In the North Indian musical tradition, the link of raga Malhar with the monsoons is so widespread that recently a pan Indian retail chain called its new monsoon collection Malhar. Throughout North India, from early June till the end of August the various Malhars are performed with an almost religious fervour; generally speaking, artists daring to render other ragas are viewed askance!
It was actually raga Megh, one of the six main ragas (others being Bhairav, Shree, Malkaus, Deepak and Hindol) that was said to bring the rain in pre-Tansen times. Gradually the authentic use of raga Megh diminished, (there are different opinions in different gharanas of the Megh in vogue today) and Malhar became more popularly associated with rain from medieval times onwards, after Mian Tansen modified its structure. It is now called Mian Ki Malhar (Tansen was referred to as Mianji).
Whether Mian ki Malhar brings rain or not is a moot point. Variations of Malhar like Nat, Gaur, Des, Jayant, Chaya are all Malhar with the addition of another raga, and are generally deemed not to bring the rain. Other Malhars which were individual interpretations of saint musicians like Surdas, Ramdas, Meera bai, Nayak Charju also were not universally regarded as harbingers of the rain. Generally the belief is that it is only Mian Malhar with the careful use of two nikhads that is associated with the rains.
Cleansing effect
Tejashree Amonkar, musical heir of Kishori Amonkar disputes this; the very meaning of the word “Mal-har” means getting rid of the dirt (mal), as explained to her by Kishoriji, so all the Malhars, not just Mian Malhar would have had the effect of bringing the cleansing rain. She personally remembers it raining many times when Kishoriji sang Malhar.
Pratyush Bannerji is the immensely talented sarod playing disciple of Pt Buddhadev Dasgupta (his Guru’s forbearer were the rabab playing descendants of Mian Tansen’s son’s line, and he also later learnt from a descendent of Mianji’s daughter’s line). He recalls his Guru telling him that while the sound of notes has an undisputed physical effect; association of emotions with certain notes is a very powerful factor. One is conditioned to expect the rain listening to Malhar, he felt. Rendering the raga outdoors also must make a difference, as the fact that the musician should be highly competent, he said.
Another very critical visual aspect of the monsoons used extensively by Mian Tansen in his delineation of his Malhar was the jhoola or swinging effect. A very old khayal attributed to Emperor Mohammea Shah Rangila, though probably composed by Shah Sadarang, descendent of Mian Tansen, is “Kahe laadalee”. This composition’s structure fully uses the movement between ni dha ni dha sa ni re sa.(using both nikhads). Another old Agra gharana khayal rarely sung nowadays is “Saawan ke kaare” in which again the jhoola movement is in the same notes.
In the Carnatic tradition, the raga Amrutavarshini is said to bring the rains. However, ace flautist Shashank Subramanyam says, “I feel only a handful of traditionalists believe that Amrutavarshini can indeed bring rain; I for instance do not believe this.” Top vocalist Bombay Jayashri spoke of the fable of Muthuswami Dikshitar singing his composition in the raga whose lyrics included the evoking words “varshaya varshaya”, and it indeed did rain. While she does not disbelieve the incident, she says, “I wish we could sing today in a way that we could bring the rain when it’s sorely needed. But I believe that Muthuswami Dikshitar and his ilk were tapasvis (saints who had done a lot of penance) and they could indeed evoke nature’s elements, like Tansen bringing light by singing Raga Deepak. They were saintly, in the way they lived and their values, as their music was close to prayer, in every sense of the word. I don’t really know if it happens any more. I will admit that it has rained a couple of times when I’ve sung the raga, but I don’t claim that my singing brings rain. It could have been a coincidence.” Sikkil Gurucharan (eminent Carnatic vocalist) puts the issue in context – “I understand from my Gurus that it is of primary importance to believe more in the music, rather than the miracles that are said to have happened.”
Bombay Jayshree
Reflecting joy
The romance that Malhars bring to the mind is inescapable – the cool breezes, the refreshing effect of scorching heat alleviated by the showers, the desire to be with one’s beloved. As Pandit Ravi Shankar once said, while everywhere else in the world, rains are viewed as a nuisance; in the subcontinent they are welcomed and bring much needed respite. The music of this season reflects this joy – all versions of raga Malhar are lyrical, tender and easy on the ear. The emotive effect is soothing. The lyrics used emphasise the visual imagery — most of the vocal compositions, earlier dhrupads as well as khayals, and later even thumris that were composed in Mian Malhar all talk of heavy clouds, thunder, rain, rain drops, the parting from the lover in “saawan” – the use of alliterative words like ghan ghan, gara garajat, boond boondan all reinforce this.
Luckily, most parts of India are currently enjoying the monsoons!
