Day · Third Prahar · Madhyahna मध्याह्न
Raag Brindavani Sarang राग बृंदावनी सारंग
Five notes, no shadow work. A flat, overhead raag for the flattest hour of the day.
When to listen to Raag Brindavani Sarang
Raag Brindavani Sarang belongs to the third of the eight prahars, Madhyahna (day · third prahar). Midday. The sun overhead, the heat at its flattest.
On a day with sunrise at six and sunset at six, that is roughly 12 noon – 3 pm. The prahars are measured from the sun, not the clock, so the window moves through the year and from place to place. The station works out the prahar from your own sunrise and plays what belongs to it.
What to listen for
At noon the light is flat and comes from directly overhead, and Sarang is a flat, overhead raag. Five notes, no shadow work, nothing hiding in a flat third or a bent seventh. It does not brood. It is not supposed to.
Students find it thin until they try to hold a single note steady against that flatness for four beats. There is nowhere to hide in five notes. That is the lesson, not a limitation.
Aroha, avaroha and pakad of Raag Brindavani Sarang
| Thaat | Kafi |
|---|---|
| Aroha (ascent) | Sa Re Ma Pa Ni Sa |
| Avaroha (descent) | Sa Ni Pa Ma Re Sa |
| Pakad | Re Ma Pa Ni Sa, Ni Pa, Ma Re Sa |
| Vadi | Re (shuddha) |
| Samvadi | Pa |
| Swaras used | 5 of 12: Sa Re Ma Pa Ni |
| Prahar | Day · Third Prahar (Madhyahna) |
Notation: lowercase is komal (flat), Ma# is tivra (sharp), everything else is shuddha.
How Raag Brindavani Sarang differs from similar raags
Brindavani Sarang and Megh / Megh Malhar
Nearly the same five notes. Megh uses only komal ni and carries a heavy, rolling gamak; Brindavani takes shuddha Ni climbing and komal ni descending, and stays light.
Brindavani Sarang and Shuddha Sarang
Shuddha Sarang admits both forms of Ma and leans on tivra Ma. Brindavani has only shuddha Ma, which is why it sounds plainer and sits earlier in the afternoon.
Brindavani Sarang and Madhmad Sarang
Madhmad uses komal ni in both directions. Brindavani's shuddha Ni on the way up is the single note that separates them.
Listen: Raag Brindavani Sarang
Pandit Rupak Kulkarni
Film songs based on Raag Brindavani Sarang
- Baju Band Khul Khul Jaye — Gunga Jumna (1961), music by Naushad, sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
- Sapt Suran Teen Gram — Sur Sangam (1985), music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, sung by Rajan Mishra, Sajan Mishra. A film song written for classical singers, so it holds the raag more strictly than most.
Film songs borrow a raag's scale without always keeping its grammar, so attributions like these are widely published but rarely unanimous.
Origin
Credited by tradition to Swami Haridas, the sixteenth-century saint-composer of Vrindavan. The mythology holds that singing it drew Krishna himself down to earth.
Worth knowing
Not the same raag as Carnatic Sarang or the broader Hindustani Sarang family, which share a name but not a scale. A common source of confusion, since at least four unrelated raags all carry "Sarang" in their name.
How sure is the time placement
attested, minor variation. Brindavani Sarang is the accepted midday raag. The wider Sarang family disagrees on exact timing.
Sources: N.A. Jairazbhoy, The Rāgs of North Indian Music (1971); V.N. Bhatkhande, Kramik Pustak Malika; ITC Sangeet Research Academy raag notes.