Raag Bhoop

Raag Bhoop, is known to be a very ancient raag. Raag Bhoop is based on a pentatonic scale consisting of the notes Sa, Re, Ga, Pa, and Dha. In western music, these notes are commonly known as Do, Re, Mi, Sol, and La. Raag Bhoop's roots date back to the first millenium B. C. This mesmerizing pentatonic scale has been in China for many centuries, and can also be found in some of the music in Northern Britain. In Caranatic music, Raag Bhoop is reffered to as Raag Mohanam. Raag Bhoop, also known as Bhupali, is very similar to Raag Deshkar. In fact, Raag Deshkar and Raag Bhoop are so ambigous, that often times, they are confused with each other. In Hindustani Classical Music, Raag Bhoop is usually taught in the budding stages of learning. But one may ask... Why is Raag Bhupali taught in the nascent stages when it can be easily confused with a similar Raag? Raag Bhoop only consists of five notes, therefore it is easy for one to combine and interchange notes, without failing to follow the "rules of the raag". Deshkar does follow the same pentatonic scale as Raag Bhoop, but what makes Deshkar stand out from Bhupali, is it's emphasis on different notes. Raag Bhupali tends to lean towards making gandhar the more prominent among all the other notes, while Deshkar tends to prioritize Dhaivat among its other notes.

Raag Bhupali is a raga that is often associated with desolation. It is classified under the Kalyan thaat and is sung during the evening time of day. Some bandishes in Raag Bhoop are also associated with Bhakti, the devotion towards god. As I read from a blog written by Poshmaal, it said, "'its notes seem to linger in the air long after the singing has stopped.'"

The system of thaats in Hisdutani Classical Music is very important to the foundation of the art itself. However, Raag Bhoop and its similar counterpart Raag Deshkar, seem to bring up a weakness in the system of thaats. Raag Bhupali is classified under Thaat Kalyan. Since Raag Bhupali is classified under this specific thaat, that means the missing madhyam in Bhupali's pentatonic scale is tivra. Raag Deshkar is classified under Thaat Bilawal, so therefore the missing madhyam in Raag Deshkar is shuddha. The fact that these two very similar raags are classified under different thaats is very interesting. While this fact may be very interesting, there is no musical theory that can show why they are cassified under different thaats. The idea of thaats is very interesting, but it does not bring up a lot of practical value. There is a mutual acceptance of Bhupali's presence in the Kalyan Thaat. If modern day artists of today's time were to perscribe Bhupali to another Thaat, there would really be no change, because no one has anything to gain from Bhupali being classified under a different Thaat.

There are many rules one must follow to showcase Raag Bhoop in its true form. While presenting, one must be careful to not give to much prominence to Dhaivat, otherwise Raag Deshkar will be showcased instead. While gliding from Shadja to Dhaivat or from Pancham to Gandhar, one must not use Nishad or Madhyam as a kan-swar or "grace note", otherwise Raag Shuddha-Kalyan will come into existence. In Hisdutani Classical Music, the gliding motion from one note to another is known as Meend. While presenting Raag Bhupali, one must give the most prominence to the note Gandhar, and the second most prominence to the note Dhaivat. If one fails to give prominence to these two notes, and gives prominence to other notes instead, other raags will come into existence.

Raag Bhupali has been known to minimize the effects of high blood pressure. According to the video on youtube, "Raag Bhopali For High blood pressure", uploaded by Classical Hindustani, Raag Bhupali can help improve the overall quality of life and also help prevent the risk of obtaining a high blood pressure. By listening to Raag Bhupali, one can live a more longer and healthier life. Raag Bhupali is also known to minimize the effects of stress. According to the video  on youtube, "Raag Bhopali for Stress", uploaded by Classical Hindustani, Raag Bhoop can reduce the level of stress if listened to in the evening or early night.

When one hears the name Bhupali, one may ask, what is the Pakad for this raag? A pakad of a raag is a characteristic phrase that "defines" the raag. By "defines", it means that when one hears that specific melodious phrase, one will come to know that it is from a particular raga. In Raag Bhupali's case, The pakad is S G R S 'D S R G. When one hears this string of notes, they will come to know that it is Raag Bhupali that is being sung. A pakad can also different variations or elaborations. These changes or extensions are known as chalans. According to the website poshmaal.com, some further chalans can be sung as follows:
1. S R G R S 'D S R G
2. S R G R S 'D 'P
3. 'P 'D S R G R G
4. S R P G
5. G R S R G P
6. G P D P D D S'
7. P G P D P D S' R' G' R' G'
8. G' R' S' D P G R S

The bollywood industry has become an enormous part of india and its everyday culture. Day by day, the bollywood hit movies and songs increase in popularity. Bollywood songs may be popular, but they still have roots leading back to the ancient system of raags in Hindustani Classical Music. In fact, there happen to be a few bollywood songs that use the same pentatonic scale as Raag Bhupali. The websites wikipedia.org and chandrakantha.com have posted some songs that have roots in Raag Bhupali. Here is a short list of those songs:

• Pankh Hote To Udd Aati Re [Sehra (1963)]
• Main Jahaan Rahoon [Namaste London (2007)]
• Dil Hoom Hoom Kare [Rudaali (1993)]
• Ghanashyam Sundara [Amar Bhoopali (1951)]
• Jaun Tore Charan Kamal Par Vari [Sur Sangam (1985)]
• Jyoti Kalash Chalke [Bhabhi Ki Chudiyaan (1961)]

Raag Bhupali in general is a very famed raag. It has received many praises from different artists around the world. Raag Bhoop has been rendered in many kinds of art forms such as violin, sitar, and also on the flute, or otherwise known as bansuri. Raag bhoop has been rendered by well known singers comprising of many different gharanas. These singers include Kishori Amonkar, Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki, Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Dr. Prabha Atre, and my very own guru Shri Mahesh Kale.

*add video links










*famous compositions (videos-links- can go here)

*sum up (bhupali in a nutshell)