Monday, April 2 2001
Uncommon Ragas: Hem Kalyan and Khem Kalyan
By- Rajan P. ParrikarRajan P. Parrikar is
a recognized expert on Indian Classical music and shares his knowledge freely
with
those interested in the subject.
He has written a series of articles on
Classical Indian Music some of which have been archived on Sawf. Click here to read Rajan's earlier
articles. |
Rajan P.
Parrikar (University of Colorado at Boulder, 1991) |
Namashkar.
In this feature we shall discuss the aprachalita (uncommon)
Ragas Hem Kalyan and Khem Kalyan. These melodies have been part of the
Hindustani armoury for well
over 100 years but are rarely heard in today's mehfil. Most of
the active performers are scarcely acquainted with their essence and recordings
of the older masters are few and far between thus
thwarting efforts towards meaningful retrieval. The two rAgas have much to
recommend
them by way of aesthetic merit and deserve wider recognition and
revival through performance. Throughout the promenade , M= shuddha and m =
teevra madhyam.
Raga Hem Kalyan
There is no Kalyan-anga in this rAga and hence some purists refer
to it as just Hem. The rAga employs all shuddha swaras. The
nishAd is very weak (alpa), the rishab and
dhaivat are rendered alpa in Arohi movements. Hem Kalyan's
signature is embedded in a characteristic tonal sentence in the mandra
saptak given by: S, P' D' P' S. Most of the
tonal activity occurs
in the mandra and in the poorvAnga of the madhya saptak. A supporting
cluster - G M P G M R S - reminiscent of Kamod
is often encountered;
so is the P-S-P coupling. The declining S-P' or S"-P swoop is
mediated by a meeND. The dhAtu of Hem Kalyan is encapsulated in
the following three sentences:
S, P' D' P' S, S R S G M R S P' D' P' S
S M G P, P G M R S, G M D, P, P D P S"
S" P D P, P S" D P, G M D, P, P G M P G M R S, P' D' P' S
It will be observed from the foregoing swara constructions that the
rAga contours are not only vakra but there are frequent wide intervals
to be negotiated. The space for AlApchAri is thus modest and there
is limited facility for straight up and and down tAns. These considerations
render the rAga out of bounds to all but the most capable performers
and perhaps accounts for its relative obscurity.
In his Abhinava Geetanjali, Volume 4,
Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang"
makes a distinction between Hem and Hem Kalyan. In his view, the
former is what we have just discussed above whereas Hem Kalyan
obtains from the avarohi use of the teevra madhyam as well and the
Kalyanic treatment of rishab.
The line-up of clips has the masters at play. Hem Kalyan, with its heavily
vakra build, is not naturally suited to Amir Khan's gAyaki but the
great man rises to the occasion and turns in a brilliant rendition. He
opens with the vilambit composition, daiyyA ri maiN kAse jAya pukAruN,
credited to "Sadarang," the original Hem Kalyan bandish universally
regarded as the carrier of the rAga's kernel. Amir Khan unwinds in
vilambit jhoomrA and then adds his own Tarana for the druta item:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/amirkhan_hemkalyan.ram
The selfsame canonical daiyyA ri maiN this time set to vilambit
ektAla and
crisply delivered by K.G. Ginde:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/ginde_hemkalyan.ram
An encore of the vilambit bandish by the Agra doyen, Vilayat Hussain
Khan "Pranpiya." He also renders his famous druta bandish,
lagan lAgi sundara Shyam salone piyA sanga. Both these compositions
have been notated and published by "Ramrang" in Volume 4 of the aforementioned
reference. Vilayat Hussain Khan:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/vhk_hemkalyan.ram
Salamat Ali Khan:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/salamat_hemkalyan.ram
As always we have the exception that defies the standard. Here is a
different kind of Hem, of Bilawal extraction, by Altaf Hussain Khan of
Khurja. Some of you will be reminded of Savani Nat type of movements: saba
mila gAvo -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/ahk_hem.ram
Raga HemNat
Elements of Nat are stitched onto Hem Kalyan to create the compelling
hybrid known as HemNat. The Atrauli-Jaipur musicians, in particular,
treat this melody with great relish. Raga Nat by itself is rarely heard
nowadays. Instead, it has come to be regarded as a Raganga, serving
seed melodic and gestural material for synthesizing hybrid or composite rAgas.
Nat is a heavily M-centric rAga. The definitive
Nat phrases most sought
after are in the poorvAnga:
S R S, S R, R G, G M...
S G (R)G M, M P, P G M R S
The uttarAnga of Nat is sparse but carries the important P-S" and S" D P
clusters. Occasionally a
komal nishAd is admitted via S" D n P. Before
stepping into HemNat territory let us take in a briefing of the pure Nat by
Mallikarjun
Mansur:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/mansur_nat.ram
A little reflection allows that Hem Kalyan and Nat are natural allies.
In fact, some Nat elements may be observed in Hem Kalyan to begin
with. K.G. Ginde delivers two lovely compositions of S.N. Ratanjankar
in HemNat: pArana pAyo in vilambit ektAla and niratata kAnha in
druta teentAla:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/ginde_hemnat.ram
Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang," in an inspired rendition of HemNat.
His composition is a beauty and apprehends the lakshaNAs of the rAga in
the very first line itself. Harmonium support is provided by moi and on
tabla is Tulsidas Navelkar of Kala Academy, Goa, in this 1999
recording of a private mehfil:
rAsa rachi Jamuna ke taTa Hari basana suranga anga saje
rAkA raina sanga gopiyana harakhe-harakhe Hari nritta kare
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/jha_hemnat.ram
The final HemNat offering has Mallikarjun Mansur at work with
the Atrauli-Jaipur staple, tuma bina maiko kala nA paRata:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/mansur_hemnat.ram
Raga Khem Kalyan
This is among the most charming melodies ever conceived and it is a
shame that it is consigned to the ranks of the obscure. Traditionally, the
Agra musicians have had a lock on this rAga. The central idea here
is the judicious interleaving of Ragas Hamsadhwani and Kalyan.
Outside Agra territory the rAga shows variance in implementation but
without loss of its original kernel. The definitive phrase in Khem Kalyan
is: S, D' N' S G R... or N' S G R... The nyAsa on the final rishab is
exceedingly pleasing. There are some reminders of Hem Kalyan
harking back to the S-P'-S coupling and the use
of the mandra
pancham P' as an amsa swara via S P' or SR P'.
The Agra conception uses Yaman Kalyan as its basis and may be
summarized in the following sentences:
S, SN'D'N', S G R... S, R S (S)P', D' N' S G R... G M
(G)R, S P, G M (G)R
G P N S" N D m G R, G M (G)R, N' D' N' S G R, S R (R)P', S
G R...
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These ideas are fortified in this tAleem session administered by Khadim
Hussain Khan to Lalith Rao and other students. He peppers the development
with peremptory, albeit pertinent, remarks. The vilambit composition is
standard Khem Kalyan issue: piharvA maikain deho batAye -
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http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/khk_khemkalyan.ram
Anjanibai Lolienkar dispenses the old and attractive Khem Kalyan bandish:
haTa
nA kara mohe chhANDa piharwA -
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/anjanibai_khemkalyan.ram
The Rampur-Sahaswan version of Khem Kalyan is exemplified by
Nissar Hussain Khan. The teevra madhyam is sidelined here. The
vilambit and druta bandishes are again, respectively, piharvA maikain
and haTa nA kara. Compare the latter, now shorn of the teevra
madhyam, with Anjanibai's earlier clip:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/nhk_khemkalyan.ram
The concluding item - Kishori Amonkar's ethereal artistry. She has no
use for the shuddha madhyam and seamlessly wades in and out
of Hamsadhwani and Yaman:
http://www.sawf.org/audio/hemkhem/kishori_khemkalyan.ram
Glossary
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