Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Raag Bhopali has a therapeutic effect on Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
Raag bhopali,an evening raga,has stayed on with me for many years now. Also known as Bhoop,the raga rendered in any form overwhelms me. It acquired a different aura for me when classical doyen,Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan,sang it in his baritone. I heard a bandish by him for the first time when I was 12 and since then Bhopali has had a kind of therapeutic effect on me. I have fresh memories of admiration for the raga when Lalgudi Jayaraman played it on the violin for the album South meets North (1983),which we did together,and when T.R. Mahalingam rendered it on flute on my fathers first death anniversary in 1973.
The pentatonic raga (with five notes) acquires a totally different aura when played on sarod. Bhopali was more like a taboo for sarod as the raga is devoid of the swar ma (madhyam) and the first string that we generally pluck on sarod is ma. It is really difficult to play it on sarod and other string instruments. Also,in order to bring out the authentic contours of this raga,one needs to stay clear of ragas that exist with the same set of notes. So,whenever I am a bit lonely,I go back to this raga. It is,overall,not rigorous or difficult but a playful yet complex extemporisation of symphony.
