Jaunpuri stayed with me all morning and with the surprise visit of Pallabda, the nuances were clarified in detail. The classic S, G, M-> G, R. That late morning feeling, sun in my eyes, that longing, that final nuance of Pancham giving hope and showing optimism renewing energy by sliding down to Madhyam, Madhyam bringing in the grace of the Gandhar. And Kumar Gandharv is constantly in my room reaching out to the vibrations and tightening them up a bit...
God's grace is here.
The evening brought Marwa home, the frequencies converging in superspace onwards to the red sky. Then the ray of hope with a subtle touch of the Shadaj. Each note a specific mood. A little on the Raga-rasa theory.
Each sruti or micro tonal interval has a definite character; the names manda, candovati, dayavati, ranjani, raudri, krodha, ugra or khsobhini denote their emotional quality which dwells in combination or singly in the notes of the modal scale: thus, dayavati, ranjani and ratika dwell in the gandhara and each of the notes ( swara ) of the scale in its turn has its own kind of expression and distinct psychological or physical effect and can be related to a colour, a mood ( rasa or bhava ), a metre, a deity or one of the subtle centres ( chakra ) of the body. Thus for the sringara (amorous or erotic) and the hasya (laughter) rasa , the madhyama and the pancham are used; for the vira (heroic), raudra (wrathful) and the adbhuta (wondrous), the shadja and the rishabha ; for the bibhatsa (repulsive) and the bhayanaka (fearsome), the dhaivata ; and for the karuna (compassionate), the nisada and the gandhara are used.Every swara stands for a certain definite emotion or mood and has been classified according to its relative importance, and it forms a different part of the person of the modal scale.
And, the wonderful Rajan Parrikar on the Marwa Matrix.
The thought of Raga Marwa stirs memories of many youthful evenings spent walking on the Miramar beach in Panjim, bouncing Amir Khan’s stupendous opus in the corridors of my mind. Lost in the intoxicating reverie wrought by music and colourful sunsets, I occasionally allowed myself the fantasy of imagining what it might be like to feel and see raga from the Himalayan heights of an Amir Khan. I wondered if that great man, too, had likened himself to “a boy playing on the sea-shore, diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of raga lay all undiscovered before me.” After sundown I would walk home to a hearty meal and then hit the sack. For those were the days when we took pride in leisure. How times have changed. Today people take pains to disclose just how “busy” they are, as if it is a badge of achievement. You’d think they have been charged with re-designing God’s floor plan for the universe. [Update: I am delighted to hear that this "pompous" introduction has given some folks piles. As always, I aim to annoy and offend.]
In this installment devoted to the Marwa group, we will examine its familiar members and unveil some of the lesser known affiliates. A companion feature to follow soon will be devoted to the citizens of the Poorvi Province.
Throughout this discussion, M = shuddha madhyam and m = teevra madhyam.
The Marwa-Pooriya-Sohini axis
Marwa is among the ten thats enumerated by Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande and is characterized by the swara set S r G m P D N corresponding to the Carnatic melakarta Gamanasrama. The flagship raga of this that – Raga Marwa - drops the pancham altogether. The same is true for two other principals of this group – Pooriya and Sohani. These three ragas maintain a collegial but distinct melodic dynamic. It is therefore instructive to view them together under the same lens. This is a marvelous example of the magic of raga music – the evolution of differences originating from the same scale-set through the agency of chalan bheda (differences in melodic formulation), uccharana bheda (differences in intonation of swara) and vadi bheda (differences in relative emphasis of swara). Facility in this kind of sport demands cultivation of appropriate habits of mind and manana-chintan (reflection). But the game is well worth the candle for the ananda it brings.
The main idea in Raga Marwa is the overwhelming dominance of r and D. This is an apavada since no consonance exists between r and D; it took some genius sense this germ of an idea and fructify. The definitive tonal sentences are:
D’ N’ r G r, N’ D’, m’ D’ S N’ r, S
The points of note in this poorvanga construct are the nyasa on rishab and dhaivat, the langhan (skipping) of shadaj in both arohi and avarohi directions, and the alpatva (smallness/weakness) of N.
D, m G r G m D, D m G r
The madhya saptak movement. Marwa typically employs ‘khada‘ swaras – i.e. the lagav is direct and unwavering, shorn of delicacies and meends (the situation is different in the scale-congruent Raga Pooriya).
D N r” N D, m D N D S”
The uttaranga marker where the nishad is often skipped en route to the shadaj (Pooriya shares this lakshana, but not Sohani).
That was Marwa in a nutshell. It is an affective symbiotic relationship between r and D. Both the swaras are full-blown nyasa locations, yet bound to one another by an invisible cord: the pull of one is strongly felt when you visit the other.
----
Evening Puriya made a grand appearance, other colours emerging, other stars touched.
The night brought the beautiful Chandrakauns out, with that little shift from Malkauns to the Shuddha Nishaad brings in the melancholic touch, unlike Malkauns. With the one shift of a semi-tone, a night transformed. I am immersed in love.
The Sarod has officially changed my life.
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A Visceral Path
