We use the term ‘raga’ or ‘ragam’ so often in music substituting it for song. To a classical musician, a raga is based on the principle of a combination of solfa syllables garnered out of the 22-note intervals of an octave and woven into a composition in a way as to create a melodic structure. Sounds rather complex as a definition. The term ‘raga’is derived from Sanskrit and essentially denotes ‘colour’ or in a more human form, ‘passion’. It can be interpreted as an acoustic method of colouring the listener’s mind through the medium of an emotional output.
The raga is the basis of Indian classical music. It is so structured that it attains a defined character, evokes a mood, conjures an emotional atmosphere that touches at the finer strings of the heart of both the singer and the listener. A stray combination of solfa syllables cannot be called a raga. There is a highly evolved pattern of permutations and combinations which when placed in a certain order alone can create a raga. Certain essential elements of a raga are the aaroha (ascent) and avaroha (descent) structure- both in Hindustani and Carnatic music- which is the fundamental ingredient to any raga. In Carnatic music these two together form what is termed as moorchana.
Aaroha comprises successive ascending notes (swara) beginning with the tonic Shadja (Sa) and ending with the same in the higher octave. Avaroha is vice-versa. These two do not specify the characteristics of a raga but give a general outline as to the notes and their pitches that fall into the category of that particular raga. Our music is so complex that there is every possibility of two or more raga consisting of the same aaroha-avaroha but yet the aesthetic difference is entirely individual. Our ancient masters of musicology with excellent auditory sense had framed 22 distinct sound variations audible to the ear and termed these as 22 shruti (pitch) after which any addition would only end in overlapping the previous sound/pitch. So, the saptaswara (seven musical notes) were assigned four (Sa, Ma, Pa) three (Ri, Dha), two ( Ga, Ni) pitches each making for a total 22 conspicuous sounds. The Sa (Shadja) and Pa (Panchama) notes are fixed while the Ma (Madhyam) note can move only upwards and becomes teevra/pratimadhyama. The Ga, Dha and Ni (Gandhara, Daivatha and Nishadha) notes have enough space to move downwards and they can turn into komal swar (note) or what is called the Saadharana Gandhara, Shudda Daivatha and Kaishika Nishadha. There are a few points that are pivotal in constructing a raga: the Melakarta/Thaath or scale (sequence of notes) which is called the parent; ascending and descending structure, the pitch, the speed (time) and in the case of Hindustani music, the Vaadi (king) and Samvadi (queen) swar (notes) which is one principal note on which the raga is built and another pivotal note (queen) next to main one. From the parent raga emerge any number of janya (offspring) raga as per the combination of melodic notes. There are three categories in which most raga are placed: Audava/pentatonic (comprising five notes), Shadava/hexatonic (six notes) and Sampoorna/heptatonic (seven notes). There is a lot of complex grammar of music involved in the raga like the ‘Graha swara’, ‘Amsha swara’, the ‘Nyasa swara’ ‘Vivadi’ and so on, the details of which are mind-boggling to the uninitiated in music.
