Full Moon Raga
Raga Kumbha


"Ragas leave a mark on a person's heart and mind."                                                  

"Ragas" (the word Raga means "colour" or "mood" in Sanskrit) refer to the melodious modes used in Classical Indian music. Each raga rests on five or more notes upon which a melody is built. Ragas can also denote specific melodies as well. The tradition of Classical Indian music believes that ragas awaken different emotions or "moods" in people. Therefore, it "pictures" the experience of the listener. Ragas are usually sung according to different seasons or times of the day. For instance Malhar raga groups are played during the Monsoon season. Classical Indian Music is always built on ragas. Even non-traditional Indian music such as popular film songs can base their compositions on ragas. "Ragini" is a term used to refer to the "female" counterpart of ragas. Even though notes do make up an important portion of the ragas, they cannot constitute the raga by themselves. Ragas are beyond scales. Many ragas share the same scale too.




Raga Deepak

Raga defines a general type of melodic application. It also lays out a series of rules required to create the melody. It determines the rules for going up and down the scales - which swaras (notes) should be used more and which ones should be used less? Which notes should be used with which words and which words should be avoided? Basically, ragas are frameworks that can be used to compose or    improve melodies. This provides infinite variety within the scope of the notes. The surprising abundance of ragas has inspired many artists. A rich tradition of portraying ragas and raginis as kings and queens has emerged. In a very unique way, this form enchants the human spirit. On the contrary, ragas using Tivra Ma represent dynamism and movement similar to the major mode in the West. As stated above, each raga defines the rules of going up and down the scale. Each raga has three basic sequence of notes: Aaroh, Avaroh and Pakad. Aaroh is the rising and Avaroh the descent. Each Raga has a Pakad. This is the set of notes that makes each raga unique. You can listen to the Aaroh, Avaroh and Pakad of each raga by clicking on the SRGMPDN sign next to each image. You can experience the different emotions created by each raga yourself.

Two of the seven notes, Sa and Pa are unchanging. The other four notes, Re, Ga, Dha and Ni can go down half a tone to create four new notes. These are called Komal Re, Komal Ga, Komal Dha and Komal Ni respectively. Finally the note Ma can be raised half a tone to create Tivra Ma. Ragas that use Komal notes are usually more romantic in nature and create nostalgic feelings, pleasing the human spirit. This is similar to the minor mode in Western Classical Music. By contrast, the ragas using the Tivra Ma express dynamism and action, similar to the major mode in the West.