Kedar (raga)
Raga Kedar, also known as Kedara, is a Hindustani classical raga. Named after Lord Shiva, the raga is placed on a high pedestal in the realms of Indian classical music. It is characterised by many complex turns, which are brilliantly melodious but difficult to express in words. This raag is the repetition of the swaras सा and म. It is generally accepted that there is much thermal energy in this melody and hence it is regarded as the Raagini of Raag Deepak. While preceding from Shuddha Madhyam (m) to Pancham (P), a touch of Gandhar (G) or a smooth passage from Gandhar (G) to Pancham (P) expressed as m G P is the more common way of instant Raag manifestation.
Thaat | Kalyan |
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Type | Chanchal raga |
Time of day | 1st prahar of the night |
Season | No specific season but sung mostly in rainy season |
Arohana | S M G P D N S^(Tar Saptak) |
Avarohana | S^ N D P M (Tivra) P M R S |
Pakad | The pakad of this raaga is सा म ग प मे (tivra) म रे सा |
Chalan | सा म ग प मे (tivra) म रे सा |
Vadi | म |
Samavadi | सा |
Synonym | Hameer raga |
Equivalent | Hameer, Gaud Sarang, Kamod, Chhayanat. |
Similar | raga Hameer Kalyani (Carnatic raaga) |
Hindustani classical music |
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Concepts |
Genres |
Thaats |
Origin
The raga emerges from the Kalyan thaat. This raga is named after lord Shiva but this raaga is loved by lord Krishna. Lord krishna played this raga on his flute and everyone in Gokul is mesmerized.
Technical description
The raga is of shaadava-sampurna nature, i.e., in its arohana (ascent), only six notes are used, and in avarohana (descent), all seven notes are used. In general, the progression of the raga is highly non-linear, which makes it difficult to capture the essence of the raga using arohana and avarohana.
The raga uses only natural (shuddha) versions of the Second (R), Third (G) and Sixth (D), both natural and sharp (tivra) versions of the Fourth (m and M, respectively "( m- tivra, M- shuddh)" and predominantly natural versions of the Seventh (N) but occasionally also its flat (komal) version (n). ( m- tivra, M- shuddh) "both natural and sharp" (tivra) versions of the Fourth (m and M, respectively)
Arohana: S M, M'P D M , N D S`
Avarohana: S' N D P, m P D P M~ , S R S
Pakad: S M, M P, m P m P, D P M, R S
The notes of the raag is s r g m(m is tivra)p d n s.
The most prominent (vadi) note is m, and the second most prominent (samvadi) is S.
Samay (time)
The raga is to be sung in the night. It is sung in the first prahar of night. Most Ragas with teevra ma(M) are sung at night (as per the time theory of Ragas).
Film Songs
Language:Tamil
Song | Movie | Composer | Singer |
---|---|---|---|
En Uyir Thozhi | Karnan | Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy | P. Susheela |
Kannizhantha | Enippadigal | K. V. Mahadevan | |
Chandrodayam Oru Pennanatho | Chandhrodhayam | M. S. Viswanathan | T. M. Soundararajan,P. Susheela |
Kadhal Oviyam | Kavikkuyil | Ilaiyaraaja | Sujatha Mohan |
Kaiyil Veenai | Vietnam Colony | Bombay Jayashree | |
Inimel Naalum | Iravu Pookal | S. Janaki | |
Nila Kaikiradhu | Indira | A. R. Rahman | Hariharan,Harini |
Swasame Swasame | Thenali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Sadhana Sargam | |
Kanava Illai Kaatra | Ratchagan | Srinivas | |
Manasukkul | Kalyana Agathigal | V. S. Narasimhan | Raj Sitaraman,P. Susheela |
Iruvathu Vayathu Varai | Kannodu Kanbathellam | Deva | Hariharan,S. Janaki |
Language: Hindi
Following are the filmy songs in Raaga Kedar and the film in which the song was there and also the singer :
- Bekas pe karam kijie ye - Mughal-e-Azam (1960)- Lata Mangeshkar
- Bole to bansuri kahi - Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979)- Yesudas
- Darshan do Ghanashyam naath - Narsi Bhagat (1957) - Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Sudha Malhotra, Chorus
- Hum ko mann ko shakti dena - Guddi (1971) - Vani Jairam
Further Information
The meend from D to M via P is the heart of the raga. This phrase is repeated again and again. The G is used lightly as a grace note in the transition from m to P. The movements in the raga from one swara to another are quite complicated, and the extent of use of the different swaras often depends on the singer. Kedar is one of the five ragas that form the Kalyan Panchak or also called Panchya/Pancha Kalyan - Group of five similar ragas of Kalyan Thaat, namely Hameer, Gaud Sarang, Kamod, Chhayanat and Kedar. Kedar is an ancient raga, with different genres of classical songs, like khayals, thumris, dhrupads, as well as light classical songs based on it.
According to the Guru Granth Sahib, raag Kedara (ਕੇਦਾਰਾ) expresses and makes the mind aware of the true character and nature of the soul. It conveys the emotions of honesty, integrity and truthfulness in a practical and caring way. This approach highlights the soul's character and is memorable, so that the mind is made aware, without arousing cynicism.
Reference
http://www.tanarang.com/english/kedar_eng.htm
External links
- Raga Kedar - A Perspective
- SRA on Samay and Ragas
- SRA on Ragas and Thaats
- Rajan Parrikar on Ragas
- More details about raga Kedar