The Charm of Raga Lalit
This is a photo I clicked at Kabini National Park. Moments after this I saw a tiger in the wild for the first time in my life. The year was 2020
It is strange how some memories get fixed. Sometimes the memory hinges around a person. Sometimes an incident. Sometimes the whiff of a long forgotten fragrance can bring back memories. Memories are like old photos. Some people click millions of photos and stick them into albums and then never look at them again. I like to mull over those moments.
The other day I was reading an article about the Siberian Cranes that one can spot at the Bharatpur Bird sanctuary. I was reminded of the amazing talent I saw in Purshottam who plies a cycle rickshaw in the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. He is actually as knowledgeable about the birds of the sanctuary as you could imagine. His father did odd jobs for the famed Dr Salim Ali as he was writing his authoritative book Handbook of the Birds of India & Pakistan which he started in 1964.
Young Purshottam or Purshotti would run errands for his father and listen to Dr Salim Ali sketch and photograph the different birds. The schooling he received shows. When I declined to hire his cycle rickshaw, he sneaked a glance around and asked if I would be interested in a guide instead. He told me that he knew the names of the birds in German and French - and then added, I even know what some of them are called in Bengali. I wrote about him in a post here.
Bharatpur for me is much more than the national park. It was about discovering the flavor of Raga Lalit. That morning in Bharatpur, I woke up early. I stared out of the window and looked at the first rays of the sun. It was cold and I sat up in bed still wrapped up and snug in the crumpled sheet. The gardener of the hotel was busy watering the gorgeous flowers. His day must have started early. All India Radio was playing Raga Lalit by Ustad Bismillah Khan.Bismillah is a word used to invoke God's blessings before the start of anything auspicious. The old transistor had seen better days for sure. Yet all that did not seem to matter as the gardener went about stooping over the marigolds and showering them before patting away extra water from the leaves. The fog had not yet lifted fully. The notes wafted through the fog almost clearing the way for the sun.
Here is what I heard
Raga Samay Chakra
Raga Lalit is played between 4am and 6am. (see the Samay Chakra drawing from my notebook) The Raga Lalit belongs to Poorvi Thhaat. Other well known Ragas from the Poorvi Thhaat are Paraj, Poorvi, Puriya Dhanashree, Shree etc.So clearly there could be Ragas from the same thhaat but meant for different times of the day. While Paraj and Lalit are morning Ragas, we find Ragas like Poorvi and Shree which are sung at dusk, but from the same Poorvi Thhaat.
Think of the Thhaat as the Head of the household and Ragas as the different children who all are related to each other by a clear visible bond of shared ancestory. Lalit evokes the mood of prayer and a certain sense of calm. I believe that the easiest way to befriend the notes of a Raga is to listen to it being used in film music. I find it useful to grasp the essence of the Raga by listening to a classical performance by one of the maestros and then listen to it in the form of a film song.
The difference is the same as learning Math from the Professor of Mathematics and asking a friend to help you grasp the subtle nuances of Math. My friends were always much better at explaining stuff than my teachers. I wonder why? Was it because the friend helped me learn while the teachers tried to teach.
“A friend helps you to learn, a teacher tries to teach. ”
In Hindi Film Music, the composer Naushad Ali (b Dec 25, 1919) who passed away on May 5, 2006 at the age of 86 was famous for his use of classical music in Hindi films. He had composed the music for Mother India (1957) - the first Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar. He won the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1981 for his contribution to Indian cinema. Naushad has captured the essence of Raga Lalit in this song from the film Leader in 1964 starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala. You will recognize the familiar notes of Lalit that stayed with you from the shehnai recital.
https://youtu.be/IamkXhPuFPY
Another lovely composition in Raga Lalit is by the composer Madan Mohan from the film Chacha Zindabad sung by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar -Pritam Daras Dikhao
https://youtu.be/koCcAQKaKzU
You can also hear Mohd Rafi and Manna Dey sing the song Tu Hai Mera Prem Devata from the film Kalpana. The music was composed by the rock 'n roll king of Bollywood - OP Nayyar. The dancers are the Travancore sisters Padmini and Ragini.
https://youtu.be/ET1BPuO_aG8
I have heard that for the film Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Raj Kapoor had asked his fave music composers Shankar Jaikishan to give up their fascination for Raga Bhairavi and use Raga Lalit in the song Bhor Bhaye Panghat Pe from the film starring Zeenat Aman and Shashi Kapoor.
https://youtu.be/P_Todshyiqk
Now that you have become familiar with the notes of this beautiful Morning Raga called Lalit, you should now listen to Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia play Raga Lalit
https://youtu.be/smYksULTb4I
You could also read about how I discovered Raga Desh (clearly my all time favorite) in this article The Charm of Raga Desh
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