Raga Kedar

Shiva as Kedar Nath is Lord of the deep silence, of serious contemplation. Raga Kedar, named after him, is among our oldest ragas sung betwe...

Shiva as Kedar Nath is Lord of the deep silence, of serious contemplation. Raga Kedar, named after him, is among our oldest ragas sung between 9 pm and midnight. Whoever created it was clearly blessed with a superior musical intelligence and a receptive heart that beat defenselessly to the powerful vibration of Onkarnaad. Kedar, which rejoices in the beautiful name Hamir Kalyani in the Carnatic system, is a profoundly abstract raga, not easily 8220;visualised8221;. The medieval Ragamala paintings depict Kedar as a young ascetic 8220;beauteous in every limb8221;, his face luminous with a spiritual glow, his body smeared with ashes, doing penance before Shiva. Scholars would know better, but if ever a mudra assigns itself to Kedar it would be the 8220;chhinn mudra8221;, of forefinger and thumb meeting to form a pointed antelope8217;s head: The mudra of cosmic search frequently depicted on Sakyamuni by sculptors and painters.

Music vidwans say that going by 17th century musical treatises, Kedar which had a somewhat different structure in its medieval avatar was one of the main ragas in the repertoire of Mughal musicians. Learning this, the mind leaps joyfully to appreciate composer Naushad Ali8217;s intelligence in Mughal-e-Azam, using Kedar for Shakeel Badayuni8217;s heart-melting song Bekas pe karam keejiye Sarkar-e-Madina. Perhaps one of the best-known bhajans in modern India is poet G.S. Nepali8217;s Darshan do Ghanshyam Nath, mori akhiyan pyaasi re, from the film Narsi Bhagat, sung by Hemantda, Manna Dey and Sudha Malhotra 8212; and set in Kedar by composer Ravi. Other national favourites seem to include Hamko man ki shakti dena from Guddi and Aap yun hi agar humse milte rahen, dekhiye ek din pyaar ho jayega from Ek Musafir Ek Hasina: as lovesongs go, the last is very sweetly sober, isn8217;t it?

Kedar finds expression in just about every song form, be it dhrupad, khayal, thumri or bhajan. Pandit Bhatkhande8217;s Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati seems to classify four variations on Kedar: Shuddha Kedar, Chandni Kedar, Maluha Kedar and Jaladhar Kedar.

At an another level, Kedar8217;s Sanskrit meanings, I8217;m told, are 8216;Mountain Lord8217; and 8216;Powerful8217;. But I find that many Muslims instinctively say 8216;Qadir8217; instead of 8216;Kedar8217;. Qadir is one of Allah8217;s Names. Curious as ever, I looked it up and was thrilled by the consonance. Qadir means 8216;samarth8217; or One Who Can Do Anything. Another way of saying 8216;Powerful8217;? Moreover, Kedar as the silent young ascetic connects with the Beatles8217; Fool on the Hill, who sees the world spinning round in total silence, who never seems to answer. But in his silence, he knows what he knows. He hears God8217;s voice. Many feel that Raga Kedar let us hear it, too.