Navratri Navrang

Navratri days were always colourful.  It was very special festival for us in family.  During childhood, we use to have special decorations and pujas every day at home with tasty Naivedyams / Prasads.  Over the period of time all the decorations got reduced, puja and Naivedyams remained, and more music got added.  We use to sing bhajans every day evening, which was led by my mother.   These days, the music got confined only to the Vijayadasami day, after the Saraswati puja. 

This year it was very different.  Lockdown days dampened the spirits of Navratri in general.  Just a day before start of Navratri, Pratibha’s Sitar guru Smt Aparna Deodhar suggested that why not do a video series in which Pratibha and the guru perform together one raag a day.  To include only the compositions and not improvisations.  I got excited with the suggestion and did not realise the challenges ahead.  We finalised the raags for each day.   Teacher also suggested that let Pratibha wear Saree during the performance.  These were sufficient for Pratibha to get excited, playing along with her guru, that too wearing saree. She loves wearing saree and these days not many opportunities for wearing saree.  Wow! We all got excited.  Awesome way to bring colours of Navratri back.  So, it is going to be Navratri Navrang this year.

We all got into preparation to make the Navrang a reality.  Some of the raags Pratibha learnt more than 3 years back, and she has not practiced them at all.  We have setup a process.  First make Pratibha revise the compositions in the chosen raag of the day.  Once we get comfort with her playing, do the video shooting, of course Pratibha wearing saree.  Once the shooting is over, edit it to remove all unnecessary takes and send the video to the teacher.  Teacher listens to it and plays the same what Pratibha has played and sends her video to us.   During that time, I get into creating a cover design for the video.  Then sync both the videos, adjust the volume levels, place the videos side by side etc. to create the final one.  Send the final video to the teacher, who posts it on the Facebook, and we share it on our Facebook timelines also to a few friends and groups in WhatsApp.  This was the process we followed.  I was spending a minimum of 6 hours a day for all my tasks.  Most of the time was spent in two tasks, (1) revising the compositions that Pratibha has to play & then making Pratibha practice and (2) video editing.

After watching for couple of days’ videos, one of my friend commented that playing along Pratibha is a bigger challenge for the guru, as Pratibha has problems with rhythm and she misses beats once in a while and the tempo varies while playing, though less often. Matching that is not an easy task!!  Such amazing support from a Guru, matching Pratibha’s ‘playing’ (with rough edges) is something which gave real “colour” to this Navrang series.  I am sure, this is because of the bond that Pratibha and her guru share.

My wife Asha was giving all the support and encouragement.  The biggest task for Asha was selecting sarees for each day, making Pratibha wear saree and all the associated accessories, and reviewing the videos in progress.  Pratibha’s excitement was for two reasons: (1) Playing along with her guru (in video), and (2) opportunity to wear saree.  After couple of days we realised about the colours associated with each day of Navratri, and decided to make Pratibha wear saree having the colour of the day.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable Navratri for us, for me fully engaged in music and video creation.  The commitment by Pratibha's guru Smt Aparna Deodhar has to be appreciated, as she was there for any help all the time.  For me it was a laborious task, but I enjoyed thoroughly.  From us, myself, Asha and Pratibha, a big thank you to Aparnaji for making the suggestion for the video series and supporting it all through the nine days. 

The response we got for these videos from social media were very encouraging.   Here are the nine videos and at the end a link to the playlist, where all the videos can be viewed.

Day 1:  Raag Bairagi

Raag Bairagi is also known as 'Bairagi Bhairav'.  The equivalent ragam in Carnatic music is Revati.  The time associated with this raag is morning 6 AM to 9 AM.  This raag is supposed to evoke karuna rasa.  It is to be noted that many of the vedic verses and shlokas are chanted in this raag.   It is said that the steep fall from Madhyam to komal Rishabh adds to the poignancy of the raag Bairagi.

Day 2:  Raag Shivranjani

Shivranjani is a melodious raag and gathers strength from sadness.  This raag is very similar to raag Bhoopali with just one note different, i.e. komal Gandhar instead of shudh Gandhar.   Though the difference is very small, the mood the two raags create are very different.  Shivranjani is considered to be a raag borrowed from Carnatic music.  The time associated with this raag is midnight.  Bollywood has used this raag for many popular songs that reflects sad mood.  One example is "Jane kahan gaye wo din.." from the film Mera Naam Joker.. 

Day 3:  Raag Hamsadhwani

In Hindustani music style, raag Hansdhwani is considered to be borrowed into it from Carnatic music.  Time associated with Hamsadhwani raag is 2nd prahar of night.  Hamsadhwani is a bright and happy raag setting a vibrant context for a concert.

Day 4:  Raag Bhoopali

Raag Bhoopali, also called Bhoop, is a very popular raag.  The equivalent of this in Carnatic music is ragam Mohanam.  The time prescribed for this raag is again 6 pm to 9 pm, the first prahar of night.   Bhoopali is a tranquil soft melody that fills up a new life force in the atmosphere.   

Day 5:  Raag Yaman

This raag is considered to be one of the most fundamental raags in Hindistani tradition.  Kalyani is the equivalent ragam in Carnatic music.  The time associated with this raag is first prahar of night, i.e. 6 pm to 9 pm.  Yaman is full of grace and beauty, evoking a mood of devotion and dedication.  

Day 6:  Raag Malkauns

Malkauns is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music.  The equivalent raaga in Carnatic music is Hindolam.  The raag is said to have evolved when lord Shiva performed the Tandava dance.  The raag thus evokes a feeling of vigour or Veer rasa.  The time associated with this raag is 3rd prahar of the night, i.e. 12 midnight to 3 am.  

Day 7:  Raag Durga

This year, the seventh day of Navratri was considered as Durgashtami, hence we chose the raag Durga for this day.  The traditional emotion associated with raag Durga is boldness and determination.  It also signifies purity.  The time associated with this raag is 2nd prahar, viz. 9 pm to 12 midnight.  Suddha Saveri raag in Carnatic music is considered to be very close to Durga in terms of notes, but the way these ragas are rendered are quite different in both styles of music.  

Day 8:  Raag Bhimpalasi

Bhimpalasi is a very sweet and hauntingly pleasant melody.  This raag is supposed to depict the sringara rasa (romantic mood).  The time associated with this raag is 12 noon to 3 pm.  The Carnatic music equivalent of this raag is Karnataka Devagandhari.  Dhanashri ragam is also very close to Bhimpalasi. 

Day 9:  Raagsagar

Navratri Navrang was concluded with a raagsagar (raagamaalika), rendering multiple raags in one composition.  The five raags are Kalavati, Rageshri, Chandranandan, Malayamarutham and Bhairavi.  Kalavati and Bhairavi are very popular raags.   Raag Bhairavi is called queen of melodies, which is known as Sindhubhairavi in Carnatic music.  Though raag Bhairavi is an early morning raag, it is popularly used as a concluding piece in the concerts at any time.  We are also concluding Navratri Navrang with Bhairavi, but followed by a short jhala in Kalavati.

Here is link to a playlist of all the nine videos.

Navratri Navrang Playlist