S-R-G-m-P-d-N-S

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A direct combination of Nat in poorvang and Bhairav in uttarang (SRGm+PdNS), Nat Bhairav was sitar icon Ravi Shankar‘s first raga creation, released in the pre-Independence music scene of 1945 – inspired by Shankar hearing an allied theme sung in a lecture-demo by legendary musicologist B.R. Deodhar (read the full origin tale below). Flavours of Bhairav tend to dominate Shankar’s renditions (see gat transcribed below), including an ati-komal dha and vakra phrases resolving with GmRS (adapting Bhairav’s GmrS). Expounded mainly in madhya saptak, its shape resembles the Carnatic Sarasangi, as well as the Harmonic Major scale of Western music (‘Ionian b6’). Also see other ragas popularied by Shankar, notably including Hemant, Hem Bihag, & Asa Bhairav – plus the Pandit‘s varied array of Carnatic imports (Charukeshi, Vachaspati, Kirwani, Malay Marutam, & Simhendra Madhyamam).

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• Raga Megalist (365+) •

राग नट भैरव

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SRGmPdNS

Avroh: SNdPmGRS

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Chalan: variable – pakad e.g. SRG; mdP; GmRS; RNdS (Parrikar)

—Ravi Shankar (1968)—

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[gat, e.g. 13:21] RSNRS, PmGmP, RSNRS; SGmPGm N\d P, mPG (G)mRSN SGmPGm, N\d P, mPG…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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Oliver Craske’s superlative biography of Shankar, Indian Sun, contains more detail on the raga’s origins (p.106): “In Pune in 1945, Ravi heard B.R. Deodhar singing a composition that had elements of two well-known ragas – Nat and Bhairav – and included [both Re]. In a moment of inspiration, Ravi thought of a way to improve it by using only the [shuddha Re], and he elaborated it further by defining ascending and descending patterns and distinctive phrases…He had created his first original raga, and called it ‘Nat Bhairav’.

 

The real test of a new raga is whether it becomes part of the repertoire. After he started playing Nat Bhairav in concerts and on the radio, other musicians picked it up and performed it regularly, without knowing that he had created it. Later some claimed it had already existed, but although the scale used was common to other ragas, what Ravi had created was a new raga: ‘It pains me when young musicians claim it as an old North Indian raga. For this version of Nat Bhairav did not exist before I played it in 1945’, he asserted five decades later, still smarting…”.

 

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—Ravi Shankar & Chatur Lal (1945)–

(as far as I can tell, the raga’s first recording)

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—Call of the Valley—

I couldn’t help but share this particularly vivid imagining of the raga, lifted from renowned musicologist G.N. Joshi’s original liner notes to Call of the Valley: the famous 1968 trio album by Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia, & Brijbhushan Kabra, which soon became one of the first raga albums to sell widely in the West. Also read Joshi’s equivalent depictions for the rest of the record – a true Hindustani classic – which, together, form a full narrative sequence, essentially a ‘concept album’ (1: Ahir Bhairav, 2: Nat Bhairav, 3: Pilu, 4: Bhupali, 5: Desh, and 6: Pahadi):

 

“The notes on the swarmandal carry us outside the village, where opens a vast panorama of divinely beautiful Nature. The hero is captivated by the glorious sight that meets his eyes – the shining rays in dazzling silver on the snow-tops, the vast slopes covered with trees in colourful bloom, the huge trees that pulsate with the fresh cooling breeze, the lovebirds chirping and chasing one another from branch to branch, the gentle ripples of the brook as pure water glides down in a steady, graceful movement, the humming of the bees as they jump from flower to flower stealing honey, the sheep and the cattle winding their way on the slopes of the mountain for grazing. All these are presented by the guitar, the flute, and the santoor in Raag Nat Bhairav, yet another variety of the main Bhairav. The rhythm employed is ektal, and the movement comes to a close as the hero, drunk with the rich, intoxicating beauty of Nature, almost runs amok and ultimately sits under a tree, as if in a trance, awaiting the arrival of his lady-love.”

 

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–Call of the Valley (1968)–

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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

Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

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

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

Symmetries: Mirror | Rotation | Palindr.

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Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

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

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Murchana: Bhup. | Bihag | Bilaw. | Charu.

Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: Thaat #19

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–m–P–d–N–S

• Reverse: SrGmPdnS (=Basant Mukhari)

• Negative: 3-2-3-3-1 (e.g. Chandrakauns)

• Imperfect: 3 (Re, dha, Ni)

• Detached: 1 (dha)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Nat Bhairav set

–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Sarasangi (mela #27)

S-R₂-G₃-M₁-P-D₁-N₃-S

• Jazz: Harmonic Major

1-2-3-4-5-b6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-4-5-7-8-11-0

(2–2–1–2–1–3–1)

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o • o • o o • o o • • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)

• Names: Nat Bhairav, Nata Bhairava, Nut Bhairav, Sarasangi (not Natabhairavi)

• Transliterations: Hindi (नट भैरव); Bengali (নট ভৈরব); Kannada (ನಟ ಭೈರವ್)

—Manas Kumar (2020)—