Raag Brindavani Sarang | Jau Me Tope Balihari | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Raag Brindavani Sarang | Jau Me Tope Balihari | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Brindavani Sarang or Brindabani Sarang, also known as raga Sarang, is a Hindustani classical raga. It is also called Vridavani Sarang. This raga falls under the category of Sarang ragas. Brindabani Sarang is a Kafi thaat raga. It was created by Swami Haridas. The associated mythology being that he brought Lord Krishna to earth by singing this raga who took the form of an idol which can still be seen in Mathura. One of the famous Ragas for the Sarang raagang, it is a popular raag of this family, together with Shuddha Sarang, and Madhyamad Sarang. The name Brindavani Sarang is a testament to its popularity in the region around Mathura. The notes Ga and Dha are not used in this raga. A characteristic of all Sarang is the way Rishab (Re) is sung. The Rishabh is not accorded embellishments, so it is sung without any meenḍ of adjacent swaras neither with any andolan. This preeminence of Re makes the swar the vadi of this Raga as also for all other varieties of this family (raagang). Another dominant phrase is Sa - Ni - Pa, also used in many other ragas, notably the popular Kanhada family. The distinguishing factor being that the Ni in Kanhada's S-N-P takes a kaṇ of the Pa (of uttarang), with a ghaseeṭa effect, whereas the Ni of Sa-Ni-Pa in Sarang is rendered pure. Brindavani Sarang's classification in thaat Kaafi is peculiar as it uses the shuddha form of "Ni" in its Aaroha, whereas the komala form of "ni" and "ga" is the main characteristic of the Kaafi thaat. So it is possible to make a mistake in identifying its thaat as Khamaj. This raga evokes the sringara rasa - romantic love. Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). Joshi belongs to the Kirana gharana tradition of Hindustani Classical Music. He is noted for his concerts, and between 1964 and 1982 Joshi toured Afghanistan, Italy, France, Canada and USA. He was the first musician from India whose concerts were advertised through posters in New York City.[1][2] Joshi was instrumental in organising the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva. In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. Subsequently, he received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2009. Bhimsen Joshi was born on 4 February 1922 in a Kannada Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family to Gururajrao Joshi and Godavaribai at Gadag in Dharwad district that was then in the Bombay Presidency of British India. His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the eldest among 16 siblings. He lost his mother at a young age. As a child, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was fascinated with music and musical instruments like the harmonium and tanpura and would often follow processions accompanied by music bands. This exercise often tired him and he would curl up somewhere and sleep, forcing his parents to go to the police after efforts to trace him failed. Fed up, his father Gururajacharya Joshi came up with the solution, writing "son of teacher Joshi" on Bhimsen Joshi's shirts. This worked and those who found the boy sleeping would safely deposit him back to his house.