Seasonal raga-s in Hindustani music

Musicologist, Prof. Ashok Ranade often observed that Hindustani music is deeply engaged with the three major cycles affecting human life – the cycle of birth and death, the cycle of day and night, and the cycle of the four seasons. While specific Raga-s are not associated with birth and death, the tradition does prescribe the appropriate time of the day/ night for the performance of most, if not all, Raga-s, and also features several seasonal Raga-s. 

The seasonal perspective on Raga-s is a distinctly North Indian perspective not shared currently by the Carnatic tradition, and for probably understandable reasons. Being closer to the equator, the Southern Peninsula does not experience as dramatic a change in the physical environment through the year as does the Northern heartland. 

As matter of academic interest, the Hindu calendar divides the year into six distinct seasons, and the tradition appears to have prescribed Raga-s for performance in each of these seasons. 

Manasollasa, a treatise written by Someshwara (1131 AD) provides insights into this dimension of musicological thought.

1. Spring (months: Chaitra and Vaisakha): Raga Vasanta/ its Ragini-s 
2. Summer (months: Jyeshtha and Ashadha): Raga Bhairava/ its Ragini-s
3. Monsoons (months: Shravana and Bhadrapada): Raga Megh/ its Ragini-s. 
4. Autumn (months: Ashwin and Kartika): Raga Panchama/ its Ragini-s
5. Early winter (months: Margashirsha and Paush): Raga Natanarayana/ its Ragini-s. 
6. Deep winter (months: Magha and Phalguna): Raga Shree/its Ragini-s

(From: Semiosis in Hindustani Music, Jose Luiz Martinez, First edition, 2001, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi)

While the scholarly tradition supports a wide scope for seasonal Raga-s, the enthusiasm of the performing tradition has been limited largely to Vasanta (spring) and Varsha (rainy season/ the monsoons).  There seems to be a good reason for this bias. 

In the climatic experience of Northern India, spring and the monsoons have special significance.  Spring brings relief from the severity of Northern winters, while the monsoons bring relief from the oppressive heat of the Northern summer. Both seasons signify nature rejuvenating itself. Understandably, therefore, the popular seasonal Raga-s are associated primarily with these seasons. 

Becoming familiar with the genres

When exposed to Hindustani music, the novice listener needs to figure out what is going on.  The answer to this query depends on the genre in which the music is being performed. Each genre has a different way of manifesting the Raga (the Commanding Form) as a communicable Form.  These different “ways” are represented in the pre-composed element of Raga rendition, along with the different improvisatory movements hosted by each genre. And, indeed, each musician also has a different approach to deploying the genre for delivering the Raga to his listeners in communicable form.

The principal genres on the contemporary scene are Khayal vocalism, Dhrupad (vocal and instrumental), and the modern genre of the plucked string instruments, heard mainly on the Sitar, Sarod, the Hawaiian guitar and the Santoor. 

The first step, then: Assemble ten recordings of Khayal vocalism, each of a different Raga, performed by different musicians. Listen to each recording several times over. Your musical mind will identify for you what is common to all the recordings, isolated from the influence of the different Raga-s and different musicians performing them. That, which is common to all these recordings, is the architecture of the Khayal genre.

The second step.  Assemble ten recordings of Dhrupad – vocal and Rudra Veena -- each featuring a different Raga, and performed preferably by different musicians. Listen to each recording several times over. Your musical mind will identify for you what is common to all the recordings, isolated from the influence of the different Raga-s and different musicians performing them. That, which is common to all these recordings, is the architecture of the Dhrupad genre.

The third step: Assemble ten recordings of instrumental music on the major string instruments – Sitar, Sarod, Hawaiian guitar, and Santoor. They should all be of different Ragas, preferably performed by different musicians.  Listen to each recording several times over. Your musical mind will identify for you what is common to all the recordings, isolated from the influence of the different Raga-s and different musicians performing them. That, which is common to all these recordings, is the architecture of the modern instrumental genre of the plucked string instruments.

Once you start anticipating the movements typical of each genre while listening to a concert -- any concert -- you have made decent progress towards becoming a connoisseur. This does not mean there will be no surprises. But, being able to identify them will itself be a source of delight. 

Understanding the Raga

An aspirant to the appreciation of Hindustani music will generally start with two questions in his mind: What is a Raga? And, how do I differentiate one Raga from another?

What is a Raga? A renowned music critic once observed that writing about music was as useful as dancing about architecture. So, critics and musicologists have their limitations as cultivators of public taste.  There are as many definitions of the Raga as there are authors on the subject. None of them is a substitute for direct encounters with Raga-ness.

How do I differentiate one Raga from another? Once a listener gets a reasonable grip on what a Raga is, the differentiation of one Raga from another becomes possible through exposures to multiple Ragas.

The first step, then:  Take any one Raga.  Start with a simple Raga, like Malkauns. Go out and get ten recordings of the Raga by ten different musicians performing the same Raga, preferably in different genres. A few in Khayal vocalism. A few in instrumental music.  A few in Dhrupad or Dhamar. Listen to each recording several times. Your musical mind will begin to identify what is common to all the recordings. And that, which is common to all of them, is the Raga-ness of Malkauns.

Second step:  Now, take another Raga, an allied Raga like Chandrakauns.  In this Raga, you could find Khayal, instrumental, Dhrupad, and even Ghazal recordings. Repeat the same procedure as followed for Malkauns. Your musical mind will now identify the Raga-ness of Chandrakauns. In addition, it will tell you how the Raga-ness of Malkauns differs from that of Chandrakauns.  These differentiators are what constitutes the Raga-ness of Ragas. 

If such a procedure is repeated across several Raga-s – whether purposively or otherwise -- your musical mind will also identify the dimensions of Raga-ness: the various attributes by which Raga-s are distinguished from one another.  And, from this point on, you have taken an important step towards becoming a connoisseur. 

Appreciating Hindustani music

The joys of any art grow with the awareness of its governing principles. This is true also of Hindustani music.

A Hindustani musician  shapes his rendition under the discipline of two governing forms. The first is the Raga which constitutes its “Commanding Form”. But, though the Raga is a definitive and recognizable form, it is a “formless Form” in the sense of not being a composition. It  manifests itself in  communicable form through the appropriately sequenced movements (the architecture) of the second regulatory form – the genre in which it is performed. 

A connoisseur of Hindustani music has intimate knowledge of both these forms – the Commanding Form and the Manifest Form. Through an understanding of these two, he is able to gain insights into the individualistic manner in which the Commanding Form has been visualized by the musician for communication. It is these insights that are the source of his delight in the exposure to Hindustani music, and differentiate him from the average music lover.

The aspirant to the status of a connoisseur needs therefore to cultivate his understanding of two facets of the tradition -- Raga-ness as the principle of aesthetically coherent and emotionally suggestive creation, and of the various genres, as the principle for the organisation of musical material. Neither of these facets is satisfactorily understood by reading books on music.  They may be partially understood by undergoing a decade or two of training in music under a competent Guru.  For those who do not have this benefit, but have the sharp ears and cultivated mind as the basic equipment, appreciation can be cultivated by an intensive and extensive exposure to performances and recordings. 

Is Hindustani music your kettle of fish?

Hindustani music is obviously not music for everyone. Music industry sources have reported that, for several decades, the share of this segment of the market has remained stable at between 1.5% and 2%. They also observe that the audience for Hindustani music primarily middle-aged and senior (45+). This is understandable because the appreciation of this music requires two basic qualifications at a respectable level of sophistication – pitch differentiation and pattern recognition. Age need not be a barrier except in the sense that it could define music lovers who have outgrown frivolous music, which elicits only an animated physical response.

In simple language, this music demands sharp ears, and a cultivated mind. If these minimum conditions are satisfied, the aspiring aesthete still has to commit time, intellect and emotional energy over a period of time to the refinement of receptivity. 

And, what are its rewards? 

Like any art, Hindustani music is a pathway to a richer emotional life. The aesthetic exposure to a wide range of emotional experiences (Sagunatmaka)  brings within reach the experience of pure delight that transcends everyday notions of pleasure (Nirgunatmaka). According to the Indian tradition, it even takes you towards bliss, which belongs to the territory of mystical experience. If these rewards have any appeal for you, you can train yourself to receive them. 

Hindustani Music and Aesthetics Today

Sushil Kumar Saxena
First Edition 2009
Sangeet Nataka Akademi
in association with
Hope India Publications
Pages: 471. Hard cover: Rs. 995/-


This book has no precedent.  It is a pioneering attempt to look at Hindustani music in the way of contemporary aesthetics. The ways we talk about experience, or evaluate music. as also its  composition and overt performance, have been given due attention in this work.

In other words. reflection on music here proceeds along the three major ways in which aesthetics is being pursued (in the West) today - that is. not only the linguistic-analytic and phenomenological approaches, but the one that looks at art as a kind of world-making.

Correspondingly. the contents of this book can be put under three different heads: (a) an attempt to determine  the full aesthetic significance. as against the  traditionally specified (verbal) meanings of the key words that are used in respect of the elements and different genres of our music; (b) discussion of concepts like aesthetic attitude. experience. and point of view as they relate to Hindustani music; and (c) analysis of the devices through which the structure and actual singing of a Dhruvapad, Dhamar, Khayal, or Tarana is (or can be) invested with some extra appea l- all duly buttressed with notational analysis of some actual compositions.

The author is incisive in his discussion of problems such as: (a) Is musical time different from, or identical with, time as we experience it in daily life; (b) How can we distinguish the form from the content of a work in the region of an occurent art like music or rhythm, (c) Can rhythm be regarded as an autonomous art and (d) How can our music be said to be spiritual?

This book may be expected to encourage readers to think about Hindustani music along lines that have not been systematically explored so far. 

Sushil Kumar Saxena (1920-2013), formerly Professor of Philosophy  at Delhi University, was amongst the most respected and original thinkers on the aesthetics of Hindustani music, rhythm and Kathak dance, with several pioneering works to his credit. He was a Fellow of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research. He was also decorated with the Padma Bhushan by the President of India. 

Raga performance in the Dhrupad genre

Dhrupad performances on the contemporary concert platform are either of vocal rendition or of Rudra Veena recitals. The Rudra Veena – a member of the tube zither family of instruments -- has been the traditional accompanist to vocal music in the Dhrupad tradition. As a result, the content and idiom of the two manifestations of the genre have come to be identical. 

Presentation format  
Phase I is a totally improvised form called Alap, rendered without percussion accompaniment.
Phase II consists of percussion accompanied presentation of one or more compositions, along with melodic and rhythmic improvisations. 

The 3-tier  Alap protocol 
Tier 1: This is called the Vilambit (low density) Alap. A free-flowing , low melodic density exploration of the Raga’s melodic personality through two octaves, rendered without any perceptible pulsation or rhythm. 

Tier 2: This is called the Madhya Laya (medium tempo) Alap. Its melodic span and structure are similar to the Tier 1 Vilambit Alap; but the melody will now acquire a 2-beat pulsation.  This tier of the Alap is generally performed at about 60 beats per minute, without any escalation during the course of the rendition. 

Tier 3: This is called the Drut (brisk tempo) Alap. Its melodic structure can be similar to the Tier 2 Alap; but the melody is rendered to a distinct 4-beat rhythm. This tier of the Alap may be launched at above 180 beats per minute, and escalate before closure. 

Compositions in the Dhrupad genre
Compositions encountered in contemporary Dhrupad are primarily of three types, corresponding to different Tala-s of the genre. 

(a) Compositions set to Chautala of 12 beats, generally performed at a slow to medium tempo. These compositions are the mainstay of the genre. 
(b) Compositions set to the Dhamara Tala of 14 beats, generally performed in medium tempo. The poetic content of these compositions as typically related to Holi, the festival of spring. 
(c) Compositions set to the Sula Tala of 10 beats, generally performed at a brisk tempo. These are the liveliest contemporary manifestations of the medieval genre. 

Format options
(a) A 3-tier Alap, followed by a Chautala composition.
(b) A 3-tier Alap, followed by a Chautala composition, and then by a Dhamara composition in the same Raga. 
(c) A 3-tier, or even a single-tier (Tier 1) Alap, followed by a Dhamara composition. 
(d) A 3-tier or a single-tier (Tier 1)Alap, followed by a Dhamar composition, and then by a Sula Tala composition in the same Raga. 
(e) A 3-tier Alap, followed by a Chautala composition, and then a Sula Tala composition in the same Raga. 

Dhrupad ensemble
A mention must be made of the ensemble for Dhrupad performance. As a rule, Dhrupad musicians only use the Tanpura as an accompaniment for vocal or instrumental music. They have kept away from the Sarangi and the Harmonium for melodic accompaniment, both of which have acceptance in the modern Khayal and Thumree genres.  In rare cases, a Dhrupad vocalist may have a Rudra Veena player accompanying him, as this is the traditionally established practice in the genre. For percussion accompaniment, Dhrupad uses the Pakhawaj (a two-faced horizontal drum), instead of the modern Tabla. This austerity and  conservatism in the presentation of music has enabled Dhrupad to retain its distinct identity in a Khayal dominated environment. 

Raga performance in Khayal vocalism

The overall architecture of Khayal vocalism is similar to that of instrumental music.  It conforms to the modern architecture of Hindustani music, featuring a steady escalation of melodic and rhythmic density and complexity, intertwined with a cyclical treatment of melody in each phase.  

In comparison with Sitar/Sarod music, however, Khayal rendition tends to have a more compressed structure. Phase I of a Khayal presentation is very short, while Phase II and III are almost equally elaborate.

Phase I 
Phase I of Khayal rendition is an entirely improvised prelude, performed without percussion accompaniment. It can last between 2 and 5 minutes.  The purpose of this prelude is to identify the Raga being performed, and to introduce its melodic contours to the audience. 

Phase II 
Phase II is called Bada Khayal (the major Khayal). It consists of a slow-tempo composition, performed to percussion accompaniment at 25-40 beats per minute, with mild acceleration permissible, though not always found, during the course of the rendition. Along with logically sequenced improvisations inserted into the composition, the slow-tempo composition can consume 80-85% of the duration of the rendition. 

Phase III 
Phase III of Khayal presentation is called the Chhota Khayal (the minor Khayal. It features a brisk-tempo composition launched at 120+ beats per minute, once again with permissible acceleration as the rendition approaches its closure. Phase III can take up 15-20% of the duration of the performance. 

Tarana
The Tarana is a lively compositional form – generally performed in medium to brisk tempo -- which features an articulation of meaningless consonants in lieu of the poetry characteristic of Khayal compositions.  A musician may choose to perform a Tarana either in addition to a Chhota Khayal (Phase III) or, in lieu of it. 

Raga performance on the Sitar and Sarod

The Sitar and the Sarod evolved concurrently and interactively in the 18th and 19th centuries as major solo instruments in Hindustani music. Both being plucked lutes, they also cultivated a shared format for Raga presentation.  Their protocol was later also found suitable for the percussive-melodic instrument, the Santoor, and adopted by its performers. 

Phase I
The first Phase of a Sitar/Sarod/Santoor performance is an entirely improvised solo, without percussion accompaniment. It has three movements: This phase can consume 40-50% of the duration of the presentation. 

1. The first movement is called the Alap, which is an entirely improvised free flowing melodic movement. It consists of low-density melody, without explicit pulsation or rhythm.  Along with this, the movement also features a systematic perforation of the melody by the harmonic ambiance of the tuned instrument. 

2.  The second movement is called Jod. In this the melody is medium density, and acquires a simple 2-beat pulsation.  In this movement, the structured use of the harmonic ambiance of the instrument is deployed more actively than in the Jod movement. 

3. The third movement is called the Jhala. This movement consists of high-density melody with a structure approximating a 4/6/8 beat rhythmic cycle. The melody is perceptibly more complex, with even elements of harmony entering the music.  The Jhala raises the first phase presentation to a crescendo before it ends. 

This Alap-Jod-Jhala phase of solo music is carried over from the protocol of the Rudra Veena (also a plucked string instrument), which was the primary instrument of the Dhrupad era. 

Phase II
In the second phase of the performance, the musician presents a slow-tempo composition to percussion accompaniment. Logically sequenced improvisations are inserted into the frame of the composition. Slow tempo compositions are generally performed at a tempo of 45-60 beats per minute. This phase can consume 30-40% of the duration of the presentation.

Phase III
In the third phase of the performance, the musician presents a fast-tempo composition, also to percussion accompaniment, and with logically sequenced improvisations inserted into the frame of the composition.  These compositions are generally performed at a tempo of 150+ beats per minute, and undergo a steady escalation culminating in a crescendo at over 300 beats per minute. This third and final phase of the presentation can take up 10-20% of the duration. 

Phase II and Phase III of the Sitar/Sarod protocol mainly represent post-Dhrupad musical idioms. They could belong either distinctively to the the plucked lutes, or exhibit the influence of the modern Khayal vocalism. 

Raga presentation in Hindustani music

In contemporary (post-Dhrupad) Hindustani music, the musician works with the composition and the improvisatory movements as distinct musical elements. His task is to integrate them seamlessly into a composite and well-organized musical experience. It is therefore not possible to see the two elements as claiming different shares of the duration of a Raga presentation. 

Because the composition is already pre-composed, it requires minimal composing effort from the musician. The improvisations, on the other hand, require a fairly intense effort at interpreting the Raga in the format of a movement. One can therefore see the two elements as taking up different shares of musical energy. 

Viewed in this manner, the pre-composed element in modern Hindustani music may take up less than 15% of the musical energy, with the improvised element consuming the remaining 85%. In the medieval Dhrupad genre, however, the pre-composed element can consume over 60% of the musical energy. Evidently, the enlarged scope for individual creativity has been an important feature of the transition from Dhrupad to post-Dhrupad music.