairav.

I prefer to classify it under Gaula which is Sa re ma Pa Ni in which Ga may occasionally be used. Dropping Ga (Ga Varjit) and modifying Ni to ni (Vikrita Ni) gives us Raga Bairagi in scale besides the similarities in phrasing and consonances.

In this session, I explore Raga Bairagi on Chandraveena in Alap, Jod and Jhala. This format is also known as Alapana and Tanam.

Program Notes

Raga Alapana in Raga Bairagi

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 - Bairagi

Scale - Sa re ma Pa ni

Family - Gaula (Sa re Ga ma Pa Ni)

Melakarta - Varjit (Re, dha) Janya of Ratnangi (Sa re Re ma Pa dha ni)

Prahar - 1st and 2nd prahar (equivalent to 6 AM - 12 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.,Ga above. Notes written fully in lower case are called Komal (or flat) notes. E.g., ma and ni above. Sa and Pa are always written with a capitalized first letter.

Varjit Raga

A Varjit Raga is a Janya (derived) Raga of a Melakarta (parent scale) in which one or more notes are dropped from the parent scale. In this case, Tivra Re and Komal Dha are dropped from the parent scale Ratnanagi.

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=Vw6nbqyNG2Y.

Snippets from this performance are available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAUKSehL91A.

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