The Raga-ness of Ragas: Ragas Beyond the Grammar

Contents: Preface. Introduction/Lyle Wachovsky. Part I: Perspectives on Raga-ness: 1. The Raga-ness of Ragas. 2. Ragas: right and wrong. 3. Raga chemistry and beyond. 4. Kedar at sunrise? 5. Raga, rasa, meaning. 6. The Raga-ness of Compositions. 7. The Raga-ness of Compositions II. 8. The Raga-ness of Compositions III. 9. The Raga-ness of Alap. 10. The Raga-ness of Tans. 11. The Raga-ness of Musicians. Part II: The World of Ragas: 1. Adana Kanada: A raga of valour and heroism. 2. Adi Basant: fading colours of spring. 3. Ahiri: Not Ahiri Todi, not Ahir Bhairav, Simply Ahiri. 4. Ahir Bhairav: issues in raga grammar. 5. Ahir Lalit: Ravi Shankar s creation. 6. Bahar: spring in the air. 7. Basant Mukhari: persian origins, carnatic inspiration. 8. Bhairavi: the raga and the eternal feminine. 9. Bhimpalas: everyone knows it; only maestros perform it. 10. Bihag: straddling two worlds. 11. Bihagda: a popular bihag variant . 12. Bilaskhani Todi: a requiem for Miya Tansen. 13. Chandni Kedar: much ado about nothing . 14. Darbari Kanada: elephantine gait and tonal geometry. 15. Desha: romanticism rules. 16. Durga: raga of the warrior goddess. 17. Enayet Khani Kanada: Ustad Vilayat Khan s melodic experiment. 18. Gara: tonal geometry and amorphous grammar. 19. Gorakh Kalyan: evolving as a Bageshri variant. 20. Gunji-Kauns: a raga is born. 21. Hemant: an old new raga? 22. Jaitashri: an independent raga or a compound? 23. Janasammohini: carnatic, hindustani, or pakistani? 24. Jog: A versatile raga. 25. Kedar: abandoning the austere form. 26. Khambavati: a boutique raga. 27. Kshem (Khem) Kalyan: the precious Kalyan. 28. Lalit: tonal geometry and melodic mischief. 29. Lalita-Sohani: interesting concept, fragile raga-ness. 30. Madhuvanti: a grammatical orphan? 31. Malti Basant: a rare fragrance of spring. 32. Marwa, Puriya and Sohani: the tricky triplets. 33. Megh Malhar: a sombre response to nature s bounty. 34. Miya-ki Todi: a case of reluctant differentiation. 35. Multani: debilitating and oppressive. 36. Nat Kamod: solitary bandisha, limited raga-ness. 37. Patadipak: can it be called a raga? 38. Pilu: easy identification, meaningless codification. 39. Puriya Kalyan: or is it purva? what s the difference? 40. Rageshri: Bageshri s cousin. 41. Sampurna Malkauns: the concept and its manifestations. 42. Sanjh Saravali: Ustad Vilayat Khan s magnum opus. 43. Shahana: the most popular Kanada variant. 44. Shankara: mellowing of the daunting deity. 45. Shri: supplicant, spooky or belligerent? 46. Shuddha Chhaya: elusive component of a popular compound. 47. Shuddha Kalyan: how and why it is changing. 48. Tilang: a sibling of jog or parent? 49. Vacaspati: rechristened for acceptance. Glossary and Explanatory Notes. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. This book is a systematic and contemporary exploration of the uniquely Indian phenomenon of raga, which forms the foundation of the musical culture of India. Maestros speak with total conviction of a raga as having a personality. A raga must therefore be viewed not only as the governing authority of musical performance, but also as an archetype pregnant with cultural meaning. The exploration of raga-ness, therefore, can begin with the grammatical coordinates of ragas, but cannot stop there. This book attempts to extend the scope of the enquiry to cover several other facets of ragas examining the manner in which they participate in the cultural process. As such, this book provides valuable insights to scholars, researchers, connoisseurs, as well as performing musicians. Written by an author of established credentials as a musician, researcher and writer with three acclaimed works to his credit, this book explores the subject through conceptual essays in Part I, and case studies of fifty-one ragas in Part II. The case studies of ragas are supported with references to authoritative texts and reviews of recordings by recent and contemporary maestros. Written in the author's lucid and masterly style, this bo.…