Shuklas : Raga : Kafi & Kafi Hori, Piya to Manat Naahee.Pt.Bhimsen Joshi Options

[shuklas]

Dear Rag Rangeeles :

We have this excellent all time raga : Kafi :

Pt.Bhimsen Joshi : Piya to Manat Nahi

Raga Kafi

Raga Kafi belongs to Kafi Thaat. Usually it is rendered in the late evening and uses all the seven notes in the ascending and descending order. Gandhar and Nishad are komal (flat) and all other notes are shuddha (full). The derivative ragas out of this structure are grouped under the broad head of Kafi Thaat


Kafi Raga Poetic Description :

Kafi who inspires lust tenderly
sits on the lap of her playmate in the royal palace,
fond of parrots she is dressed in blue
and decked with jewels.
She is the image of sensuousness.
In the Lotus of my heart
I cherish her,
lovlier than Lakshmi
the goddess of Fortune.

Scale up: C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb, C
Scale down: C, Bb, A, G, A, F, Eb, D, C
Main Note: G
Always played during the night

Raga Kafi is about love and passion and is used as a basis for many of the lighter songs sung in the thumri style. A natural 'B' can be sung as an embellishment for the high C. In Dhrupad, the Eb was often omitted in the ascending scale.

Kafi based songs :


Kase kahun manki bata
Balma aan baso more manmen
Ishqki garmie jajabta kise pesha karun
Kali ghodi dwar khadi - Chashm-e-Bud-Dur
Tum nahin, gam nahin, sharab nahin - A Ghazal by Jagjit Singh
Gaironpe karam apnonpe sitam - Aankhen
Biraj me holi khelat nand lal - Godaan


Kafi Hori

tales from folklore.

To understand the genre that is Hori Dhamar, one needs to understand what Dhrupad, on which Hori is based, is all about. The word Dhrupad is derived from Dhruva meaning fixed and pada meaning words or song. Therefore, the term dhrupad means "the literal rendering of verse into music" and so the songs have a particularly potent impact.

DHAMAR-HORI

These compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated with the festival of Holi. The bucolic quality and the lilt to the word itself, makes a slightly phonetically slur on the alphabet, 'Li' as in 'Ho' Li' change it to a less demanding 'Ri'. Making it easier to enunciate. Thus, Hori finds itself getting more easily accepted than Holi.

Here the compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna and his love for Radha. This music, sung in the dhamar tala, is chiefly used in festivals like Janmashthami, Ramnavami and Holi.

Hori is the most popular type of Dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here describe the spring season. These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna. Hori is directly related to Holi. Interestingly it has both classical as well as semi-classical connections. When it is sung as a classical piece, it is a sequel to the Dhrupad form. Such horis are set to the tala dhamar, which has 14 beats.

Thus horis sung as a concluding portion of a Dhrupad recital are classical in nature as well as treatment. Those horis, which are sung as semi-classical items, are in ragas like Khamaj, Kafi etc. Significantly, these horis are also set to a tala of 14 beats called Deep chandi. Though horis are supposed to be about the love pranks of Krishna and Radha, there are some delightful exceptions too. One hori in raga Kafi is about Ram and Sita - Ram Siya Phag Machavat being the theme. Towards the conclusion of the hori, laggis are played on the tabla, which adds a bit of excitement after a spell of relaxed singing.