In Indian classical music, ragas are classified based on their nature. This is termed as ‘Thaat”. Thus you have ‘Marva Thaat’ or ‘Kalyan Thaat’. Raag Yaman, by this classification, comes in the Kalyan Thaat. Also, some amount of give-and-take is always ongoing in Indian classical and Karnataki music. Interestingly, there is a Karnataki raga mostly matching Yaman, and it is called – Kalyani! Of course, there is quite a lot of difference in the rendition of each.

There is one interesting point about classical music. The swar for each Raag are fixed; but how to enunciate these swar depends on the singer. So each singer has his or her “andaj” of how to move from one swar to the other. And this is what brings great charm to the music – for identical raag would have as many variations in its rendition based on the style and caliber of the singer. It’s a little bit like expert chefs using the same ingredients, to make the same dish, but each one achieving a unique taste!

Most common Bhav expressed in Yaman are Shringar, Bhakti, Virah and Pranay. Naturally, this makes Yaman a fertile ground for the genre of light classical music. Add the fact that ‘sugam sangeet’ does not have to remain wedded to the original notes of the Raag. So, it is not surprising to see a prolific semi-classical output based on Yaman raag. 

A Marathi poem by Indira Sant titled  “Journey” perhaps best captures the emotions one feels while exploring Raag Yaman. A loose translation would run as follows:

Walking freely in the wild, a sudden turn leaves me yearning

Moving slowly between the mountains, a monsoon cloud appears amidst

Engulfs me for a moment, then disappears as suddenly

But fills the mind with joy...adds a spring to the steps

It is a hallmark of Yaman that it never brings you extreme emotions – no paroxysm of pain (or joy) here. Instead, there is a slow sense of submission. Both joy and pain are understated.

Bhimsen Joshi, the famous maestro of Kirana gharana, sings the cheej “Sham bajaye aaja muraliya”, which can be considered the perfect embodiment of Raag Yaman. The manner in which Panditji launches the Raag with the initial Swaravali of Ma-Dha-Ni is unparalleled.

For truly appreciateing the singing of Bhimsenji, one has to note his tonal caliber. He uses both the registers very effectively in his singing. So the lower notes have a rich timbre, while the upper notes reach their own sparkling heights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar9GF8cZlLY

His drut taans have less “garima” in them (Garima could broadly be considered as the high-low variation of sound), yet the taans sound very effective. And that is because of the fluidity of the high notes. The progression of a Raag has to take place step-by-step, which means that the singing has to lay emphasis on the swar – and allot less importance to the clarity of the words (being sung). Net result is that the breath needed for pronouncing the word gets transferred to the swar – rendering a certain depth and richness to the note.

The experience of hearing Mirza Ghalib’s famous ghazal "हर एक बात पे कहेतो हो तुम की तू क्या है" in the voice of Lataji is an indescribable experience. This one has been put to music by Faiyaz Shaukat. The initial aalap itself is difficult enough to  test the ablest of singers.

As such, Ghalib’s shayari is extremely difficult to digest. You need a fair amount of knowledge of Urdu language, else grasping the deeper meaning remains just impossible. There is one "मतला" in this very gazal that goes as follows:

"रही ना ताकत-ए-गुफ्तार और अगर हो भी,

तो किस उम्मीद पे कहिये के आरजू क्या है" . 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFw7YMJUSk

Now here, if one doesn’t understand the meaning of " ताकत-ए-गुफ्तार", then it would be impossible to derive the ghazal’s beauty. Once you understand that it refers to the “ability to hold a dialogue”, only then the sher can be interpreted and one gets a glimpse of how “rich” is Mirza Ghalib.

"हर एक बात पे कहेतो हो तुम की तू क्या है,

तूम्ही कहो के ये अंदाज-ऐ-गुफ्तगू क्या है". 

Yaman raag is a fertile ground for gazals. It provides plenty of opportunities for enriching each ‘harkat’ by one’s own ‘Vistar” or elaboration. And then one can go on elaborating as per one’s own capacity to do so. The raag allows you all seven sur, and each one of these can be provided its own embellishment. So each “Aavartan” can remain unique in its own way, never to be repeated.

Having seen a gazaal, let us now come to an equally exquisite bhajan. "किनु संग खेलू होली" – by Mirabai. Even as you read the wordings, the aroma of Rajastan’s soil rises before you. And then you have the tune laid out by Hridaynath Mangeshkar! Knowing Hradaynathji, one could expect exquisite harkats in the song. But here one finds something different. 

"किनु संग खेलू होली

पिया तज गये हैं अकेली"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FTBgwBik5o

The song starts with the sharp notes of sitar and straight takes us to Raag Yaman. The eagerness and longing implicit in the wording has been captured very effectively in the tune. But even that is done so softly. No breaking up or stretching of a single word, just a deceptively simple progression – mild complaint, soft plea – all brought out through the inimitable singing of Lata ji and the music of Hradaynath!

The song "इस मोड से जाते है" from the movie Aandhi (1975) brings Raag Yaman before the listener. As such, it is expected to be a simple love song, but when you have a musician of the calibre of Rahul Dev Burman, nothing is straightforward. The song is an emotional poem coming from the pen of Gulzar. This is one poet who has tremendous capacity to surprise the reader. Simple looking words suddenly reflect a deeper meaning and leave the reader thunderstruck. 

"इस मोड से जाते है

कुछ सुस्त कदम रस्ते, कुछ तेज कदम राहें;

पत्थर की हवेली को, शीशे के घरोन्दो में,

तिनके के नशेमन तक, इस मोड पे जाते है". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STOM6NZfcrs

This song too starts with an long aalap. Earlier we heard the aalap in "हर एक बात पे". Prima facie there is nothing common between the two aalaps. But as the songs progress further, they throw up startling similarities. All credit for this goes to the musicians. If the “Mukhda” is made appealing enough, the subsequent construction remains enthralling. Notice the ‘harkat’ taken on the word "मोड". Who deserves more credit for this, Lataji as the singer or RD as the musician? You decide.

As we saw earlier, Yaman is a raag tailor-made for love songs. To wind up this presentation, I have a Marathi duet in Raag Yaman for you. The song holds a very high place in the hearts of its audience. Blessed with the lilting words of Mangesh Padgaonkar and the evergreen Music of Shrinivas Khale, lovers of Marathi Music would need just one word to recognise it “Shukratara”.

The opening violin piece played against the background notes of the sitar squarely pur Raag Yaman before you. In Khaleji’s songs sometimes the tempo is quite slow and the tunes bow respectfully before the words. The singing appears deceptively simple but is a tightrope walk for the singer, for a single false note will take the song downhill.

But the duo of Arun Date and Sudha Malhotra have woven sheer magic with their dulcet tones. The resulting song has retained its popularity unabated over last five decades.

(Comments: I made a futile attempt to translate the words for benefit of our non-Marathi readers, but gave up in horror on seeing the results. My apologies to all of them: Please let the music itself speak to you. But then, when did true love need the shackles of mere words for its message to go across?)

Original Marathi article by Mr. Anil Govilkar

English translation by Mr. Avinash Bhagwat