Raag Aasa

4. Gurbaani Raag Aasa

Aasa is a very old raga, once popular in the Punjab but seldom heard in concerts today. In the Ragmala this is a ragini of raga Megha. However, today it is assigned to the Bilaval thata. Asa is a devotional raga for the cold season and is performed in the early morning just before sunrise. However, it is also known as a twilight melody with a calm mystical mood. Asa was used by Guru Nanak, Guru Afigad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Aroh Sa Re Ma Pa Dha Sa

Avroh Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

Vadi Ma

Samvadi Sa

Aasa is a crooked (vakra) raga in that approaches to certain notes have to be made from a set position. Its variants as given in the Holy Book are Kafi and Asavari, both of which have many features in common with Asa. This raga may have originated in Maharashtra about the time of the major Muslim invasions. Its pleasing sound made it suitable bhajans by the Hindu devotees.

Introduction

In Indian Musical system ragas are divided into two main categories: the Northern system and the Southern system. Raga Asa belongs to the Northern system and is very popular in Punjab, it evokes calm mystical mood and lends itself very well to rendering devotional songs and hymns. According to one school of thought, in fact, Guru Nanak Dev is the author of this raga. The notes of this raga are:

Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ma pa dha ni pa dha sa (omitted note is -ga)
Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni dha pa ma ga re ga sa
The vadi (most popular) note is 'ma' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'sa'

This raga is recommended to be sung at the fourth part of the night i.e., from 3 a.m - 6 a.m.. The season of its recitation is winter (hement) i.e., during November and December. In the Sikh tradition this raga is also sung in the evening. This raga is listed in the Ragamala as a consort (ragini) of Raga Megh, but in Guru Granth Sahib it is employed as a full fledged raga. This raga has been linked with other sub-ragas in Guru Granth Sahib as under:

Raag Asawari

Aasawari is an independent raga, but its links with raga Asa is found only in Sikh School of music. It has note 'dha' as most popular note and note 'ga' as the second most popular note. In Avrohi, notes ga, dha and ni are soft (komal) rest of the notes are sharp (tever)

Raag Kafi

This raga has been linked with ragas Asa, Tilang, Suhi and Maru in Guru Granth Sahib. Some school of music classify it as a complete raga while other call it a ragini (consort of a pure raga). Muslim Sufi saints sing most of their qwalis and thurnris in this raga. In its notes, 'ga' and 'ni' are soft notes while others are sharp notes. The recommended time of its singing is the fourth part of the day. In this raga ( and also in raga Kanra) many shabads titled as 'Partal' have been composed. In these shabads the 'tal' is frequently changed/ repeated. A title 'Sudhang' has also been used in this raga, which means 'pure scales'. It is not the name of any raga or sub-raga. In Guru Granth Sahib hymns composed in this raga are on pages 347-488 (142 pages).

The Composers

The composers of bath (hymns) in this raga are:

Gurus

Guru NanakDev
Guru Angad
Guru Amardas
Guru Ramdas
Guru Arjan Dev
Guru Tegh Bahadur

Bhagats

Kabir
Namdev
Ravidas
Dhanna





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				4. Gurbaani Raag Aasa Aasa is a very old raga, once popular in the Punjab but seldom heard in concerts today. In the Ragmala this is a ragini of raga Megha. However, today it is assigned to the Bilaval thata. Asa is a devotional raga for the cold season and is performed in the early morning just before sunrise. However, it is also known as a twilight melody with a calm mystical mood. Asa was used by Guru Nanak, Guru Afigad, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur. Aroh Sa Re Ma Pa Dha Sa Avroh Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa Vadi Ma Samvadi Sa Aasa is a crooked (vakra) raga in that approaches to certain notes have to be made from a set position. Its variants as given in the Holy Book are Kafi and Asavari, both of which have many features in common with Asa. This raga may have originated in Maharashtra about the time of the major Muslim invasions. Its pleasing sound made it suitable bhajans by the Hindu devotees. Introduction In Indian Musical system ragas are divided into two main categories: the Northern system and the Southern system. Raga Asa belongs to the Northern system and is very popular in Punjab, it evokes calm mystical mood and lends itself very well to rendering devotional songs and hymns. According to one school of thought, in fact, Guru Nanak Dev is the author of this raga. The notes of this raga are: Arohi (ascending scale) - sa re ma pa dha ni pa dha sa (omitted note is -ga) Avrohi (descending scale) - sa ni dha pa ma ga re ga sa The vadi (most popular) note is 'ma' and samvadi (second most popular) note is 'sa' This raga is recommended to be sung at the fourth part of the night i.e., from 3 a.m - 6 a.m.. The season of its recitation is winter (hement) i.e., during November and December. In the Sikh tradition this raga is also sung in the evening. This raga is listed in the Ragamala as a consort (ragini) of Raga Megh, but in Guru Granth Sahib it is employed as a full fledged raga. This raga has been linked with other sub-ragas in Guru Granth Sahib as under: Raag Asawari Aasawari is an independent raga, but its links with raga Asa is found only in Sikh School of music. It has note 'dha' as most popular note and note 'ga' as the second most popular note. In Avrohi, notes ga, dha and ni are soft (komal) rest of the notes are sharp (tever) Raag Kafi This raga has been linked with ragas Asa, Tilang, Suhi and Maru in Guru Granth Sahib. Some school of music classify it as a complete raga while other call it a ragini (consort of a pure raga). Muslim Sufi saints sing most of their qwalis and thurnris in this raga. In its notes, 'ga' and 'ni' are soft notes while others are sharp notes. The recommended time of its singing is the fourth part of the day. In this raga ( and also in raga Kanra) many shabads titled as 'Partal' have been composed. In these shabads the 'tal' is frequently changed/ repeated. A title 'Sudhang' has also been used in this raga, which means 'pure scales'. It is not the name of any raga or sub-raga. In Guru Granth Sahib hymns composed in this raga are on pages 347-488 (142 pages). The Composers The composers of bath (hymns) in this raga are: Gurus Guru NanakDev Guru Angad Guru Amardas Guru Ramdas Guru Arjan Dev Guru Tegh Bahadur Bhagats Kabir Namdev Ravidas Dhanna

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