Raga Bhoopeshwari is a rare underground hipster raga.; Hindustani Classical Raga.
Contents
Origin
The Raga in not one of the traditional ragas of Hindustani Classical Music being sung for the past few centuries. It has been developed within the last few decades. The birth of this raga is something that eluded most people for a while. It was believed that the raga was created by Ustad Alladiya Khan of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana. However the time frame of Ustadji's lifetime and the raga's emergence do not match. It is now however certain, that the raga was created by Pt. Mani Prasad of the Kirana Gharana.
Apart from who created the raga, a major issue that arises is, how was it created? Being an audav raga, Raga Bhoopeshwari leads to a lot of ambiguity. Since the remaining notes/swars are unknown, it is quite difficult to determine the parent raga or scale of Bhoopeshwari. The raga does not fit into any of Bhatkhande's thats and so its origin is uncertain. A similar problem persists in Carnatic Music as well. People associate itwith the Melakarta Chakravam, Melakart Mararanjani, Melakarta Charukesi and even Melakarta Sarasangi, but no one is absolutely certain.
Another matter of concern with the raga is its name. The name 'Bhoopeshwari' had an obvious inspiration from Raga Bhopali. However, the raga has various names across India. Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, the legendary flutist, prefers the name Raga Bhoopkali, while most of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana musicians use Raga Prateeksha. Other variations such as Bhoopeshri, Bhoopshri etc. are also present. In Carnatic Music, the raga is called Raga Vaasanthi.
Technical Description
Despite its complex origin and nomenclature, the raga isn't a very difficult one to sing. It has the same notes as Raga Bhopali/Deshkar, but instead of the shuddha Dha, uses a komal Dha.
Arohana : Sa Re Ga Pa dha Sa
Avarohan : Sa dha Pa Ga Re Sa
Vadi is Pa and Samvadi is Sa.
Time
The Raga is a morning raga. Its designated time is the second prahar of the morning, from 6-9 a.m.
Performances
Possibly due to its recent creation, the raga has not been performed very widely. However, it has started being used in film music, light classcial music and ghazals. Some of the most notable performances of Raga Bhoopeshwari are: