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Anoushka
Shankar
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Anoushka
Shankar
2
I. Guru:
Raga Jogeshwari
A
1. Alaap
11:08
The slow, rhythm-free and serene unfolding of the raga’s
character. Raga Jogeshwari is a creation of Ravi Shankar’s;
however, this entire raga performance is an improvisation.
B
2. Jod, Jhala
10:14
A pulse and rhythm is introduced in the jod, gradually
building up to a climax in the jhala.
Anoushka Shankar
sitar
Tanmoy Bose
tabla
Kenji Ota
bass & treble tanpura
All music composed by
Anoushka Shankar
C
3. Gat in Rupaktaal
15:27
The tabla enters here, playing rupaktaal, a popular rhythmic
cycle of seven beats. This gat is composed by Anoushka,
and Tanmoy and Anoushka use the gat and rhythmic cycle
as a framework for their improvisations.
II. Celebration:
Raga Manj Khamaj
D
4. Aochar, Dadra, Teentaal, Coda
18:26
As is traditional, the final piece is played in a lighter,
more romantic mood. After a short alaap known as aochar,
Anoushka introduces a gat in ektaal of twelve beats, and
then slowly accelerates the tempo to an intense climax
during the second gat, played in teentaal of sixteen beats.
An exciting tabla solo is featured near the end of teentaal,
and, unusually, Anoushka adds a short coda at the end,
again in ektaal.
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an a tion
appreciation
appreci
indian
ofmusi c
classi cal
by Pandit Ravi Shankar (1965)
Indian classical music is principally based on melo-
dy and rhythm, not on harmony, counterpoint,
chords, modulation and the other basics of Western
classical music.
The system of Indian music known as Raga Sangeet
can be traced back nearly two thousand years to its
origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples, the fun-
damental source of all Indian music. Thus, as in Western
music, the roots of Indian classical music are religious.
To us, music can be a spiritual discipline on the path to
self-realisation, for we follow the traditional teaching
that sound is God – Nada Brahma: By this process indi-
vidual consciousness can be elevated to a realm of
awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of
the universe – its eternal and unchanging essence – can
be joyfully experienced. Our ragas are the vehicles by
which this essence can be perceived.
The ancient Vedic scriptures teach that there are
two types of sound. One is a vibration of ether, the upper
or purer air near the celestial realm. This sound is called
Anahata Nad or unstruck sound. Sought after by great
enlightened yogis, it can be heard only by them. The
sound of the universe is the vibration thought by some
to be like the music of the spheres that the Greek
Pythagoras described in the 6th century BC. The other
sound, Ahata Nad or struck sound, is the vibration of air
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in the lower atmosphere closer to the earth. It is any
sound that we hear in nature or made by man, musical
and non-musical.
The tradition of Indian classical music is an oral one.
It is taught directly by the guru to the disciple, rather
than by the notation method used in the West. The very
heart of Indian music is the raga: the melodic form upon
which the musician improvises. This framework is
established by tradition and inspired by the creative
spirits of master musicians.
Ragas are extremely difficult to explain in a few
words. Though Indian music is modal in character,
ragas should not be mistaken as modes that one hears
in the music of the Middle and Far Eastern countries,
nor be understood to be a scale, melody per se, a com-
position, or a key. A raga is a scientific, precise, subtle
and aesthetic melodic form with its own peculiar
ascending and descending movement consisting of
either a full seven-note octave, or a series of six or five
notes (or a combination of any of these) in a rising or
falling structure called the Arohana and Avarohana. It is
the subtle difference in the order of notes, an omission
of a dissonant note, an emphasis on a particular note,
the slide from one note to another, and the use of micro-
tones together with other subtleties that demarcate one
raga from the other.
There is a saying in Sanskrit – “Ranjayathi iti
Ragah” – which means, “that which colours the mind
is a raga.” For a raga to truly colour the mind of the
listener, its effect must be created not only through the
notes and the embellishments, but also by the presenta-
tion of the specific emotion or mood characteristic of
each raga. Thus through rich melodies in our music,
every human emotion, every subtle feeling in man and
nature can be musically expressed and experienced.
The performing arts in India – music, dance, drama,
and poetry – are based on the concept of Nava Rasa ,
or the “nine sentiments”. Literally, rasa means “juice”
or “extract” but here, in this context, we take it to mean
“emotion” or “sentiment”. The acknowledged order of
these sentiments is as follows: Shringara (romantic and
erotic); Hasya (humorous); Karuna (pathetic); Raudra
(anger); Veera (heroic); Bhayanaka (fearful); Vibhatsa
(disgustful); Adbhuta (amazement); Shanta (peaceful).
Each raga is principally dominated by one of these
nine rasas, although the performer can also bring out
other emotions in a less prominent way. The more
closely the notes of a raga conform to the expression of
one single idea or emotion, the more overwhelming the
effect of the raga.
In addition to being associated with a particular
mood, each raga is also closely connected to a particu-
lar time of day or season of the year. The cycle of day
and night, as well as the cycle of the seasons, is analo-
gous to the cycle of life itself. Each part of the day – such
as the time before dawn, noon, late afternoon, early
evening, late night – is associated with a definite senti-
ment. The explanation of the time associated with each
raga may be found in the nature of the notes it com-
prises, or in historical anecdotes concerning the raga.
Although there are 72 “melas” or parent scales
upon which ragas are based, Indian music scholars
have estimated that, with all their permutations and
combinations, there exist over 6,000 ragas! But a raga
is not merely a matter of the ascending-descending
structure. It must have its “chalan” or certain note, pat-
terns characteristic of the raga; its principal important
note (vadi); the second important note (samavadi); and
its main feature known as “jan” (life) or “mukhda”
(face), the cluster of a few notes by which a raga is
immediately recognised.
In terms of aesthetics, a raga is the projection of
the artist’s inner spirit, a manifestation of his most
profound sentiments and sensibilities brought forth
through tones and melodies. The musician must breath
life into each raga as he unfolds and expands it. As
much as 90 percent of Indian music may be improvised
and because so very much depends on understanding
the spirit and nuances of the art, the relationship
between the artist and his guru is the keystone of this
ancient tradition. From the beginning, the aspiring
musician requires special and individual attention to
bring him to the moment of artistic mastery. The
unique aura of a raga (one might say its “soul”) is its
spiritual quality and manner of expression, and this
cannot be learned from any book.
It is only after many long and extensive years of
“sadhana” (dedicated practice and discipline) under the
guidance of one’s guru and his blessings that the artist
is empowered to put “prana” (the breath of life) into a
raga. This is accomplished by employing the secrets
imparted by one’s teacher such as the use of “shrutis”
(microtones other than the 12 semitones in an octave,
Indian music using smaller intervals than Western
music: 22 in an octave): “gamakas” (special varieties of
glissando which connect one note to the other); and
“andolan” (a sway – but not a vibrato). The result is that
each note pulsates with life and the raga becomes
vibrant and incandescent.
Next to be considered are the “talas” or “rhythmic
cycles” of a raga. There is unique intricacy and rhyth-
mic sophistication in Indian music. There are talas
ranging from a three-beat cycle to 108 beats in a cycle!
The most popular talas are those which have 5, 6, 7, 8,
10, 12, 14, and 16 beats to a cycle. There are also
other cycles such as 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 beats and
so on which are only played by outstanding musicians
on rare occasions.
The division in a tala, and the stress on the first beat
(called “sum”), are the most important rhythmic factors.
While there are talas having the same number of beats,
they may differ because the division and accents are
not the same. For example, there is a tala known as
“Dhamar” which has 14 beats in the cycle divided
5+5+4: another tala, “Ada Chautal”, has the same num-
ber of beats, but is divided 2+4+4+4: still another tala,
“Chanchar”, is divided 3+4+3+4.
In vocal music, a drummer will accompany a singer
either in slow, medium or fast tempo at the start of a
song in whatever tala the singer chooses. He will do the
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