What is a Raga (6): Aaroh and Avroh-Some Caution
In the last post we saw how two Ragas with very similar notes can sound quite different.There are several similar looking Ragas, in both Hindustani and Carnatic music that sound different.
Ragas with similar notes sound different not only because they may take higher or flatter varieties of the same notes as is the case with Mohanam and Shivaranjani, but because the treatment of the swaras and swara clusters will be different, whether in terms of ornamentation or emphasis.
Sometimes we come across Ragas that have exactly the same notes (in the Hindustani system), but are different, such as Puriya and Marwa, or Bhupali (Bhoop) and Deshkar.
So far we have seen that Aarohana and Avarohana sets always seem to begin with the Shadja, i.e. the note Sa. However, sometimes, when one comes across references to the Aroh-Avroh of Hindustani Ragas, one might see them beginning with another note, e.g the nishad, or Ni.
For example, the Aaroh and Avroh of the Raga Bhimpalasi or Bhimpalas, an audava-sampoorna Raga, is stated as:
Aaroh
‘n S g M P n S’
Avroh
S” n D P M g R S
(note: one apostrophe before the note depicts the lower octave and the apostrophe after a note depicts the higher octave). The Aaroh in Bhimpalasi begins with the mandhra nishad, that is with the note Ni in the lower octave.
To hear the aaroh and avroh of Bhimpalasi go here.
You may also find people listing the aaroh and avroh of the same Raga differently. For example, you may see the aaroh and avroh of Raga Yaman, noted as follows:
Aaroh: ‘N R G M D N S’
Avaroh: S’ N D P M G R S
or as follows:
Aaroh: S R G M P D N S”
Avroh: S” N D P M G R S
You will come across references that list Yaman both as a Shadava-Sampurna Raga and as a Sampoorna Raga.
In descriptions of Hindustani Ragas there is often no reference to the aaroh and avroh at all, but quite often to the pakad and/or to the chalan.
I need to spend time on this!
Its very simple…:) start with Raga 1 and it will go quite quickly
‘N R G
One of the most evocative phrasings in Indian Music .Balmurali in all his famous renderings , teases us until halfway through the swara section to make us crave for this and then releases this life line .
So delaying the enunciation of these characteristic phrases is possibly as much forceful as getting headlong into them, I guess . How Does the Hindusthani idiom treat this kind of a delay / lag , for what is essentially pakad as defined by you here.
I hope I’m not defining anything too strongly. Pakad can be a limiting concept as well