Bairagi
बैरागी
S r M P n S' | S' n P M r S
Origins & Context
Raag Bairagi is a Bhairav thaat raga of Hindustani music, performed in the early morning, that uses five notes: Sa, komal Re, shuddha Ma, Pa and komal Ni. Komal means lowered, shuddha means natural, and a thaat is a parent scale. It is also called Bairagi Bhairav, and written Bairaga or Bairagi Bhairon.
In this notation, lowercase is a komal note, a dot the lower octave and an apostrophe the upper. The aroha, or ascent, is S r M P n S', and the avaroha, or descent, is S' n P M r S. Neither touches Ga or Dha. The vadi, the most prominent note, is Ma, and the samvadi, its partner, is Sa. David Courtney records the pair as disputed, with Sa and Pa in Rao's account and komal Ni and Ma in Vasant's. The AUTRIM project of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the University of Amsterdam names Re and Pa as its important notes.
Courtney writes that Ravi Shankar popularised Bairagi in the 20th century, and George Howlett, after Oliver Craske, dates Shankar's creation of it to 1949. Courtney derives its notes from Shivaranjani, read from that raga's Re. In Carnatic music the same five notes form Revati. AUTRIM hears pathos in it, and counts it among the varieties of Bhairav.
KalaSudha presents Hindustani musicians in concert and releases their recordings. Its academy teaches ragas online and in local workshops, and each course is built by its instructor with KalaSudha.
Technical Details
Melodic structure and movement patterns
Aroha (Ascent)
S r M P n S'
Avroh (Descent)
S' n P M r S
Pakad (Catch Phrase)
M P n P M r, r P M r S, .n S r S
Additional Notes
Phraseologies
Key for these phrases: lowercase letters are komal notes, and a dot puts a note in the lower octave.
The AUTRIM project writes that the ascent and descent can be straight. In M P n P M r the line rises to komal Ni and falls back through Ma to komal Re; .n S r S settles on Sa from lower komal Ni. Phrases rest on Sa, Re, Ma and Pa.
AUTRIM adds that a strong presence of komal Ni keeps Bairagi apart from Jogiya and Gunakri.
Common Phrases
Around the World
Global connections and equivalent scales
With Sa on C, Bairagi uses C, D flat, F, G and B flat. Carnatic Revati, S R1 M1 P N2, has the same five notes; George Howlett gives it as an approximate counterpart.