Remember how on August 15, 1989, raag Desh brought together the nation. As the legendary Pt. Bhimsen Joshi sang ‘Lab pe jaage geet aisa, Goonje bankar des raag’ surrounded by lush landscape, his deep voice did echo (goonj) in our hearts. The song ‘Baje sargam har taraf se’, made during the Doordarshan days to spread the message of national integration, also featured other iconic musicians such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, M. Balamuralikrishna, Ustad Allah Rakha and Zakir Hussain.
During an interview to The Hindu in 2011 , Balamuralikrishna, the celebrated Carnatic musician, had said how much he enjoyed being part of both ‘Mile sur mera tumhara’ and ‘Baje Sargam’. “Having born in the pre-Independence era, I became emotional when singing those lines filled with patriotic fervour. Being a composer myself, I could imagine the joy of creating this song with diverse artistes, art forms and instruments. I was excited to both play the violin and sing.”
‘Baje Sargam’ featured a galaxy of artistes | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
An extremely melodic late night raag, raag Desh is associated with monsoon and often sung to convey the romance of the rain. Though called Desh, it was not conceived to arouse patriotic sentiments. It acquired this characteristic after it was used to compose the national song Vande Mataram, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. It has since been used by musicians and composers to create national integration melodies.
This August 15, to celebrate India’s 78th Independence Day, ITC has come up with a soul-stirring composition titled ‘Desh Ek Raag’. It features vocalists and instrumentalists of the Kolkata-based ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA). With Tricolour painted on them, the violin, sitar, piano, guitar, sarangi, sarod, drums, mridangam and flute come together to present the beauty of Desh through strings, keys and percussion, while the singers clad in green, saffron and white clothes render a traditional bandish, ‘Beet jaat barkha rut’, in the raag.
“This musical masterpiece draws inspiration from raag Desh, stirring a profound sense of pride and admiration for our great nation,” says Sanjiv Puri, chairman, ITC.
The Sangeet Research Academy, which was launched more than four decades ago, trains young enthusiasts in Hindustani music. Renowned vocalist and Patiala-Kasur gharana exponent Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty is the chief mentor and guru.
Inside the Sangeet Research Academy, where the song was created. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Says the veteran, “We all know about CSR (corporate social responsibility), but the Academy is a unique example of as I would like to term it — corporate cultural responsibility. And through ‘Desh Ek Raag’ we wanted to show our gratitude to the country, whose cultural heritage is a strong binding force.”
Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty with sishyas | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The melodious song has been put together by sarod artiste Abir Hussain. Belonging to the Senia-Shahjahanpur gharana, he trained for several years under sarod maestro Pt Buddhadev Das Gupta. For the past five years, he is being guided by Pt. Ajoy Chakraborty at ITC-SRA. According to Abir, “the song was conceived for multiple purposes, of course, the most important being the message of oneness.“
Sarod artiste Abir Hussain | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
‘Desh Ek Raag’ is also attempt to project India’s cultural values, particularly the guru-sishya parampara. “Hence the song features both gurus and sishyas. It also showcases young talent, after all the future belongs to them. Quite a few artistes seen in the video are in their teens.”
The recording was done at SRA’s in-house studio. “Singing or playing an instrument in a studio is completely different from performing live. ‘Desh Ek Raag exposed our young musicians to this challenge, and see how they have lived up to it.”
In India, where we have songs for every occasion, it’s not surprising that a raag has become a symbol of freedom.
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