SOUVIK CHAKRABORT Y
THE VARIOUS
PHASES OF RAGA
T
he Rāga of the Indian music transliterates to
the colour or mood. The various modes of
the melody emanate from a well researched,
evolved and engineered study of the various
facets of music, nature and the co relation
between the two. It is fascinating to note that the
various phases of the raga do not only form a
synchronised bon homie with each other but also
string together at the same time with the bigger
scheme for forming the full fledged melodies of
the raga.
Alaap is the appetizer which entices the soul for a
blanketing comfort, readying the ears in turn for
the later tempos of a raga. An alaap is a genteel
invocation, a pure form of meditation. Most
musicians harp on this section of the raga to up
their ante of flaunting the enormity of their talent
and dexterity of maintaining the technicalities
with the aesthetics. The free flowing rhythms
flow like water with a picking tempo of a solo
instrument, coupled with the underscores of
a tamboura. The unfurling of the notes of the
raga one after the other makes for the titillating
rapture of the soul right at the inception of the
raga. Alaaps are also known to have evolved in
time, as from an elaborate affair of two hours
it has now relapsed into an affair of only a few
engaging minutes. Interestingly, alaap is so
open to improvisations that the word 'khayaal'
meaning whimsies is often coined with the same.
Jor, is another phase of the raga which unlike the
alaap is more rhythmic. With all its contrasting
features the jor has evolved or rather developed
with more variations. Jor in the musician's forte
is a characteristic break allowing the tempo
structure to gently take off. If the jor is searched
and matched around for an equivalent match in
the dhrupad style it amounts to nomtom. Jor has
pretty simple a pulse but it does not necessarily
have a defined rhythmic cycle.
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Jhala, comes next after the jor, it is a notch
higher with the rhythm increased and the
repeated notes of the plectrum filling the core.
Jhala is considered to be the climax of the entire
structure. It is the striking fast paced ender
of a raga. Jhala's tempo and energy is often a
consummation of the vigorous striking together
of the chikari between notes.
The gat, or 'gati' is the last phase of the raga,
where for the first time percussion instruments
such as the tablas or pakhavajas are introduced.
It is to be noted that a gat is a fixed musical
figure. It is used usually when the composition is
at its full colours or rather at its full swing. The
melodic phrases are repeated and recycled over
and over again. Thus gat provides the silt rock
for the musicians to improvise and reinvent the
tonalities and the music.
The gat ends with a jihala, it is nothing but a
crescendo of repeated notes in quick succession
filled and swarmed out by rhythm. The sitar or
even the singer can generate melodies to weave
intricate counter rhythms making it ethereal.
It is important to understand bandish in the lines
of gat. A bandish or cheez actually systemizes
the fragments of a composition. It is sort of like a
glue, like an element of literature, or grammar in
the world of music. A bandish is perhaps the most
emotional legacy that the gharanas had tried to
uphold for ages. Gharanas wanted the bandishes
to be known by the indelible signature of their
own regime, so efforts have been made with
various vocal renditions. On the basis of tempo
bandishes can be divided into the following-
Vilambit Bandish or the relaxed and slow melodic
composition- Madhyalaya Bandish or the one
with the medium tempo- Drut Bandish or the one
with the fast tempo set beyond the
Allegretto speed.