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Reflections on Raga Hameer Rajan P. Parrikar Rajan P. Parrikar is a recognized expert of Indian Classical music and shares his knowledge freely with those interested in the subject.

Namashkar.

Last year (1999) I had posted a discussion on Raga Hameer on the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.indian.classical (RMIC). The commentary was dotted with representative sound clips that, at the time, were prohibitively large for most readers to download. The situation has now been remedied by offering the clips in streaming audio. Much of the material has been re-arranged and augmented. Throughout this causerie, M = shuddha madhyam and m = teevra madhyam.

Raga Hameer belongs to the class of the grand, basic rAgas and is known to project a vigorous, dramatic mien. It is occasionally referred to as Hameer Kalyan (not to be confused with Hameer Kalyani of the Carnatic paddhati, which is the equivalent of the Hindustani Kedar). As a traditional Hindustani denizen of considerable heft, one finds in Hameer a variety of old Dhrupad, Dhamar and Khayal compositions. Just as Nand is a staple of the Agra/Atrauli diet, so it is with Hameer and the musicians of the Gwalior Gharana.

Raga Hameer is nominally assigned to the Kalyan thAT and employs all the shuddha swaras plus the teevra madhyam. The association with the Kalyan group is debatable since the rAga's structure reveals a significant presence of the Bilawal anga. At any rate, the thAT taxonomy is a secondary consideration; our focus is on the structure of the rAga. The melodic contours of Hameer are vakra and the Arohana/avarohana set serves to provide no more than a silhouette. It must be underscored that the Aroha and avarohana follow from the rAga-lakshaNAs and not the other way around. The Aroha & avarohana set merely indicates the swaras deployed and an approximate sequence of their occurrence. It is not a statement or even a précis of the internal constitution of a rAga. The most that can be said for Aroha and avarohana is that it is sometimes possible for a thinking musician to express a few highlights of the rAga through careful recitation of the sequence.

Nominally we may define the Aroha/avarohana set of Hameer as follows:

S, R G M (N)D, N D N S"::S" N D P, m P G M R, S

The essence of Hameer lies in the curvature imparted to its Arohi prayogas and the crucial role accorded the dhaivat. It falls to the class of abstract rAgas such as Kedar, Gaud Sarang, Nand and so on. By "abstract" we mean that it is not a scalar rAga, amenable to constitution with elemental Aroha-avarohi phrases, that there is more to it than a chaining together and summing up a group of linear tonal clusters. The happy marriage of swara punctuation and enunciation (captured by the term "ucchAraNa") necessary for effective expression of abstract rAgas is attained to by judicious tAleem and long periods of reflection. We shall now examine the lakshaNAs and these pointers in concert with the attached sound files should help clarify the overall picture.

The key idea in Hameer lies in the periodic build-up of melodic stress and its release. The ArohAtmaka attack on the dhaivat tugged with the nishAd inscribes the Hameer signature. To wit,

G M (N)D, (N)D m P
The dhaivat is powerful, a nyAsa swara and a source of the rAga's veera rasa. The pancham is also a nyAsa sthAna and serves as a point of repose, a station for dissipation of the 'tension' built up on the dhaivat.

G M (N)D, D N D P m P, P G M R, R P G M R S S
Notice the approach to the dhaivat via the nishAd. Sometimes, an unornamented linear G M D generates a pleasing contrast. The D-R 'consonance' is often exploited by alternating tonal activity around these two endpoints. The rishab is rendered deergha in avarohAtmaka prayogas and is sought frequently for bringing to conclusion a melodic thought in the poorvAnga region.

G M (N)D N S"
PDPP S", S" (N)R" S"
mPDNS", S" R" S"
These are some of the prescribed modes for an uttarAnga launch.

S", S" (N)D, (N)D N m P, S" (N)D P m P G M R
This is an example of an avarohi prayoga.

A sample chalan of Raga Hameer is now formulated:

G M (N)D, P, G M D N S", S" N D P m P G M R, P G M R S S

Obiter dicta: The teevra madhyam remains confined in the shadow of the pancham and seldom has an independent existence. Some treatments explicity take in the Kalyanic cluster m D N D P (thus strengthening the case for "Hameer Kalyan") but in most expositions the presence of Kalyan is subdued. The reader is encouraged to reflect on the Bilawal and Kalyan angas and their interaction in the context of Hameer. Occasionally there obtains an AbhAsa of the komal nishAd in the form of a vivAdi swara.

This completes our prelude. In a short essay of this type, ancillary details that round off the rAga swaroop have to be left out. Furthermore, the nuance of ucchAraNa can scarcely be conveyed with the written word.

Raga Hameer is represented in popular Indian consciousness by the alltime classic from KOHINOOR (1960) where the formidable talents of master tunesmith Naushad, lyricist Shakeel Badayuni, and the voice of Mohammad Rafi come together in a celebration of Shri Krishna's Leela: Madhuban meiN Radhika nAche re -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/rafi.ram

The movie BHARAT MILAP (1942) carried Tulsidas's famous bhajan Shri Ramchandra kripAlu bhaja mana. Although Shankarrao Vyas scored the music for the film, the tune for this bhajan was conceived by his guru, Vishnu Digambar Paluskar. It is set to Tevra tAla of 7 beats -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/shriramchandra.ram

The sincerity in Mukesh's voice immediately lends credibility to the bhAva of the lyric, set to music by Naresh Bhattacharya: sur ki gati maiN kyA jAnu ek bhajan karnA jAnu -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/mukesh.ram

To complete the 'light' segment we have the Marathi natyageeta from VIDYAHARAN, vimala adhara nikaTi moha hA, made popular in an earlier era by Suresh Haldankar (1926-2000) of Goa. This brilliant musician, consigned to a life of obscurity for much of his adult life, shone but briefly in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He and my father were great childhood friends. Suresh Haldankar -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/haldankar.ram


Suresh-bab's student, Prabhakar Karekar (whose nasal twang gives his Marathi a Konkani flavour) has also recorded the natyageeta -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/karekar.ram

Let us now take a dip in the 'classical' pool. A big favourite of the Gwalior musicians, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit's name cannot be omitted in any discussion of Hameer. This recording was made in the final years of his long life and, lapses aside, it is hard to miss the grandeur and certainty of his swara-lagAv. He presents the well-known Khayal of 'Sadarang': morA albelA re -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/krsp.ram

The next Gwalior entry features Narayanrao Vyas wielding a composition of his venerable guru Vishnu Digambar Paluskar: karana chahooN Raghupati -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/nvyas.ram

Kumar Gandharva's 1982 full-length feature on Hameer is memorable. He opens with the traditional Khayal composition in vilambit Jhoomra, chameli phooli champA. Although this bandish has an awkward placement of the sam on the "cham" syllable, Kumar manages to make it sound less obscene than it really is. But even he cannot seem to make up his mind initially just where to locate the sam. The very first attempt crashes in no man's land, another one on "pA" and so on. All the fun at -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/kumar_hameer_vil.ram

Notice that Kumar offers an idiosyncratic surprise in the poorvAnga treatment with his repeated utterance of GMRG, R instead of the customary approach to R.

Kumars' is a splendid exhibition of the 'tension and release' disposition of Hameer. Notice the little twist where he treats the teevra madhyam in an explicit Kalyan-like cluster of the type: G M D m D NS" NDNDP. This is seen in his own cheez: ajaba duniyA -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/kumar_hameer_drut.ram

Shubha Mudgal's forceful voice is especially well suited to Hameer. She sings the same chameli phooli khayal, emended appropriately to relocate the sam to "pA" -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/mudgal_vil.ram

Shubha also offers a sprightly cheez composed by Vinaychandra Maudgalya: patiyA piyA ki -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/mudgal_drut.ram

The usually capable Ulhas Kashalkar fails to generate the required propulsion in this old Gwalior Tarana -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/kashalkar.ram

Another Gwalior snapshot in D.V. Paluskar's classic rendition: surajhAya rahi -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/paluskar.ram

The ho-hum Mishra brothers are summoned here faute de mieux since I could not locate a worthy representative for this Hameer chestnut: langarwA kaise ghar jA'ooN -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/mishra.ram

Changing into the instrumental lane, we hear Ravi Shankar extract the distillate of Hameer with a striking economy of swaras, a characteristic of that brilliant musical mind -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/ravishankar.ram

Hameer is primed for Dhrupad gAyaki and the Dagar dudes sing it very well. They insert their own spin - an explicit use of the Kalyan-inspired sentence S R G m P. This feature is heard (at 5:25 into the clip) in a mehfil recording of the Gundecha brothers of a traditional Dhamar composition: abira gulAla lAla kesara ranga chhirakata -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/gundecha.ram

Salamat Ali Khan's marvellous Dhamar rendition carries a gentle caress of the komal nishAd in a vivAdi role (around 1:57 into the clip) alluded to earlier: suno mori bAta Khwaja -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/salamat.ram

Enter Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. The great man's unpublished mehfil recording begins with shoptalk where he outlines the chalans of Kedar and Hameer. Then follows the traditional Punjabi bandish: menDera yAr Avi. -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/bgak.ram

A rare glimpse of Faiyyaz Khan's Hameer -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/faiyyaz_hameer.ram

We conclude these reflections with a suite of compositions of Pandit Ramashreya Jha "Ramrang," the greatest living Hindustani vAggeyakAra. Take measure of the design of the vilambit roopak bandish, of the melodic build-up and its effortless resolution: tu kaun kahAN -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/jha_hameer_vil.ram

The matching drut Ektala composition is delightful, especially the manner in which it scrambles back to the sam: albeli naveli re -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/jha_hameer_drut1.ram

Finally, Ramrang's delectable cheez peppered with impromptu remarks on its sAhitya: chunariyA lA de re more saiyyAN -

http://www.sawf.org/audio/hameer/jha_hameer_drut2.ram

Credits

• Pictures of Indian Music Instruments provided by Buckingham Music at: http://www.io.com/~peterc/