Born on 22 May 2024 at 9:40 a.m. IST
Sanjoy Bandopadhyay
On May 22, 2024, during an insightful musical session with Dr. Adrian McNeil, we explored the concept of how murcchanā can transition focus from the hands to the mind, effectively diminishing physical awareness while playing an instrument.
The above audio example of Bilasi-Yaman was not there till my Gurubhai Jon Barlow wrote in a message that it does not make much sense unless there is an audio demo. So, it is there now. Jon wrote the message on December 28, 2024, and the recording, processing, and uploading happened the next day, on the 29th of December.
This discussion sparked the idea of composing a raga that artfully blends the evocative moods of Bilaskhani Todi with the foundational notes of Yaman, retaining Yaman’s essential swaras: S, R, G, m (tivra), P, D, N. This fusion is straightforward and uses Nishad-Murchhana to infuse the atmosphere of Bilaskhani Todi. When Nishad-Murchhana is applied, it shifts into the Bhairavi scale, incorporating komal r, komal g, and komal-d. The resulting scale is illustrated below:
Notation System:
- Shuddha Svaras: S R G M P D N
- Vikrit Svaras: r g m d n
- Tar Svaras: S’
- Mandra Svaras: N1
Dr. McNeil suggested that this raga may be considered a Chhayalag raga. Yes, this shows a unique Chhayalag quality, where two ragas create their respective moods using the same group of notes.
For Bilaskhani Todi, the Yaman note Equivalents:
N1 = S | S = r | R = g | G = M (shuddha) | m (tivra) = P | P = d | D = N | N = S’
In Bilasi-Yaman, two types of notes and their positioning differ when depicting Yaman and Bilaskhani Todi (BT). Given that Yaman applications are well-known, we will focus on the unique note positions when invoking BT.
For example, to evoke the essence of BT’s rn1Srg, which is S ND1 N1 S R, from Yaman’s perspective, the S will adjust to reflect BT’s komal-r effect.
Another important note is that when the raga takes the course of Bilaskhani Todi, the note positions will naturally change from their Yaman positionings.
Naming of the Raga
The naming of the raga was not easy. Initially, I thought of Yaman-Todi, and later, I considered options like Yamani-Todi. But it was not good, as I wanted to compose an evening raga. Yaman-Todi or Yamani-Todi indicates association with morning because the ending is tagged with Todi, a morning raga. So, the first idea update was Bilaskhani-Yaman, which was later finalized as BILASI-YAMAN, where the ‘Bilasi’ connects to Bilaskhani Todi.
As a raga under the Yaman-veda, Bilasi-Yaman emphasizes the Yaman aspect, making it an evening raga. The innovative blending of these two ragas creates a unique and sophisticated musical experience, harnessing Yaman’s elegance with Bilaskhani Todi’s softness.