A Raag for Each Season

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The Basics of the Raag-Season Connect

  1. Music can evoke strong emotions – most of us have been moved to tears at times or experienced sheer bliss at others, perhaps wondering at the emotional connection! Nature is a big contributor, and the very origin of the seven notes is said to be from nature.
    1. Shadaj came from the peacock,
    2. Rishabh from the bull,
    3. Gandhar from the goat,
    4. Madhyam from the heron/crane,
    5. Pancham from the Koyal,
    6. Dhaivat from the neighing of a horse and
    7. Nishad from the elephant’s trumpet.
  2. Music is truly a reflection of nature and its elements surrounding us. Some of us believe that Lord Shiva created the 5main Raags:
    1. “Shree” representing the Earth,
    2. “Megh” representing Water,
    3. “Deepak” representing Fire,
    4. “Hindol” representing Air and
    5. “Bhairav” representing the Sky.
  3. It is said that Goddess Parvati then created the sixth Raag “Malkauns”.
  4. Raags have always been associated with seasons – festivals celebrating harvests, solstices, regional deities etc. were always accompanied by song and dance, creating strong associations between music and season. Even till date, many Music Festivals are organized around these seasons – e.g. ‘Vasantotsavas’, the festivals of spring.
  5. The following Six seasons have been classically described:
    1. Vasant / Basant बसंत
    2. Greeshm ग्रीष्म
    3. Varsha वर्षा
    4. Sharad शरद 
    5. Hemant हेमंत 
    6. Shishir शिशिर
  6. Hindustani music is perhaps the only musical system with a specific code of time-cycles – there is a specific time of the day or night designated to singing or playing a particular raag. When performed accordingly, a raag is said to have the most desired effect on the minds of both the practitioner and the connoisseur listeners.
  7. Practitioners of Hindustani music have also responded to nature by creating raags corresponding to the diurnal-nocturnal cycle and to the seasons.
  8. Medieval musicological treatises, such as the ‘Sangita Ratnakara’ (c. thirteenth century) by Sarangadeva and ‘Sangita Darpana’ (c.1625) by Damodara, identified six fundamental raags as representative of the six primary seasons. Every ‘Ayana’ has 3 seasons, so both Uttarayana and Dakshinayana have 3 seasons each. While these treatises vary in their raag-season associations, the most popular system followed is mentioned below [also included are some exquisite renditions in those Raags].

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Vasant (Spring) – (Chaitra and Vaishakha) -19th Feb to 19th April

  1. Raag Basant
  2. Raag Bahar
  3. Raag Basant-Bahar
  4. Raag Hindol
  5. Raag Hindol Basant
  6. Raag Hindol Hem
  7. Raag Deepak.
  8. Raag Sohini
  9. Raag Bhinna Shadaj 

Read More Details Here:
Raagas associated with Vasant [Springtime]

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Grishma (Summer) – (Jyestha and Ashadha) – 20th April to 21st June

  1. Raag Deepak

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Varsha (Monsoons) – (Shravana and Bhadrapada) – 22nd Jun to 22nd Aug

  1. Raag Maand
  2. Raag Megh
  3. Raag Miyan Ki Malhar: Supposed to have the power to cause rain from the heavens, this monsoon raag was presented by Miyan Tansen to Emperor Akbar in his court. The consecutive application of both the Shuddh and Komal Nishads coupled with the sway of Komal Gandhar make this raag extremely pleasant to the ears!

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Sharad (Autumn) – (Ashwin and Kartika) – 23rd Aug to 22nd Oct

  1. Raag Bhairav
  2. Bhairav – Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar
  3. Vidushi Ashwini Bhide Deshpande || Raag Bhairav || Vilambit & Drut ||

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Hemant (Pre-winter)

  1. Raag Bhairav
  2. Raag Shree
  3. Raag Hemant

Shishir (Winter)

  1. Raag Shree
  2. Raag Malkauns

Read More Details Here:
Raagas associated with Winter

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Also Read:
The Connect between Western Classical Music and Seasons

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More on Indian Classical Music:
The Alchemy of Indian Classical Music

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