Raga Clock / Rooms / Dawn
A time of day · about 4–7 amLalit and Bhairav, for the last of the dark and the first grey light.
Ragas here: Lalit, Bhairav
The last hour of the night and the first grey light are a junction, a sandhi, and the ragas of this hour sound like it. Lalit belongs to the end of the night, with both forms of Ma placed side by side and no Pa at all. Bhairav greets the dawn itself: one of the oldest and weightiest ragas, with flat Re and flat Dha sung in slow, heavy swings.
Bhairav is named after a fierce form of Shiva, and many morning ragas share its family of notes. In ragamala paintings, Bhairav is usually pictured as Shiva himself, often seated with Parvati or as an ash-smeared ascetic.
Going upNi Re Ga Ma Ma Dha Ni SaComing downSa Ni Dha Ma Ma Ga Re Sa
A raga of the last hour of night, unusual for using both forms of Ma side by side and for leaving out Pa altogether. Writers disagree about its parent scale: some file it under Marwa, others under Purvi.
Going upSa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni SaComing downSa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa
One of the oldest and most important morning ragas, named after a fierce form of Shiva. Komal Re and komal Dha are sung with a slow, heavy oscillation (andolan) that gives it a grave, prayerful character.
How to read the notes: an underlined note is komal (flat), Ma with a mark (Ma) is tivra (sharp), and a dot below or above means the octave below or above.
Music from our channel with a morning or devotional feel. These are not strict performances of the ragas above.
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Some musicians place Lalit just before dawn, others at dawn itself, and books disagree about its parent scale (Marwa or Purvi). Ahir Bhairav, Ramkali and Jogiya are also sung at dawn by many.