- Raga Basant
Raga Basant is a
raga (an India musical composition) that appears in theSikh tradition from northernIndia and is part of theGuru Granth Sahib . Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the composition of a tune. In theGuru Granth Sahib , there are a total of 31 raga compositions and this raga is the twenty-fifth raga to appear in the series. The composition in this raga appear on a total of 29 pages from page numbers 1168 to 1197.The name Basant is from Sanskrit "vasant" meaning "spring", and during that season of the year Basant may be performed at any time of the day or night. Otherwise, it is reserved for the time between 9 p.m. and midnight. The
Ragmala gives Basant as a "putra" (son) ofRaga Hindol , also a spring raga. Today it belongs to thePurvi thata. The only variant noted in the Holy Book is Basant-Hindol. Basant is a very old raga dating from the 8th century.Guru Nanak ,Guru Amar Das ,Guru Ram Das ,Guru Arjan andGuru Tegh Bahadar composedShabad s in this raga. Performed in slow tempo, this gentle melody depicts quiet joy. The descending scale is usually found at the beginning of a composition with the ascending form follows later.* Aroh: Sa Ga Ma Dha Ni Sa
* Avroh: Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma, Ga Re Sa
* Vadi: Sa
* Samvadi: Maee also
*
Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib
*Kirtan
*Raga
*TaalExternal links
* [http://www.gurmatsangeetproject.com/ Gurmat Sangeet Project]
* [http://www.rajacademy.com/ Raj Academy of Asian Music]
* [http://www.sikhnet.com/GurbaniKirtan/ Sikhnet: Shabad for Printing]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.