Z.M. Dagar was the slowest moving individual I’ve ever met. He was never interested in playing very fast music, and his mind and body seemed to be set at alap speed. He gave the impression of being continuously half asleep, but everyone who got to know him soon realized that Dagarsahib was alive and alert to subtle realities that most people never even notice. He was a keen observer of people and events, a sort of amateur psychologist, and he could speak to the innermost part of a person when he wished to – with his music of course, but also with words. English was his fourth language I think, but he got his point across splendidly.

Dagarsahib had very strong hands and fingers. I watched him make sitar mizrabs from heavy wire without any tools and of course he pulled heavy vina strings with phenomenal accuracy. Anyone who has tried to replicate Ustad’s meend and sruti will know it takes not only a lot of patience and skill but steady endurance as well.

He was a splendid cook. He used black pepper as much as chilies and was fond of chicken. He made the best blackeye peas (loobia) and the best cauliflower I’ve ever eaten.

He felt that North Indian classical music, and Dhrupad alap especially, was a Universal Science of music and sound, of which India was the custodian. It could be learned, performed and deeply felt by non-Indians. He rejected the notions of “Hindu music,” “Muslim music,” “Black music” etcetera and I think he enjoyed gently annoying ethnomusicologists by his emphatic dismissal of their terminology and concepts. Of course he recognized different musical styles in different cultures and communities but he knew from experience how pure music could transcend rather than define the differences between people. He also knew that sound is vibrating air and that vibrating air in itself has no religious beliefs or cultural identity. Link

Related Posts:

• Sa and Pa not always fixed?
• V is for Veena
• Popular Ragas for the Beginner Ear~ Durga
• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 13-What’s your frequency? The Tanpura/Tambura and finding your Sur, Shruti or Pitch
• Gharana Festival Chennai-22nd to 24th January 2010

Related Posts:

• What is a Raga (8)?: The Chalan (characteristic phrases) of a Raga
• Congratulations Vidya!
• What is a Raga (1)?
• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 14: More on Sur/Shruti or Pitch
• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 13-What’s your frequency? The Tanpura/Tambura and finding your Sur, Shruti or Pitch

The chalan can be thought of as an expansion of the pakad. Pakad and chalan are concepts peculiar to Hindustani music, however there is a similar concept to chalan in Carnatic music (the use of prayogas), which will be discussed in a forthcoming post.

Chalan literally means “movement” or “gait” or way of moving. There may be Ragas without a pakad for which there are chalans.

The chalan demonstrates the melodic outline of a Raga. A Raga’s chalan shows one the characteristic ways of using clusters of notes or clusters of phrases in the development of a Raga.

A Raga may have the same or similar notes, arranged in the same way in the aroh and avroh (as in the Ragas Bhoop and Deshkar which have the same notes), however the chalan can show you how different clusters of notes are deployed in each Raga differently.

The chalan of a Raga can show you not only how swaras are grouped differently, but how they are differently intoned (this is learned through listening).

Here is a video from ShadjaMadhyam that explains the concept of chalan quite well, using the Ragas Bhoop and Deshkar as an example. Both Ragas have the same notes, i.e. S R G P D S. However, the chalan gives one an idea of the how the swaras are used differently in each Raga. (Note: It is not just the chalan that helps us see the difference between Bhoop and Deshkar, the difference in raga-anga, a concept to be discussed later, is also very important. If you want to read more on the difference in approach to Bhoop and Deshkar, Parrikar’s article is the best.)

If you ask some musicians to sing you some sample chalans of the same Raga, they will not all sing them in exactly the same way with exactly the same patterns of notes. The chalans, can, however, be very similar, especially when there is a consensus across the different gharanas , or different schools of music, over the general devlopment and form of a Raga.

Nachiketa Sharma discusses the Raga Yaman and the concept of chalan in the video below. He begins his chalan with the most well recognised phrase of the Raga Yaman, i.e. ‘N-R-G.

Notice that in some ascending phrases in his chalan Sharma skips the note Pa (e.g at 3:49). Sa and Pa are often skipped in ascending sequences in Yaman (though not always) and a chalan should illustrate this.

As Rajan Parrikar says, “The skipping of shadaj[Sa] and pancham[Pa] in arohi [ascending] movements – N’ R G and m D N – lends Yaman a distinct locus.”

The pakad, and more so the chalan, can provide a grammatical and aesthetical framework with which to understand a Raga’s swara groupings and movements. As usual, however, a note of caution: Chalan(s) do not a Raga make. A musician improvises while singing a Raga using its swaras, various microtonal ornamentations and it’s particular “feel” or “feels” (bhava/s), that can only be learned through a lot of listening and practice.

Related Posts:

• What is a Raga (7): The Pakad or the “Grip” of a Raga
• What is a Raga (1)?
• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 13-What’s your frequency? The Tanpura/Tambura and finding your Sur, Shruti or Pitch
• Sa and Pa not always fixed?
• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 12-The Saptaswaras in the South- the Carnatic notes

The word pakad, used in Hindustani music terminology, means “to catch” or “grip.” The pakad of a Raga is made up of a characteristic phrase or phrases, containing the smallest combination of notes, by which a Raga can be identified.

Not every Raga can be said to have a pakad, and not everyone will agree over a Raga’s pakad. Neither will everyone write the pakad down the same way.

For example, the phrase ‘N-R-G-M or ’N-R-G-M-P-R-G-R-’N-R-S or the phrases ‘N-R-G-M-P, R-G-R, ‘N-R-S (as detailed by Haresh Bakshi) can be said to be the pakad of the very popular Raga Yaman.

Just the phrase ‘N-R-G can herald Yaman (and give one goosebumps).

In this discussion on the chandrakantha.com forums, Amitava discusses (among other things) the concept of pakad, the relevant portions of which are extracted here:

One important point to note is that a characteristic phrase (pakad) can be shared between different raags – but other phrases/melodic movements combined with this phase reveals a raag’s true identity. It is very much like fingerprint analysis when one needs several “points” to match, to distinguish it uniquely from all others. However, since many raags do not have pakads or chalans (gait – manner of movement of notes), and are easier to recognize just by the scale/ascent/descent.

On a side discussion – In Yaman, Pa-Re is considered a characteristic phrase. But there is an interesting facet to this. Since Yaman permits Pa-Ma’-Ga-Re in its descent, several combinations are permissible, depending on the way you present it. Pa-Ma’-Re, Pa-Ga-Re, Pa-Ma’-Ga-Re, Pa-Re are all “legal” and aesthetically pleasing, depending on the way the transitions are rendered. Now, Gaud Sarang is another raag that has the same notes as Yaman, but different rules. Pa-Re is also a characteristic phrase (pakad) of the raag, but due to the nature of the scale (avroha), all the Yaman combinations from Pa to Re are not possible in Gaud Sarang. This also brings up the point that one should not get obsessed with pakads in the presentation of a raag. It will be an extremely dull performance. It is the mix of pakad and non-characteristics phrases (more of the latter), that shows one’s imagination and renders an enjoyable performance….

…A raag could have two groups of pakads (if it is a pakad based raag) – those that are traditionally agreed to by “everyone”. Other pakads are “very popular” phrases, which could, in time, become a part of tradition. So – a raag, contrary to popular belief, can have alternative interpretations and/or change with time. Some “traditional” pakads of a raag are intentionally combined with other raags to form new raags (appending the names of the two raags). It is also possible that people recognize the pakads of one raag in another – and rename the latter by appending the name of the former raag. Once again, this is a general rule. There are several exceptions.

Related Posts:

• What is a Raga (8)?: The Chalan (characteristic phrases) of a Raga
• What is a Raga (1)?
• Popular Ragas for the Beginner Ear~ Durga
• What is a Raga (5): Similar Aarohana and Avarohana-Different Ragas
• What is a Raga (3)- Aaroh/Avroh or Aarohana and Avarohana (Ascending and Descending Note Sequences)

Durga is a pentatonic Raga, i.e it has five notes, S, R, M, P, D, S. All the notes are shuddha or sharp. It is a late evening Raga. More information on the Raga here.

There are many renditions in Durga. Sometimes compositions in the Raga invoke the Goddess of the same name, though not always. Below are some recordings of Durga. I wouldn’t advise listening to them all together, but over a few days.

Instrumental:

Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan: Sitar and Sarod-Raga Durga:

Adnan Sami and Ustad Zakir Hussain Piano and Tabla, Raga Durga:

Ustad Sultan Khan and Marco Salaun: Sarangi-Guitar Jugalbandi-Pentatonic Devotion: Raga Durga:

Improvisations On An Indian Theme Raga Durga: Vladislav Andonov – viola, Vesela Geleva – harp, Stefan Dalchev – piano:

Vocal:

Pandit Nirmalya De is a Dhrupad singer and sings the Raga Durga in Dhrupad style. The composition is by Tansen.

Pandits Rajan and Sajan Mishra-Jai Jai Durge Mata-Raga Durga:

Pandit Venkatesh Kumar-Durga-Eri Dhan Dhan Bhag Mori (concert available from sangeethamshare.org/murthy)

Vidushi Padma Talwalkar, Sakhi Mori Rum Jhum, followed by Tarana-Raga Durga:

Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty, Raga Durga:

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Tu Ras Kan Re followed by Chatura Sughara Baalama-Raga Durga:

Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Amona Re, Raga Durga:

Vidushi Gangubai Hangal, Raga Durga:

Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, Roopa Jo Bana Raga Durga:

Ustad Salamat Ali Khan: Raga Durga:

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan -Jai Durge Durgati-Raga Durga:

Related Posts:

• Introducing Yourself to Indian Classical Music 13-What’s your frequency? The Tanpura/Tambura and finding your Sur, Shruti or Pitch
• Sa and Pa not always fixed?
• What is a Raga (8)?: The Chalan (characteristic phrases) of a Raga
• What is a Raga (7): The Pakad or the “Grip” of a Raga
• Jai Sharada Bhawani-Ustad Rashid Khan