Morning Raga

When I was about 11 years old, my dad used to forcibly send me to a didi (young women older than me) who lived in our neighborhood to learn Hindustani music. My dad was very particular about his morning walks, he would wake up every day at 4am to go for walks. There were times when on his way back he would hear this didi doing her riyaaz (rehearsal/practice). He was totally mersmerized by her singing. So one day he went to her and asked if he could send both my sister and me to her, thinking maybe we could also learn to sing like her. Unfortunately, that didi agreed, as a result my sister and I had to wake up everyday really early to go for our music lessons.

We both hated it, getting up early in the morning, taking bath and getting ready at 5am to go for music lessons was something we weren't too happy about. But then, no sooner would we start our riyaaz, than we would completely overcome our grogginess and get immersed in the moment.

That didi was a well trained and a talented vocalist, she had a beautiful voice and her singing sent out great vibes in the air; no wonder my dad got drawn towards it, anybody would . Honestly, more than singing, I enjoyed just sitting next to her and hear her sing. I still recall that experience as one of the most ethereal experiences of life- the smell of fresh dawn air, sound of birds chirping, and the sound of tanpura and harmonium. Doing riyaaz in an ambiance like that was an experience beyond any comparison, I admit that as an 11 year old I didn't appreciate it much then, but now when I look back to that time I cherish each and every moment.

Although I went to that didi for a couple of months, I ended up learning few Raagas. Of all the Raagas I learnt, Raag Bhairav was my favorite. (Raag Bhairav is a morning Raaga, guess it became my fav. probably because of the timing of the riyaaz!)

I recently downloaded a very cool App that can play Tanpura in the background- I can set the pitch and tempo and sing along with it conveniently.

Sharing with you a recording of Raag Bhairav that I made on our dept. stairways. It was during one of the days while I worked until the wee hours of the morning in my office.  Here's the LINK to the recording!
Enjoy!