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Kedar (raga)

Kedar

Thaat	Kalyan
Type	Chanchal raga
Time of day	1st prahar of Singing
Season	No specific season but sung mostly in rainy season
Arohana	S M G P D N Ṡ
Avarohana	Ṡ N D P M̄ P M R S
Pakad	The pakad of this raga is सा म ग प मे (tivra) म रे सा
Chalan	सा म ग प मे (tivra) म रे सा
Vadi	Ma
Samavadi	Sa
Synonym	Hameer raga
Equivalent	Hameer, Gaud Sarang, Kamod, Chhayanat.
Similar	raga Hameer Kalyani (Carnatic raaga)

Raga Kedar, also known as Kedara, is a Hindustani classical raga. Named after Lord Shiva, the raga occupies a high pedestal in Indian classical music. It is characterised by many melodious turns. This raga is the repetition of the swaras सा and म. It is generally accepted that it displays much thermal energy and is regarded as the Raagini of Raag Deepak. While preceding from Shuddha Madhyam (m) to Pancham (P), a touch of Gandhar (G) or a smooth passage from Gandhar (G) to Pancham (P) expressed as m G P is the more common way of instant raga manifestation.

Origin[edit]

The raga emerges from the Kalyan thaat. This raga is named after Lord Shiva and is loved by Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna played this raga on his flute and everyone in Gokul was mesmerized.

Technical description[edit]

The raga is of shaadava-sampurna nature, i.e., in its arohana (ascent), only six notes are used, and in avarohana (descent), all seven notes are used. In general, the progression of the raga is highly non-linear, which makes it difficult to capture its essence using arohana and avarohana.

The raga uses only natural (shuddha) versions of the Second (R), Third (G) and Sixth (D), both natural and sharp (tivra) versions of the Fourth (m and M, respectively "( m- tivra, M- shuddh)" and predominantly natural versions of the Seventh (N) but occasionally also its flat (komal) version (n).

Arohana: S M, M'P D M, D N S`

Avarohana: S' N D P, m P D P M~ , S R S

Pakad: S M, M P, m P m P, D P M, R S

The notes of the raga are s r g m (m is tivra) p d n s.

The most prominent (vadi) note is m, and the second most prominent (samvadi) is S.

Samay[edit]

The raga is to be sung at night. It is sung in the first prahar of night. Most ragas with teevra ma (M) are sung at night (as per the time theory of ragas).

Further information[edit]

The meend from D to M via P is the heart of the raga. This phrase is repeated again and again. The G is used as a grace note in the transition from m to P. The movements in the raga from one swara to another are complicated, and the extent of use of the different swaras often depends on the singer. Kedar is one of five ragas that form the Kalyan Panchak or Panchya with Hameer, Gaud Sarang, Kamod, Chhayanat and Kedar. Kedar is an ancient raga, with different genres of classical songs, like khayals, thumris, dhrupads, as well as light classical songs based on it.

According to the Guru Granth Sahib, raga Kedara (ਕੇਦਾਰਾ) expresses and makes the mind aware of the soul's true character. It conveys the emotions of honesty, integrity and truthfulness in a practical and caring way. This approach is memorable, so that the mind is made aware, without arousing cynicism.

Variants[edit]

• Adambari Kedar
• Anandi Kedar
• Basanti Kedar
• Chandni Kedar
• Deepak Kedar
• Jaladhar Kedar
• Kedar Bahar
• Kedari Malhar
• Maluha Kedar
• Nat Kedar
• Shuddha Kedar
• Shyam Kedar
• Tilak Kedar

Film songs[edit]

Language : Hindi[edit]

Songs listed below sound closer to Hameer Kalyani(Carnatic) which is similar to Kedar(Hindustani).[edit]

Tamil[edit]

Language : Telugu[edit]

Hindi[edit]

Following are the films that used material from raga Kedar:

• Bekas pe karam kijie ye - Mughal-e-Azam (1960)- Lata Mangeshkar
• Bole to bansuri kahi - Sawan Ko Aane Do (1979)- Yesudas
• Darshan do Ghanashyam naath – Narsi Bhagat (1957) – Hemant Kumar, Manna Dey, Sudha Malhotra, Chorus
• Hum ko mann ko shakti dena - Guddi (1971) – Vani Jairam

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Chandra Kanta
• "Raag Kedar – Indian Classical Music – Tanarang.com". www.tanarang.com. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
• "Raga Kedar – A Perspective". Rajan Parrikar Music Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
• "On the Variants of Kedar". Rajan Parrikar Music Archive. Retrieved 31 May 2021.

External links[edit]

• Raga Kedar – A Perspective
• SRA on Samay and Ragas
• "Know your Raga : Thaat". 14 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 May 2007.
• "Sawf Archive of Articles on Classical Indian Music". 10 May 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
• "Ocean Of Ragas". oceanofragas.com.

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