Raaga : Ahir Bhairav


Raaga : Ahir Bhairav I want to introduce you to a morning raga – Ahir Bhairav. This is different from Raga Bhairav - another morning Raga I wrote abouthere. The Ahir are a caste of cowherds, milkers, and cattle breeders widely dispersed across the Gangetic Plain. According to musical folklore, the melody of their cowbells is supposed to be behind this raga. Thank you for giving us this beautiful raga. Ahir Bhairav is a late morning raga and can be sung from 8am up to 10 am.

 "I woke up to the sound of Raga Ahir Bhairav, the legendary voice of Ustad Amir Khan rendering the morning raga as a variant of the original Raga Bhairav. I looked at my watch. It was four in the morning. I could visualize the scene in the living room. Keya would be sitting by the window, waiting for the first glimpse of dawn. The window would be open and the white lace curtains would be swaying in the cool breeze to the accompaniment of the wind chimes hanging in the corner. They sounded like the cowbells used by the Ahirs, which was what had supposedly inspired the creation of the raga, according to Keya. Ahir Bhairav, she told me, keeps the musical framework of Raga Bhairav but adds a few notes that are reminiscent of cowbells.” – From the Book Married But Available

  A RARE KHAYAL RENDERING OF RAG AHIR BHAIRAV BY USTAD NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN :

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