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Ragas for the time of day - work in progress



ananga - Thu, 09 Dec 2004 19:14:04 +0530
Here is a list of the ragas that are commonly played in the Nam Jagya kirtan in my line. I thought it might be of interest to others. I've not seen this information anywhere else on the net.

Some of the descriptions are just nicknames and I'm not sure on spellings etc and I'm quite hazy about how all these ragas connect with the 8-fold daily pastimes but I'm sure they do! I'd be very interested in that kind of information. I don't know whether this information is written in bengali "kirtan handbooks" if such a thing actually exists or whether it is a purely aural/ guru-shishya tradition

Attachment: ragas_for_time_of_day.PDF
Talasiga - Tue, 28 Dec 2004 17:59:45 +0530
QUOTE(ananga @ Dec 9 2004, 01:44 PM)
Here is a list of the ragas that are commonly played in the Nam Jagya kirtan in my line. I thought it might be of interest to others. I've not seen this information anywhere else on the net.

Some of the descriptions are just nicknames and I'm not sure on spellings etc and I'm quite hazy about how all these ragas connect with the 8-fold daily pastimes but I'm sure they do! I'd be very interested in that kind of information. I don't know whether this information is written in bengali "kirtan handbooks" if such a thing actually exists or whether it is a purely aural/ guru-shishya tradition




This sort of information is pretty standard and its availability is extant
See also this other link.

Giving the o'clock times is indicative only and should not be taken as prescriptive. It is more important to understand the mood and ambience of the raag in terms of natural indicators. It is, for instance, more important to know that the morning raag, Bhairav is evocative of the potency of sunrise, orange and red. In contrast the morning raag Bhairavi is more feminine and is evocative of the gentler dawn when river mist reigns supreme and also of the later morning when the sun has been tempered by the reception of the landscape. Also, if it is raining heavily one morning and the sunrise is not visible, it is better to play Bhairavi than Bhairav at the sunrise time as Bhairavi's melancholia is more in tune with the wet weather. The application of raags requires aesthetic and emotional sensitivity and the novice should be careful to not churn it out mechanically.

ananga - Wed, 29 Dec 2004 08:53:38 +0530
QUOTE(Talasiga @ Dec 28 2004, 12:29 PM)

This sort of information is pretty standard and its availability is extant
See also this other link.

The application of raags requires aesthetic and emotional sensitivity and the novice should be careful to not churn it out mechanically.



I disagree that the information I presented is standard. You can find any number of websites detailing the ragas in hindustani classical music but the way that the mahamantra is sung to ragas/raginis in the nam jagya kirtan by the bengali devotees with its interplay and development of tal and moods is a treasure that has only been tasted by relatively few westerners and is not detailed on any websites that I am aware of. That is what I am starting to document afer 8 years of first experiencing it.

I agree that it is facile to say to oneself in isolation from any living kirtaniya tradition "its 7am then I must sing such and such" and then just playing a scale out of a book or on a website. One is probably better off singing guitar kirtan or whatever comes most naturally.
Talasiga - Wed, 29 Dec 2004 18:35:54 +0530
QUOTE(ananga @ Dec 29 2004, 03:23 AM)

I disagree that the information I presented is standard. You can find any number of websites detailing the ragas in hindustani classical music but the way that the mahamantra is sung to ragas/raginis in the nam jagya kirtan by the bengali devotees with its interplay and development of tal and moods is a treasure that has only been tasted by relatively few westerners and is not detailed on any websites that I am aware of. That is what I am starting to document afer 8 years of first experiencing it.

I agree that it is facile to say to oneself in isolation from any living kirtaniya tradition "its 7am then I must sing such and such" and then just playing a scale out of a book or on a website. One is probably better off singing guitar kirtan or whatever comes most naturally.



Your attachment has a pie divided into twelve parts for the 12 parts in a day and has raags allocated to them. That is what I was referring to.

I did not say it is facile to embrace raag kirtan in isolation of the tradition. I was talking about tapping into emotional and aesthetic sensitivity. This applies whether one is referring to a book or whether one is at the feet of the living kirtaniya. All songs are comprehended by raag, whether spontaneous or studied. And the heartfelt song frees the raag from the known.