INTRODUCTION
In the
Indian musical context a Raga has been defined as a permutation and combination
of notes or frequencies illustrated by melodic movements, which are capable of
producing a pleasant sensation, mood, or an emotion in the mind of the
listener."
According
to ancient Indian texts there are basically six Ragas or combinations of notes.
Each Raga has five Raginis or wives and eight Ragaputras or sons. The Ragas,
considered male, are pentatonic in scale while the Raginis have a heptatonic
scale and are considered female.
The six
principal Ragas Bhairava, Dipaka, Sri, Malkaunsa, Megha and Hindola are meant
to be sung during the six seasons of the year: summer, monsoon, autumn, early
winter, winter and spring. Thus Raga Megha, as its name suggests, is a melody
of clouds and rains and is meant to be sung during the monsoons. Its pictorial
rendition may depict dark rain clouds or streaks of lightning while a joyous
Krishna dallies with a bevy of maidens.
Apart
from the seasons, the Ragas are also related to the different parts of the day.
There are Ragas and Raginis that are suposed to be sung before dawn, after
dawn, in the afternoon, at night and so on.
Ragamalas,
literally meaning "garlands of Ragas," therefore, would be paintings
which provide the viewer with a "mood of the particular season which he
would have attained had he listened to a particular Raga."
It may
be worthwhile to bring the reader's attention to the fact that though poets
started to weave these musical movements into a series of verses a millennium
ago, it was as recently as some 400 years ago, that painters established a
successful depiction of musical themes and melodies through line, colour and
form.
With
the introduction of paper and a blossoming miniature painting tradition in many
parts of India, the first 'consumers' of Ragamala paintings were the
aristocracy Hindu and Muslim rulers and noblemen whose leisurely lifestyle
these paintings managed to mirror.
When
the Indian subcontinent was divided into small kingdoms or states, the artists
of each kingdom evolved their own art styles in terms florin, figure, and use
of colour and so on. Each such style was identified as a particular school of
painting depending upon the place. of its origin. In the Hindu kingdoms, the
revival of the Vaishnava expression of the Hindu view of life particularly the
Rama and Sita, Krishna and Radha cult saw artisans depicting various themes
with Krishna as the central figure.
The
earliest Ragamala paintings are from the Deccan. These were probably painted
for Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur, an authority on painting and a great
patron of the arts. Mughal painting flourished under Emperor Akbar and along
with other styles, Ragamala subjects were also commissioned. Rajasthan and the
Hill States of Punjab were home to a number of Ragamalas in a variety of
styles. This was dependent on which part of the State the painter came from and
his creative expression and interpretation of the particular theme.
In most
Ragamala albums, Bhairava is the head of the first family of Ragas and is visualized
as a form of Lord Shiva. Sung prior to dawn to evoke vitality, the Raga spells
out the rhythmic image of Shiva in his Bhairava form. In contrast to the divine
image of Lord Bhairava, Malkaunsa is represented as a human lord. Fair
complexioned and aristocratic, his Raginis are considered to be dyed in the
colour of love. As a Raga, Malkaunsa has unfathomable depth and is usually sung
after midnight.
Raga
Hindola is depicted, as its name suggests, by a swing. A prince, or Lord
Krishna, with or
without his consort, is shown seated on the swing with several
female companions in attendance. Often rain is shown in the background of the
painting, signifying the change to a cooler season.
Raga
Dipaka, meaning flame, is supposed to have started a palace fire when Tansen,
the famous musician at the court of Emperor Akbar, was ordered to sing it.
Painters, however, have had no problem illustrating this Raga. Each school of
Indian miniature painting treats the obligatory flame a different way. It could
be associated with Diwali, the festival of lights, or could be depicted as a
lamp in the room of a pair of regal lovers.
Raga
Sri, named after the Goddess Lakshini was originally associated with the
fortunes of harvest. The Raga is visualised in numerous ways but the presence
of a horse-headed kinnara la heavenly musician) is a feature exclusive to Sri.
When it is missing, the iconography can easily be mistaken for that of
Malkaunsa.
Ragamalas
thus have a special significance of their own. They express an artist's finer
feelings in one form of art based on an entirely different form, thereby
widening the horizon of creative representation.
Raga Bhairava
Ragini Pancham
Ragini
Todi
Rangaputra
Kanara 
Ragini Gujari
Rangaputra
Nat
Raga
Dipaka
Rangaputra
Kalinga
Ragini
Todi
Rangaputra
Kusum
Writer –
Arun Vaidhya
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