Junkyardbeats

Dhikshidhar was a very poor and his family lived in a small hut. His wife once asked him for some jewels and he was left hopeless. That night he started praying to Goddess Lakshmi, singing this raagam “Lalitha”. When the King passed Dhikshidhar’s hut that night, he heard this raagam and felt bad that such a good composer and singer was living in such a poor state in his country. So from the next morning, the King started sending him all the wealth and food that he and his family will need. His wife said him that she had a dream in which the goddess herself blessed her and she was out of all the desire she had for riches.

Such legends exist for all the ragas and they tell us the greatness of every one of them. Though the singing of these ragas is not sure to produce such dramatic and drastic effects, the effects they have on the human mind and spirit is scientifically proven.

There are seventy two basic ragas or tunes which are called the “Melakartha” ragas. From these basic tunes, thousands of newer tunes were formed. The smallest mistake or the slightest deviation from the raga is called “Abaswaram”. There are special ragas for every mood and every occasion. If they are sung in their purest form, they can bring the desired effect. For instance, “Bhoobalam” is to be sung in the morning and “Dhanyasi” in the evening. Singing and hearing “Dhanyasi” brings in happiness and peace of mind. “Vijayasri” and “Varali” ragas are those that makes us feel sad and remorse. Like the ragas, there are also thalas for different occasions.

If you take music in general, there are no such regulations. But the regulations in carnatic music have been proved scientifically that the specific ragas bring solace and enhancement of mood as mentioned earlier.