Bihag

Bihag is a Hindustani classical raga.

= Theory =

Writing about the musical theory of Indian classical music is fraught with complications. First of all, there have been no set, formal methods of written notation. Indian music is an aural tradition, and therefore writing is not an essential part of attaining "talim" (knowledge).

Arohana & Avarohana

Arohana

N S G M P N S

Avarohana

S N D P M' G M G R S N S

Vadi & Samavadi

Vadi

The Vadi note is G.

Samavadi

The Samavadi note is N.

Pakad or Chalan

This raag has 3 main chareteristic

first of all only shudh (pure) notes are used.

second this raag uses both Ma shudh and Ma' Tivra.

It has the pakad pa ma' pa ga ma ga.

Both R and D are never used in ascent, but always on the way down.

Ie. P N D P M' P G M G R S

or N S N D P M' P G M G R S

Organization & Relationships

Related ragas: Maaru Bihag, Bihagra.
Bihag is usually assigned to the ThaatBilaval, but if "Tivra Madhyam" is given more importance, Bihag seems to be more akin to Kalyan Thaat.

Behavior

Behavior refers to practical aspects of the music. It is complicated to talk about this for Hindustani music since many of the concepts are fluid, changing, or archaic. The following information cannot be "accurate," but it can attempt to reflect how the music existed.

Samay (Time)

Bihaag is played in the evening (second quarter of night).

easonality

Certain ragas have seasonal associations.

Rasa

rasa is the mood or emotions that a raag emits.

Historical Information

Origins

The notes contained in the above raag, is based on the teachings from my teacher Ustaad Gurdev Singh.

Important recordings

A portion of the "alap" of raga Bihag) may be seen in a scene from Satyajit Ray's 1958 film "Jalsaghar", played by the "surbahar" player Waheed Khan, from 29:50 to 31:58.

References

*Bor, Joep "(ed)." Rao, Suvarnalata; der Meer, Wim van; Harvey, Jane "(co-authors)" "The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas". Zenith Media, London: 1999.

External links

[http://www.itcsra.org/sra_others_samay_index.html SRA on Samay and Ragas]
[http://www.itcsra.org/sra_raga/sra_raga_that/sra_raga_that_index.html SRA on Ragas and Thaats]
[http://www.sawf.org/music/articles.asp?pn=Music Rajan Parrikar on Ragas] [http://www.chandrakantha.com/raga_raag/bihaag/bihag.html On Raag Bihag, Chandra & David's Homepage]