S-r-g-m-P-d-n-S

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Probably the most prominent raga in the entire Hindustani canon, the dawn Bhairavi (‘awe, terror’: named after the fearsome Fifth Avatar of Mahadevi, the Mother Goddess) is a concert-closing staple. Unique in its chromatic flexibilities, the raga’s ‘Mishra Bhairavi’ form can span the full swara spectrum, allowing for a multitude of moods in the hands of a master – although shuddha ma tends to assume particular prominence as the vadi (see melodic summary). Classified in archaic shastras as a ragini of Bhairav (although the Bhairavi of Tansen’s 16th-century era was more akin to today’s Kafi thaat: still evident in today’s ‘Carnatic Bhairavi‘) – with the raga’s modern incarnation enjoying widespread fame across thumri, bhajan, ghazal, filmi and countless other light-classical forms. Its ‘all-komal‘ scale is prakriti with Bilaskhani Todi and Asavari (komal re), as well as approximating the ‘Phrygian Mode‘ of Western music. Also see the interlocking Sindhi Bhairavi – as well as proximate shapes such as Ahiri (‘Bhairavi shuddha Dha‘), Basant Mukhari (‘Bhairavi shuddha Ga‘), and Meladalan (‘Bhairavi komal Pa‘: also interpreted as ‘Madhyam se Bhairavi‘ by Nikhil Banerjee).

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Aroha: e.g. SrgmdnS

Avroh: e.g. SndPmgrS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. SgmPdP; RgmgrS

Chalan: e.g. SnSgmdP; mgmP; dmPmg; dnSrgrS; gmdnS; SrnSndP; dPmPmg; Srgm; grS (Parrikar)

• Allows unusual freedom to use all 12 swara positions (‘mishra’), including via explicitly borrowing from other ragas (‘tirobhav/avirbhav’) – thus permitting diverse melodic interpretations

• Komal re and Pa can be weak or omitted in aroha, allowing for shades of Malkauns (e.g. Sgm; gmd; SndnS) – although this is optional

• Shuddha ma is consistently strong, and Pa is often used more as a resting tone in descent (e.g. gmdP; SndP) – and komal ga may be oscillated or ornamented with its surrounding swaras

• The mdP sangati is prominent (e.g. SgmdP; dPmPmg) – and conclusions are often based around ornamented twin-Re motions such as R(gmg)rS

• Associated with the Goddess Kali, a powerful, warlike avatar of Mahadevi who slays evil on behalf of the innocent (the ‘Dark Mother’) – and typically rendered as the final item in a concert

–Venkatesh Kumar (2019)–

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“My guru-ji [Hariprasad Chaurasia] taught me Bhairavi for five years. When I complained about the repetition, he said: ‘You have to practise Bhairavi until your last breath’. That is what made me realise what ‘swarabhyas’ [the study of notes] really means.” (Rupak Kulkarni)

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—Context—

Origins, myths, quirks, & more

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[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all 365+ raga pages can eventually look more like these]

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Bhairavi Ragini tending a Shiva shrine, with two female attendants…” (Penn, c.1800)

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“A female devotee at a Shiva shrine inside a palace compound, with a lotus pond in the foreground. She places offerings of fresh flowers on the linga, and [as inscribed] is singing hymns in praise of her Lord, accompanied by hand cymbals. Intense, glowing colors underscore the passion of bhakti…” (Mandi, c.1645) / “Bhairavi Ragini: a woman and female attendant worship a Shiva-linga, placing garlands on it while chanting and keeping time with cymbals. She sits in a pavillion set in a lake, filled with lotuses and water birds. At the base of the linga are various ritual vessels, while a diminutive bull is curled up on the pavilion steps…” (Jaipur, c.1615)

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—Phraseologies—

Melodies, movements, characteristics…

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[coming soon]

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—Parichay demo (2022)—

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“The driving phrases of the poorvang are SnSrgm(g)rS, [with] a shake of the komal ga that is sui generis to the raga – this cluster at once precipitates the Bhairavi essence. The re and/or Pa are often skipped in aroha, and uttarang forays are launched via gmdnS (this tonal phrase is Malkauns-like: an extension of the idea is gmdnS; dnSrn; SndP). Since Bhairavi is a sampurna raga, linear runs of the SrgmPdnS kind are frequently admitted.” (Parrikar)

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—Listen—

A brief selection of superb renditions

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–Arshad Khan (2014)–

• Bengali esraj (4m): probably the web’s most breathtaking showcase of the esraj, a rare dilruba variant which somewhat resembles a ‘bowed sitar‘ – filmed in Mulshi by Darbar, with the outdoor setting doing little to diminish the instrument’s captivating sustain (Tanvee Gandhi: “Sometimes we realize true meaning of things around us by vibrations like this…”):

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[alap, e.g. 0:07] S\n n\d d/S, S, S(gSg) r(Sr)Sn, n(dndPd) g(Sg) r(S)r, (S)r, (S)r (SrSgS)r (Sr)S\n, nSrg, g, (r)g, (rgr)S, Srgm g(r) m(Mmgrg) (rS)r, S\n, P(dPdPndndPd) P, P, dnS g(RmgRg) R(gS) S(r)m, g\r\S, (n)S, S…

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–Bismillah Khan (1982)–

• Dumaron shehnai (18m): live in Chicago at a concert organied by the Ameer Khusro Society of America, with a spoken introduction from spiritual jazz icon Alice Coltrane (“The rich esoteric and mystical qualities of Indian classical music…form a complex poetic and very beautiful musical language, [which] must take its place aside all the great musics of the Western world. Many years ago, John Coltrane called me and said, ‘You must listen to this great musician, he is playing an instrument called shehnai; and listen to his son, he is a strong, achieved shehnai player’. When listening, the intellect will appreciate its microtones, its sonant and consonant affinity with mode, drone, sruti, harmony, uniformity, and rhythmical intricacy. The mind should be open to this highly meditative, religious music. From the scripture book: ‘As it was in the beginning, let your music forever more be an expression of my divinity: a sound incarnation of myself as ‘nada brahma‘, for eternally, divine music shall always be the sound of peace, love, life, and bliss. As it was in the beginning, let your music be one of my many forms; whose sacred sound shall render all hearts unto delight, peace, and understanding. As it was in the beginning, let your music forever more be likened to Allah; my pure spirit as the everlasting, all-pervading, living God, whose voice resounds from the transcendental, most exalted heights of creation…”):

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[alap/refrain, e.g. 5:43] S(g) gmP, m(Pmg), g mP, P(mgS) (n)d, nS gmPm(Pg) P(mPmgS) (n)d (n)d, (N)S; d(RN)S, S(NS) n(d), (n)S, S, S g(mg) r(S) S(nd)d, dnS; g/P m(g) m(Pm)g, R(gRmgS), S(r) g(mg) r(S), S(nd)d, dnS, g/P m(g), m(Pm)g, g(RgSrS), S(r) g(mg) r(S) S(nd)d, dnS…

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–Kishori Amonkar (1967)–

• Jaipur-Atrauli khayal (8m): From Kishori’s debut LP – as per the album’s liner notes, “This thumri in Bhairavi [Koyaliya Na Bol Daar Daar] is a rare composition; for, unlike the common run of compositions, it takes the sam on the [komal dha], which puts the raga in new perspective. It is sung in keherwa taal…a love song in which the beloved is vexed by the prolonged absence of her lover during a hostile rainy season, and is bidding the cuckoo not to sing and aggravate her agony by its haunting refrain…”:

–Further Recordings–

• Rajendra Prasanna (5m): at Darbar 2012 in London, with his son Rishab on second bansuri and Shubh Maharaj’s tabla
• Nina Burmi (10m): a widely-viewed thumri from Darbar 2006, with Ramesh Mishra’s sarangi and Sanju Sahai‘s tabla
• Uday Bhawalkar (11m): an AUTRIM pitch-graph (“Saraswati is addressed: as the bringer of holy fire, the remover of sorrows”)
• Ulhas Kashalkar (11m): “Vilayat Khan had Abdul Karim Khan’s legendary Jamuna Ke Teer in mind when composing it…”
• Kumar Gandharva (10m): the closing piece of the gharana-blending vocalist’s Holi-themed All India Radio program in 1954
• Vilayat Khan (18m): recorded at London’s Royal Festival Hall in 2002, displaying outstanding dexterity well into his 70s
• Indrani Mukherjee (13m): Kirana-Rampur khayal filmed at Darbar 2017, seasoned with diverse mishra swaras throughout
• Sharan Rani (20m): a rendition which has reached new ears via Indian-heritage electronic producer Four Tet’s recommendation
• Kishori Amonkar (22m): singing the Tarpe Bin Baalam bandish at the 1982 Tansen Samaroh (“before, Tai was in a foul mood…”)
• Roopa Panesar (23m): live from Scotland’s Outer Hebrides Isles in 2016, accompanied by Dalbir Singh Rattan on tabla
• Budhaditya Mukherjee (29m): a set-closing rendition from a 2016 Toronto concert, accompanied by Soumen Nandy’s tabla
• Bahauddin Dagar (37m): sublime rudra veena, recorded live at Darbar 2007 with Ravishankar Upadhyay on pakhawaj
• Ali Akbar Khan (52m): from a 1985 concert at Amsterdam’s Moses and Aaron Church, with Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla
• Nikhil Banerjee (54m): a fine 1965 session with Nikhil Ghosh, featuring a transcendent alap and virtuosic strokework

• Guitaragas •

My attempts to capture the raga on electric guitar (see more on my Insta)

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—Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada (electric guitar)—

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A brief electric improv around a famous Bhimsen Joshi bhajan…

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM

Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS

Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row

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Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: Bhairavi thaat, Bilaskhani Todi, Kaunsi Bhairavi, Abhavati, (Darjeeling)

–Proximate Forms–

Asavari = ‘Bhairavi shuddha Re‘

Basant Mukhari = ‘Bhairavi shuddha Ga‘

Ahiri = ‘Bhairavi shuddha Dha‘

Saheli Todi = ‘Bhairavi no ma‘

Gopika Basant = ‘Bhairavi no re‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–r–g–m–P–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGmPDNS (=Bilawal)

• Complement: SRGMDNS (=Maru)

• Imperfect: 1 (Pa)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (G—n)

• Murchanas: Bilawal set

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• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Hanumatodi (mela #8)

S-R₁-G₂-M₁-P-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Phrygian

1-b2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-3-5-7-8-10-0

(1–2–2–2–1–2–2)

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o o • o • o • o o • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa-Pa (+dha)

• Names: Bhairavi, Bhairabi

• Transliterations: Hindi (भैरवी); Bengali (ভৈরবী); Urdu (بَھیرَوی); Sindhi (ڀيروي)

—More—

Further info: links, listenings, learnings, etc

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• Raag Bhairavi: [coming soon]

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• Header audio: Deepchandi bandish (Babul Mera Maihar Choto Jaay) by Kishori Amonkar (1996)
• Header image: ‘Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma Adoring Kali’, Basohli, Himachal Pradesh (c.1740)

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