- Ragamala paintings
Ragamala Paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on
Ragamala or the 'Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical nodes,Ragas . It stands as a classical example of amalgamation of art, poetry and classical music in medieval India [ [http://www.freersacklershop.com/inra.html Smithsonian Freer Sackler Gallery] .]Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of India painting, starting in the 16th and 17th century and are today named accordingly, as Mughal Ragamala, Rajasthan or Rajput Ragamala, Pahari Ragamala and Deccan Ragamala.
In these painting each raga is personified by a colour, mood, a verse describing a story of a hero and heroine (nayaka and nayika), it also elucidates the season and the time of day and night in which a particular raga is to be sung; and finally most paintings also demarcate the specific Hindu deities attached with the raga, like Bhairava or Bhairavi to Shiva, Sri to Devi etc. The paintings depict not just the
Ragas , but also their wives, ("raginis"), their numerous sons ("ragaputra") and daughters ("ragaputri") [ [http://collection.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/results.do?view=detail&] Art Gallery of New South Wales.] .
Six principal ragas present in the Ragamala are Bhairava, Dipika, Sri, Malkaunsa, Megha and Hindola and these are meant to be sung during the six seasons of the year; summer, monsoon, autumn, early winter, winter and spring.
History
Sangeeta Ratnakara, is an important treatise of the 12th century A.D. on the classification of Indian Ragas, which first time mentions the presiding deity of each raga [http://www.bombaymuseum.org/powm/jubilee/ragamala.htm Ragamala painting at Bombay Museum] ] .
14th century onwards, they were described in short verses in Sanskrit, for |Dhyana, 'contemplation', and later depicted in a series of paintings, called the Ragamala paintings [ [http://www.wyastone.co.uk/nrl/world/raga/intro4.html Ragamala] www.wyastone.co.uk.]
Some of the best available works of Ragamala is from 16th and 17th century, where it flourished under royal patronage [ [http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/b/bhairavi_ragini_from_the_manle.aspx Bhairavi Ragini] /www.britishmuseum.org.] , though by 19th century, it gradually faded.
Extant works
In
1570 , Kshemakarna, a priest ofRewa in Central India, compiled a poetic text on the Ragamala inSanskrit , which describes six principal Ragas--Bhairava, Malakoshika, Hindola, Dipaka, Shri, and Megha--each having five Raginis and eight Ragaputras, except Raga Shri, which has six Raginis and nine Ragaputras, thus making a Ragamala family of 86 members [ [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-178083119.html Ragamala] www.encyclopedia.com.]Most of the extant works of Ragamala are from Deccan style, where
Ibrahim Adil Shah II ofBijapur , was himself also a fine painter and illustrator, though some Rajput style also exist of which the work of an artist of the Mewar school of painting,Sahibdin , whose Ragamala (musical modes) series dated1628 , are now inNational Museum of India [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-489526/ragamala Ragamala]Britannica.com .]The Ragas in Ragamala
Six are male (parent) ragas; the thirty raginis are their wives and the remaining forty-eight are their sons. These are listed is as follows:
*(1) Parent Raga: Bhairav ragaWives: Bhairavi, Bilawali, Punyaki, Bangli, Aslekhi.Sons: Pancham, Harakh, Disakh, Bangal, Madhu, Madhava, Lalit, Bilaval.
*(2) Parent Raga: Malkaus ragaWives: Gaundkari,
Devagandhari , Gandhari, Seehute, Dhanasri. Sons: Maru, Mustang, Mewara, Parbal, Chand, Khokhat, Bhora, Nad.*(3) Parent Raga: Hindol ragaWives: Telangi, Devkari, Basanti, Sindhoori, Aheeri.Sons: Surmanand, Bhasker, Chandra-Bimb, Mangalan, Ban, Binoda, Basant, Kamoda.
*(4) Parent Raga: Deepak ragaWives: Kachheli, Patmanjari, Todi, Kamodi, Gujri.Sons: Kaalanka, Kuntal, Rama, Kamal, Kusum, Champak, Gaura, Kanra [36] .
*(5) Parent Raga: Sri ragaWives: Bairavi, Karnati,
Gauri ,Asavari , Sindhavi.Sons: Salu, Sarag, Sagra, Gaund, Gambhir, Gund, Kumbh, Hamir.*(6) Parent Raga:
Megh ragaWives:Sorath , Gaundi-Malari, Asa, Gunguni, Sooho.Sons: Biradhar, Gajdhar, Kedara, Jablidhar, Nut, Jaldhara, Sankar, Syama.Gallery
Further reading
* Moghul Ragamala: Painted Indian Melodies and the Poetry of Kshemakarna, by Ludwig V. Habighorst. Koblenz: Ragaputra Edition, 2006.
References
External links
* [http://www.asavari.org/ragamala.html Ragamala, a study of Indian Ragas]
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