Why is Megh Malhaar so significant in our popular traditionIJ Vocalist Meeta Pandit shares some insights with Team Viva on how it signifies the end of all suffering
Monsoon is a much-awaited season of efflorescence and renewal of life. As the first drops of the rain touch the earth, nature seems to break into a song. That’s how Raag Malhaar came into our music tradition. The word malhaar encompasses two aspects — mal which is dirt and haar which means removal. Metaphorically, it is intended to clean the clutter, doubts and dilemmas from our hearts and start afresh.
Why does rain and Malhaar hold so much of primacy in our cultureIJ There are five elements in nature and of these, water is the most important for its cleansing property. In folk life, Malhaar is considered important because rainfall is a primary determinant of crops and in turn life itself. It is, therefore, sung by ordinary people. Besides the basic Shuddha Malhaar, which was the original, there are several Malhaar-related ragas that use the signature phrase. These include the Miyaan ki Malhaar, which is attributed to Tansen, Ramdasi Malhaar, Gaud Malhaar, Sur Malhaar, Des Malhaar, Nat Malhaar and Meera ki Malhaar.
legend has it that Akbar had his court singers invoke Raga Malhaar to save Tansen. Story goes that the Mughal emperor Akbar, at the behest of courtiers who were jealous of Tansen, asked his navratna musician to sing Raga Deepak, the raga of light. The effect was such that all the lamps in the courtyard lit up themselves while Tansen’s body heated up. So much so that he had to sit in the nearby river to cool himself. However, the river began to boil, and it became apparent that Tansen would soon be scalded. A beleaguered Akbar asked two sisters from Vadnagar, Gujarat, Tana and Riri, to help. They sang Raga Malhaar, the rains came down in torrents and Tansen was saved.
Another version has it that Tansen knew singing Raga Deepak could be dangerous and burn him alive. At the same time, he could not disobey Akbar. Seeking some time to prepare himself, he taught Megh Malhaar to his daughter so that she could invoke the rains to save him. As everything around him was afire, she sang her heart out and brought the clouds and rains to douse the fire. Metaphorically, monsoon tames the searing summer heat and restores equilibrium.
Megh Malhaar is rendered with the influence of Dhruvpad ang which uses a lot of gamak and meend. This raga can be freely elaborated in all the three octaves and creates a rather deep atmosphere.
Malhaar is also associated with feelings of union and subsequent desolation, the rain meeting the parched earth temporarily, restoring balance, nourishing it and parting again, a beloved meeting a soulmate ardently and then separating from him/her.
Figuratively, Malhaar is the fervent chanting of expectation for a “yes” following the high passion-play in a relationship. At another level, it represents the cyclical nature of being itself — the coming and going of seasons, reflecting continuity of life. Yet another interpretation says that it marks the end of suffering — the bliss of sensitivity to all forms of life (salvation, moksha or satchitananda). The raga unites us in the folds of water, the life-giving potion (a reference to the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus in the womb).
INSTANT RECAll
o In Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Anandamath (1882), a band of yogis sings Vande Mataram in Raga Malhaar.
o In Satyajit Ray’s film Jalsaghar, Raga Malhaar is used to link the powers of nature and the hero’s internal conflict.
o Megh Malhaar was embedded in the 1942 film Tansen as the song Barsorey by Khurshid. This was followed by the melodious of Asha Bhonsle, Shamshad Begum, Mohd Rafi and Manna Dey singing Dukha bhare din bite re bhaiya in Mother India of 1957. Two other interesting compositions of Megh Malhaar include Ghanana ghanana garjo in Baiju Bawra by Amir Khan and Kahan se aaya badra in Chashme Baddoor by Haimanti Shukla and Yesudas.
o Virtuoso performances are credited to Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj and recently Rashid Khan.