Raga Journeys: Place and its Role in Hindustani Music

Musical traditions are indivisible from the regions in which they originate. In some ways the link between the two is intangible—music reflects the abstract thoughts and values of the people who create it. However, the two are joined in more concrete ways as well, from the available resources used to craft musical instruments to the social realities that give rise to the composition and performance of music. This link between music and place is especially prominent within the ragas of the Hindustani classical tradition—an ancient musical form that has been developed in northern India since the 13th century CE (Nettl, 2014). Because of this link, I believe it’s beneficial for those unfamiliar with the tradition to think of a performance of a raga as a journey. As the musician navigates her way through the different sections of this form she is guided by both her immediate physical surroundings and the traditional place-based connotations of the ragas. All the while, she is guiding listeners through an aural landscape that hopefully evokes the same connotations within them. Through the infographic and this subsequent analysis, it is my aim to make the link between ragas and location explicitly clear with the use of the journey metaphor. While it would be impossible to provide an exhaustive analysis of such a complex and ever-changing form, this will at least orient readers to the some of the more important aspects of a raga.

Defining the Hindustani Raga Pinning down an exact definition for the term “raga” is a difficult task—especially for those more familiar with Western musical traditions. There are tonal elements that make the concept similar to a key signature, but the formal rules dictating what can and cannot occur in a given raga go far beyond the confines of this analogy. However, for my purposes, the technical elements of ragas are secondary to the emotional and social meanings that people ascribe to them. So, a good starting place may be to examine the literal translation of this Sanskrit word into English—it means “color” or “passion” (Nettl, 2013). As these two meanings imply, there is a uniqueness to each raga; no two share the exact same “shade” or emphasis. Additionally, these two translations exemplify the idea that ragas hold meaning outside of the music itself—they are not absolute but rather are representational. Because each raga possesses a unique set of extra-musical characteristics, they have become associated with different times and places. For example, raga Bhairav is traditionally performed at sunrise, while raga Nayaki Kanada is saved until midnight. On a larger scale, certain ragas become linked with entire seasons. This concept is best exemplified through the Melhar set of ragas, which are associated with the Indian monsoon season (Dalmia, 2005). This is where the connection between raga and place becomes blindingly clear—hypothetically, if the Hindustani tradition had developed in northern

Europe, there would be no monsoon ragas because there would be no monsoons to inspire them!

The Sections of Raga and the Journey Metaphor So far I have examined the link between location and the ragas, but the necessity of the journey metaphor has yet to be seen. For its justification, we must (at least superficially) turn to the formal elements of a raga—specifically the three major sections that a performance must contain. Before a performance begins, a musician must first choose a raga to play. There are a number of factors which might influence a musician to pick a particular one, but most Hindustani performers will postpone a decision until they get a feel for the performance space because of the belief that “different notes predominate the atmosphere at different times,” (Sadhana, 2011). This method of picking is another testament to the intrinsic link between raga and place. Additionally, we can think of choosing a raga as planning a route for a trip. The introduction of a raga is known as the alap. Sometimes referred to as an invocation or meditation (Myers), the alap is the section in which the soloist (either vocal or instrumental) sets the tone of the performance—it’s something like a metaphorical roadmap. They begin on the swara (the most important note of a given raga) and slowly expand their reach both upward and downward in a stepwise motion until all the notes of the raga have been exposed. The alap is a territory that is both familiar and foreign to the soloist. Experienced musicians will most likely have performed the same raga before, but the section is improvised, which means they won’t follow an exact and predefined path each time. In this sense, the alap orients both listener and musician to the musical landscape. Following the alap is the jor (sometimes spelled “jhor” or “jod”). This section is not much faster than the preceding; however, it is distinctly more rhythmic (Appreciating Alap, Jor, and Jhala, 2009). The jor opens with the presentation of bandish, or composed melodies associated with certain ragas (Bal, 2003). However, as the jor progresses, the soloist will begin to alternate between these melodies and sections of improvisation. To continue the journey metaphor, bandish are like road signs or landmarks—they can point a musician in the right direction, but ultimately she must continue to forge the path herself. The jhala marks the final leg of the raga journey and is akin to a sprint to the finish. This section is fast, technically demanding, and privileges improvisation over the fixed melodies of the jor (Structure of a performance, 2013). By this point in the performance, the musician has thoroughly travelled and mapped the entire terrain of the raga. There is no predetermined end within this form—instead it’s up to the soloist to decide when she and the audience have “arrived.”

Representing the Raga Process The aim of my infographic is not to make my readers raga experts. Instead, it was created to illuminate the fact that the form both helps musicians and listeners navigate a physical space and is itself a musical landscape. By emphasizing the “path” that a raga takes, the infographic functions as a sort of world map—illustrating the major checkpoints in the process without getting too bogged down in the minute details of the terrain.

Works Cited

Appreciating Alap, Jor and Jhala. (2009, September 23). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

https://indianraga.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/appreciating-alap-jor-and-jhala/

Bal, H. (2003, March 1). Boundless bandish delight. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/03/stories/200303030053020

0.htm

Dalmia, H. (2005, July 1). Moving Monsoon Ragas Help Unite Self with Nature. Retrieved

March 2, 2015, from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/edit-page/Moving-

Monsoon-Ragas-Help-Unite-Self-with-Nature/articleshow/1157831.cms

Myers, R. (n.d.). Raga - Music. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://music.meyers.me.uk/home/aos-4-world-music/indian-music/raga

Nettl, B. (2013, September 1). Raga. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/489518/raga

Nettl, B. (2014, June 1). Hindustani music. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266470/Hindustani-music

Sadhana. (2011, January 1). Appreciating Indian Classical Music. Retrieved March 2, 2015,

from http://raag-hindustani.com/Performance.html

Structure of a performance. (2013, January 1). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from

http://www.ragasamay.org/category/structure/