Pahadi… the Mountains’ Call

 “Peace, power, pathos, poignancy: these words together constitute an apposite expression of the aesthetics of the raga Pahadi. The raga is like a lover, unruffled in union, serene in separation, powerful enough to achieve eternal union, but resigned to the painful parting ordained by destiny”.

~Haresh Bakshi, 101 Ragas for the 21^st century and beyond

The mountains are a synonym of home for me for I grew up in their midst. The scent of the pines to breathe in, the silhouettes of the peaks on the horizon, just after the sunset, to watch...the fresh, crisp morning air to feel, and the lovely folk music to listen.... I miss all these when I am away from home. No wonder then that almost every time I hear a song that takes me back to the hills, it turns out that it is set in the raga Pahadi- A raga that is said to have been evolved from the folk melody of this region that spans from Nepal, to Kashmir, to Himachal and more..

This unplugged version of Kaaga Ja, a composition based on Pahadi, sung by Shafqat takes my breath away each time I hear it. It was a part of the album called Kyun Dooriyan.

A “light” Raga?

The raga is often found appropriate for and used in semi classical and light music forms like thumri, dadra, ghazals and bhajans. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan in this interview talks of Pahadi and almost writes it off as a raga. He says that he hardly considers it a raga- it is more like a halka phulka raga at the most since unlike the other big ragas like Darbari and Malkauns artists don’t really sing Dhrupad and Khayal in Pahadi.  He also adds that Pahadi and Bhairavi are the very common templates into which most of the world music would fit in

But ironically, it is he, who has sung some of the most beautiful pieces of Pahadi

He demonstrates the universality of Pahadi by singing it in various styles here

And here is are two very famous Pahadi thumris by him and his brother Nazakat Ali

Laagi re manwa pe chot..

Saiyan bina ghar soona..,

Pahadi and the Patiala Gharana

Talking of Pahadi, one of the contemporaries of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and the Patiala Gharana legend, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan has also rendered some very beautiful pahadi pieces.

First and foremost his bhajan- Hari Om Tatsat. Words, which when  translated, mean -God is the supreme, absolute truth

Ab to aao sajana… Pahadi dadra

And this endearing Kashmiri/ pahadi folk song- Mhare Raje de jamadar jee…

Another beautiful rendition of the same song by Bashir Ali Mahee of the Patiala Gharana can be heard here 

The raga belongs to the Bilawal that under the Bhatkande system of classification and is Audav-Sampoorna Raga, with swaras Ma and Ni not being used in the Aaroh, while all seven swaras being used in the Avroh or the descent.

Aroha: S R G P D S'

Avaroha: S' D P G R S.

Here’s a demonstration-

Meant to be sung in the evening and early night hours, Pahadi is usually rendered in the mandra and madhya saptak- the lower and middle octaves. However the restrictions on timing of rendition are no longer strictly followed and it is one of the ragas that can be performed at any time of day/ night

Coming back to Pahadi by the Patiala Gharana, here is the living legend from the gharana, Ustad  Fateh Ali Khan rendering a beauty- More Angna suhag barasan laaga

And then this beautiful Punjabi song in Pahadi- Kidda Sona lagna hai mere dholna, rajj rajj tere naal bolna                                                                                                                               

Pahadi Instrumental & the Folk Connection

Talking of Pahadi in instrumental music the two instruments that transport you instantly to the hills are the Flute and Santoor.

The sounds of flute meander through the ranges, echoing the free spirit that they represent and then raise your spirit to peaks of ecstasy…just like the mountains soar up to the skies.

And what embellishes and further adorns the breathtaking beauty of the hills is the water- free-falling waterfalls along the rocky facades of mountains, or the bubbly, playful, streams bounding along the uneven bouldered paths, or a large placid lake guarded protectively by hills with a gently rippling reflection of the moon on a cold silent night…the sound of the water is the sound of santoor for me.

And when you talk of these two instruments then you can’t but talk about their greatest exponents- Pandits Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shiv Kumar Sharma. Their collaboration on the album -Call of the Valley produced this beautiful and commonly heard Pahadi tune

And the flavor of this tune also can be experienced in a well -known Himachali folk song called Kunjo- Chanchalo. Here’s an instrumental version of the same.

And here’s Ustad Shujat Hussain Khan combining the magic of his sitar with another folk beauty- Lajo, Lajo

Traces of the same can be experienced in this Himachali folk song from Kangra..

Pahadi in Hindi Films

Pahadi based film songs would make a whole new series of blog post because of the sheer number of the songs based on /inspired by this by this beautiful raga

But here I mention a few of my favorites-

This much loved, Naushad composition from the 1945 Anmol ghadi sung superbly by Noorjehan

Lata Manageshkar in this gem from the Film Bazaar ( 1949) with music by ShyamSundar

Music of Pakezaah is a music lover’s delight and the background score by Nasuhad included some divine thumris by artists of great stature Like Shobha Gurtu and Parveen Sultana. A delightful thumri in pahari by Vani Jayram- Mora Saajan Soutan is also a part of these “ Lost thumris of Pakeezah” and you can read about it the listen to it here

Music director Jaidev and lyricist Jaan Nisar Akhtar together captured the essence of Pahadi truly with this absolutely amazing number

Dhadakte hain dil kitni aazadiyon sey, bahut milte julte hain in waadiyon sey

Pahadi goes South

I was surprised to see the pahadi presence in Carnatic music as well…  this  is a Pahadi thillana composed and performed by Lalgudi for his album South meets North with Amjad Ali Khan

And this is a version of the same by the Hyderabad Brothers for their album called Annapoorne

Ghazals in Pahadi

And finally some beautiful use of Pahadi for ghazals- there’s Ghulam Ali’s - dil mein ik lehersi uthi hai,  but this one by Mehdi Hassan with the  mesmerizing words by Bahadur Shah Zafar  has always been an absolute favorite.

Ending where we started- with the album version of Shafqat’s Kaaga Ja as this one song demonstrates  how  Raga Pahadi,very surprisingly, can evoke the feelings of peace and pining together- feelings which you would normally place at two extremes of a mood spectrum.

                                                                           

And some special mentions

1) Ali Bux Zahoor- Laakh jatan kar haari, Pahadi Dadra

2) Bade Amanat Ali Khan Kasuri- Lagay tore nainwa ke baan- Pahadi Thumri

3) Ustad Sadiq Ali Hassan Mando- Pahadi on clarinet

4) Chamba Bhajan - Shiv Kailahon ke waasi- on Pahadi Shehnai

Darbari: The Royal Raaga

“A monumental raga, unmatched in Hindustani raga space for its gravitas, difficult in its swara-lagav, and profound for its emotional impact on the innocent and the illuminati alike.” 

– Rajan Parrikar

Kuch Ajab Khel Kartar ke- sings Shafqat Amanat Ali in this track from his album, Tabeer.  It is, according to him, his own interpretation of the age old Darbari bandish that has been passed on from generation to generation of the Patiala Gharana.

The original bandish is in fact said to have been one of the over 5000 bandishes that were passed on to the Patiala Gharana founders, Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali Khan by the great Ustad Tanras Khan of the Dilli Gharana- the very well known musician in the court of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal King. He is the one who is said to have polished the Khayal singing of the two cousins to such an extent that they became the most formidable names in the whole of Northern India at that point in time

( Read in more detail about Ali Baksh, Fateh Ali Khan and how the Patiala Gharana came into being in this article

Another very famous bandish in Darbari which is attributed to Ustad Tanras Khan is based on the very famous tarana by Amir Khusro called “Yaar-e Mann beya” - Sung here by Ustads Salamat and Nazakat Ali of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana. 

A popular version by the Mekaal Hassan band of Pakistan

The most stately and distinguished of the Raagas, Darbari is said to have been created by none other than Mian Tansen, the legendary musician at King Akbar’s court. A Raaga performed at late hours of night, belonging to the Asavari thaat of the Bhatkande system of classification, Darbari is considered a difficult Raga to master. It is considered a gambhir Raga.  

The majesty and somber nature of this raga mandates its singing in the mandr saptak or lower octaves and in a slow tempo or the vilambit laya. The swaras Ga, Dha and Ni are komal or flat. In fact it is believed that the Dha and Ga swaras are not just komal but ati komal in Darbari. Another striking feature of the Raga is the use of andolan - the oscillation or swinging of the komal Ga and Dha which adds to its beauty and this is demonstrated in this short clip that demonstrates the aaroh and avroh of the Raga

Raaga Darbari- Aaroh, Avroh

But coming back to the Patiala Gharana and Kuch Ajab Khel , here is the bandish in its classical form being rendered by Ustad Amanat Ali and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

Some More Darbari by the Patiala Gharana

First a short clip by Ustad Ashiq Ali- the son of Fateh Ali Khan one of the founders of the Patiala Gharana., who was “widely regarded as the ultimate statement of ‘tayyari’and ‘layakari’ by most of the vocalists of the Punjab region.” (read more about him here) http://www.sadarang.com/Ustad%20Ashiq%20Ali%20Khan%20-%20Saqib%20Razaq.htm

Next the very famous- Anokha Ladla, khelan ko maange chaand by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who also happened to be Ustad Ashiq Ali’s disciple

A beautiful ghazal by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan

And this  superb rendition by Ustad Fateh Ali Khan 

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan along with Zahida Parveen in this Darbari composition for a film

And the very popular duo of Asad Amanat Ali and Hamid Ali sing a tarana in Darbari

An interesting anecdote related to the raga is about Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan- the great Sarod maestro and father of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. Apparently when he was at Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive his Padma award, the then president, Dr.  Rajendra Prasad asked if there was anything he could do for him.  The only request the latter had was that the President do something to save the Raga Darbari as he felt that people were taking too many liberties while performing it and since it was a precious creation of Tansen, he wanted it to be preserved in its purest forms for generations to come. The President was at a loss of words, recalls Amjad Ali Khan, who had accompanied his father for the function, but promised to look into the matter. A triumphant Hafiz Khan returned home to declare to his wife that the President would now be taking steps to save the great Raga!

NoorJehan, who is fondly remembered as Mallika- e – Tarannum; the Queen of Melody, also owes this title to Darbari it seems. Here in this video she recalls how it was singing the song Bulbulo mat ro yahan, based on Darbari for the film Zeenat in 1944 that earned her the title that stayed with her throughout her life and even after.

Talking of Darbari in Hindi films, there are scores of songs composed in the Raga

One top of the mind song is O duniya ke rakhwaale from Baiju Bawara. And here is the beautiful rendition of the sargam of the Raga by Ustad Amir Khan from the movie

And if there is one artist who has brought out the beauty of this Raaga in various moods in  Bollywood music ever so beautifully through his songs it is Manna Dey

He brings out the beauty of the shringar rasa in this Shankar- Jaikishen composition

Bhakti/ Vairagya in this very beautiful one created by SM Tripathi.. Ud ja bhanvar Manna Dey, which is supposed to be classic demonstration of the -'ati komal andolit gandhar'- a hallmark of Darbari

And surprisingly the raaga known for its serious demeanor used so beautifully for comic / humorous mood in these two songs

Pyaar ki aag mein  by SD burman

Lapak Jhapak from Boot Polish, composer: Shankar- Jaikishen

The Darbari has been beautifully used by AR Rahman for a couple of his projects:

Acid Darbari , 127 hours

Raaga’s dance : This one was composed by ARR for Vanessa Mae’s  album Choreography

Passion from The Last temptation of Christ , composed by Peter Gabriel, has Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan rendering some heartfelt Darbari

And lastly Shafqat’s most recent Bollywood song, Ras ke bhare tore main based on Darbari for the movie Satyagraha, though perhaps not  quite as impactful as the other Darbari that he sung.

Kuch Ajab Khel Ke Katar ke, Shafqat says, is a kind of a complaint or a shiqwa to the Almighty for His ways which are seemingly unfair…  and it is the Raag Darbari that makes sure that this plaintive, disconsolate plea reaches right up to Him in the heavens

The Magnificence of Malkauns

"I rule over the emotions. I cause the deepest and gravest feelings to swirl slowly around you just as the Milky Way with millions of stars moves imperceptibly around a central point."

~ Malkauns -What the Ragas Told Me,Vasudev Murty

'Pyaar nahin hai sur se jisko'- Shafqat recorded this while he was part of Fuzon and this remained unreleased after the band broke up. It’s a favorite because of so many reasons : the words that would touch any music lover; the superb singing, but above all Malkauns!

Malkauns is an Audav (pentatonic) raga of the Bhairavi Thaat under the Bhatkande system of classification of Hindustani classical music. Re and Pa notes are omitted from this Raga. Ga, Dha and Ni are Komal. Its vadi (most prominent swara) is Ma and samvadi ( second most prominent) is Sa.

This video demonstrates its basics-

Performed late in night this ancient Raga is said to have been created to placate enraged Lord Shiva as he performed Tandava- the celestial dance. As Vasudev Murthy mentions about the  Raga- “ Komal Dhaivat gives peace, calm and order to the troubled turbulent mind.”

Considered a serious Raga it’s beauty is more pronounced when performed in vilambit (slow) taal (tempo) and Meend is a technique often used by artists while performing this Raga.

“The movement between notes is slow and gradual, like an elephant bearing me as I survey my Kingdom of lesser Raags. Each note blends into the next without breaking”

Another interesting aspect about the Raga and what makes it a unique one is (mentioned here )  that it is a Raga where all its swaras are nyaasa swaras- nyaasa swaras being the notes on which a phrase or a line of a composition in the Raga can end . And the more the nyaasa swaras in a Raga, the more is the scope for an artist for elaboration. Malkauns thus overcomes the disadvantage of restrictive elaboration space that is usually seen with pentatonic Ragas.

Beyond Boundaries

The talk of Malkauns, in a relatively modern Indian musical context, could never be complete without the mention of this beautiful, landmark song created by Naushad for the movie Baiju Bawra. A prayer to Lord Krishna- Composed by a Muslim, written by a Muslim and sung by a Muslim, a perfect example of music breaking all barriers.

Here Naushad talks about the making of the song and gives all credit to the great raga- Malkauns

Malkauns and the Patiala Gharana

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sings a beautiful Malkauns composition-  Mandir dekh dare Sudama-

And for those who don’t know the connection between Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Shafqat- it is the same Gharana of course, but also the fact that Shafqat's grandfather, Ustad Akhtar Hussain, who was his first teacher, also happens to be one of the Ustads under whom Bade Ghulam Ali Khan trained. (read about it here)

Malkauns has been extensively sung by the Patiala Gharana members. Here are the doyens, the brother-duo of Ustad Amanat ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, creating magic with it.

Dhan Dhan wa kaarigar ke jisne ye sab khel racho hai

Another beautiful rendition of the same composition by Asad Amanat Ali and Hamid Ali 

 -  Tu hi , Tero naam .. sab ka palanahaar - Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

Piya ghar aaye more devo badhayi - AsadAmanat Ali and Hamid Ali

The Malkauns legacy created by Ustad Amanat Ali, yes he was he one composed Pyar nahi hai sur se  jisko, is now being carried on by the younger generations.

• Ustad Fateh Ali Khan's rendition 

• Asad Amanat Ali gives it a delightful twist in the middle and takes it some place else

• A young ,Shafqat performs it in an attire and format that not many have seen him perform in

• Salman and Ali Amjad, Ustad Amanat Ali’s grandsons singing 

The range of genres  for which the raga has been utilized is amazing – from Khayal and Thumri to Ghazals, Bhajans and Fusion

Listen to the beautiful Shehnai of Ustad Bismillah Khan - the tune that we are all so familiar with...

And  here’s another which breaks barriers - Ghulam Ali and Anup Jalota collaborate on a delightful Malkauns composition

A shabad, sounding lovely in Malkauns

Malkauns and Fusion 

So I decide to add this subheading after getting pointed to or reminded of (thank you ) some awesome compositions without which the post would be all but incomplete.

So under this we already had -

This Jazz version  by Shankar Jaikishen from their album "Ragas Jazz Style"

And this one by Charanjit Singh form his album "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat"

And this, relatively recent, from the very popular CokeStudio Pakistan- the very heady and beautiful Kangna

But you havent heard anything yet if you havent heard this one from an album called Composer's Breath by the one and only Ilayaraja- one that features flute by Hari Prasad Chaurasia

This ethereal, primarily Malkauns/ Hindolam ( Hindolam being Carnatic equivalent of Malkauns) based piece is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet and take you to some place else.

And if you know Shankar Mahadevan only for his Bollywood songs , the ones that he sings or composes, you should know that his real awesomeness lies in his Carnatic renditions. Listen to this one if you want proof.

And last but not the least- this one by who else but Shafqat Amanat Ali. It marks his journey into exploring Fusion as a genre, where he collaborates with  the immensly talented Amir Zaki for a Channel V production. The awesome alaaps are Malkauns based, I am told

Get it in better quality here

"Easy for the beginner and challenging  for the most accomplished artist...," that's how Ramshreya Jha, a distinguished Hindustani Musician and scholar, describes Malkauns; "..as pleasing to the ears of a listener who has just begun to appreciate it, as it is for a music connoisieur" 

And that is why it is the magnificent Malkauns...

Rendezvous with The Ragas : The Allure of Aiman

"One must play with a Raga with a lover's passion. One must learn to love it to pay court to it, like a cavalier, and then alone can a musician tell the story of joy and grief; of laughter and tears.."- Ustad Faiyaz Khan

The magical world of Indian Classical music, where you experience everything with a sense of wonderment when you first enter it, for everything is ethereal, so beautiful… As you spend some more time with the bliss you begin to recognize some patterns, a systematic framework of sorts which gets adorned with the nuances of  the musical genius of a performing artist.

These templates  slowly make themselves visible to even people who are not trained formally in this field … the specific arrangement of musical notes that sets boundaries for performers and which also convert the art of music into a mathematical science that can be analyzed and studied in a systematic manner.

The word Raga is derived from Sanskrit and means color… Colors can be seen and described in words, colors can be given names but, colors are also experienced- they  evoke feelings and affect moods … Similarly the organization of music into Ragas has been done by applying the principles of Math and Physics but their emotional aspect adds a new dimension to the organizational structure of Indian Classical music- the dimension of rasas or moods, which has resulted in Ragas being categorized according to the time of the day and the season of the year and so on

I speak of the Ragas as a novice – an average music listener and lover who has just dipped a toe into waters of the vast ocean that Indian Classical music is... As I go along I hope to begin understanding a little more about these fascinating frameworks that  musicians use to weave their magnificent art..I write and speak from the heart as I begin my Rendezvous with The Ragas

Aiman/ Yaman

Miniature Paiting, Raga Yaman

"...that Raga of languorous waits, the Raga of the philospophers .It is endless, yes endless. If I look outside at the scene created by the setting Sun and the birds that move along slowly from nowhere to nowhere, I can only imagine that God felt too moved to create anything but Yaman.." - Vasudev Murty- 'What the Ragas Told Me'

“ When Aiman plays on the Sarangi, you can’t even move….if you love music even a little bit, that is” – Shafqat  Amanat Ali , on Coke Studio Pakistan

When Shafqat Amanat Ali romanced Aiman, the result was an “Ankhon ke Saagar”- the song that brought him in his own words “into the limelight” A great example of a Raga getting adapted for a popular, contemporary song.

This Raga, also referred to as Yaman, is supposed to be performed in the first quarter of the night, and is often associated with the feeling of peace , tranquility and an inner, spiritual joy. The mood definitely comes across beautifully in this song, which is amongst his most heard and performed songs

The origin and the technical nuances

There are various schools of thoughts about the origin of Aiman.  One of the most popular ones credits Amir Khusro with its creation. It says that Amir Khusro created this Raga along with others like Zilaaf and Sazgari- the latter two are now extinct and no longer performed. However, Khusro himself in his 'Ejaz –e Khusravi 'mentions that he didn’t create the Raga, and it already existed in the Iranian and Indian music. This sounds plausible  because Yaman or Aiman is also considered by many as an innovative blend of the Raga Hindol of Hindustani with the Persian Nairez or Nairiz. 

There are others, however, who believe that the Raga always existed in the Indian classical music as Yamuni, which later became Yaman.

The classification of Hindustani Music that we follow today is the result of extensive work and research of a man called Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkande- he gave us a system that consists of Thaats- families, under which different Ragas are classified. The Thaat represents the parent scale of which the Ragas in that family are a subset.

Yaman or Aiman is a complete or Sampoorna Raga as it utilizes all the seven swars. It falls under the Kalyan Thaat- and is characterized by the use of a teevr (sharp) madhyam. Another very similar raga from the family is the Yaman Kalyan which uses both the teevr and shudh madhyam

This video explains the difference of the teevr and shudh Ma very nicely!

Here’s Ustad Fateh Ali Khan rendering a delightful bandish in Aiman composed  by his grandfather and one of the founders of the Patiala Gharana- Ustad Ali Baksh , also fondly called Jernail . Accompanying him, his nephew- Shafqat’s eldest brother, Amjad Amanat Ali

Aiman in Light Music

Fuzon’s and Shafqat’s engagement with Aiman didn’t end with Aankhon ke Saagar. They did a Neend Na Aaye which too was based on this Raga. But this was before the band broke up and the song was released by Fuzon in their album in the voice of another vocalist. Shafqat’s unreleased version is however available on YouTube

Light music , including ghazals , geet etc.  are often based on or inspired by the Ragas. But unlike the strict mathematical precision of the classical format , this genre often takes liberties in composition and even mixing of Ragas in one song are quite common

And, since the Yaman Kalyan is so similar to and hard to differentiate from Yaman for a listener like me, and also because one modern school of music thinks that the distinction between them  is too little and that they should be considered the same Raga; and mostly because they are so close to my heart, I will be mentioning songs here which may be both  Yaman and Yaman Kalyan based...

So many of my favorite ghazals are in Raga Yaman- Most popular of course is Aaj jaane ki Zid na karo, sung by many including Shafqat.

Then there is Ranjish hi sahi, by Mehdi Hassan .

An absolute, absolute favorite by Noorjehan…'Mujhse pehli si mohabaat mere mehboob na maang' also brings out the beauty of this Raga so well. Faiz is said to have permanently dedicated this ghazal to her after he heard her rendition…

And not too long ago I discovered this one - Yaar ko maine , mujhe yaar ne- beautiful words by Khwaja Haider Ali Aatish composed as well as sung by Ustad Amanat Ali

And this is a clip of Shafqat singing it an interview

Yaman seems to be the mother of all Ragas when it comes to Raga based compositions in Hindi films-There are so many film songs based on this beautiful raga that you can keep counting.

Music director Roshan’s Yaman based  ‘Mann re tu kahe na dheer dhare” by Rafi remains one of my most favorite songs, ever. “Abhi na Jao chor kar” is another one by Rafi where he teams up with Asha – a brilliant romantic number with music by Jaidev. Another Yaman beauty by him is- “Ehsan tera hoga mujh par’ composed by Shankar Jaikishen.

Shafqat recreates the magic of Rafi’s Din Dhal jaaye on the Sony Mix Solos in this video…This time it was S.D. Burman who had brought  Yaman and Rafi together

My father is a die-hard Saigal fan and would play him all the time when I was a kid despite my siblings and I protesting. It was only many years later that I actually begun to enjoy the  singing of this great music legend. His very famous Do naina matware tihare and Diya jala are Yaman based, I believe.

And here Shafqat renders  K.L. Saigal’s Main kya jaanu kya jaadu hai… when asked to sing a song that he heard in his childhood that had had an impact on him, thus affirming his special connection with Aiman…

The list is of film songs based on Yaman simply endless and goes on...

The Devotional Side

The  mood of  Yaman has been beautifully utilized  for devotional or Bhakti compositions as well. Lata’s Sri Ramchandra Kripalu bhaj is a popular one.

I, especially want mention three songs in this genre here ( All, I believe, in Yaman Kalyan)

If you visited my home many years ago chances of these you hearing  these  first two songs in the background would be very high. They were a big favorite with my father and gradually we, the rest of the family, also began to enjoy these.

In the first, Pandit Jasraj sings an ode to the young child Krishna-

Rani tero, Pt Jasraj

The second one  by Kishori Amonkar, is also a prayer dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is called Banke Bihari…

Mharo Pranam, Kishori Amonkar

The third is the result of my engagement with  Sufi music, which began with a love for Sufi poetry and this one has the sublime words of Amir Khusro and the inimitable voice and style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Munn Kunto Maula, Nusrat FatehAli Khan

So that’s the Raga for you- ancient, versatile, soothing, stirring…it certainly is hard to resist the Allure of Aiman

Some trivia

- Often  the first Raga to be taught to students as it is complete and contains all notes, thus making it ideal for training the voice

- The soothing feeling attributed to the raga is due to use of  Tivra madhyam  interspersed with 6 shudh swaras

-  It is a documented fact that listening to Aiman lowers stress and blood pressure, and also benefits patients of rheumatoid arthritis