Ragas of Bhairav भैरव

Above Pa, make sure your ear isn't waiting for Dha. Bairagi Bhairav omits Ga and Dha both ways and uses komal Re and komal Ni. Gunkali keeps komal Re but has komal Dha instead of Ni. Ma is vadi, Sa samvadi. Play komal Ni once on the harmonium, then begin the ascent. Stop playing at Pa and let the voice finish alone; check upper Sa afterwards for any extra step you supplied.

If Ni slips into the descent, check which card you practised last; your finger isn't reading the title. Gunkali shares Jogiya's ascent but not its descending Ni, and omits Ga and Ni both ways. Its vadi and samvadi are komal Dha and komal Re, not Jogiya's Ma and Sa. Start at upper Sa with a finger over komal Dha. Sing down to it with no Ni on the way, hold a count, and go on.

Two lowered notes, and neither needs punching out on the keyboard. Bhairav uses komal Re and komal Dha in full, straight lines identical to Kalingda's. Its vadi and samvadi are komal Dha and komal Re, where Kalingda names Pa and Sa. On one pass hold komal Re an extra count, on the next komal Dha, at an unchanged volume. Then drop the counts and check that both pitches stay deliberate.

Up near Ni, the memory of Bhairav gets in the way. Ahir Bhairav keeps komal Re but uses shuddha Dha and komal Ni, the reverse of Bhairav's upper forms. Both lines are full and straight; Ma is vadi, Sa samvadi. Sing the descent from upper Sa only to Pa, then check Dha against the key. If it has gone komal, repeat that stretch before adding the lower half and its quite legitimate komal Re.

This time Pa gets the attention. Kalingda's lines match Bhairav's exactly, all seven notes with komal Re and komal Dha, but its vadi and samvadi are Pa and Sa. On one descending pass, stop on Pa for two counts with the harmonium silent, finish the line, then check that Pa. Keep the held Pa as loud as its neighbours.

A finger trained on Bhairav may reach for komal Re without asking. Nat Bhairav has shuddha Re in otherwise matching full, straight lines, keeping komal Dha, with Ma as vadi and Sa as samvadi. Make the last Re of the descent the checkpoint. Hold it, compare it with the key, then finish on Sa. Start the ascent again without carrying komal Re over from a neighbouring card or mending it halfway to Ga.

Listen to Ni before your hand remembers Bhairav's. Basant Mukhari uses komal Ni beside komal Re and komal Dha, with Pa as vadi and Sa as samvadi. Bhairav has shuddha Ni; Ahir Bhairav has shuddha Dha instead. Sing the full, straight descent only to Pa, then check komal Ni and komal Dha one at a time. Repeat that stretch on one breath, keeping the two pitches apart rather than letting them blur.

The ascent is familiar enough to set a trap for the return. Jogiya shares Gunkali's climb without Ga or Ni, but adds shuddha Ni descending while Ga stays out. Its vadi is Ma, paired with Sa, not Gunkali's komal Dha and komal Re. Pencil a mark beside the descending Ni. Start at upper Sa and give that Ni a full count; on the next ascent, leave its key untouched between komal Dha and upper Sa.

At the first descending Pa, keep your place on the page. Ramkali climbs like Bhairav, but coming down tivra Ma and komal Ni enter among the turns, while shuddha Ma and Ni stay too. Pa is vadi, not Bhairav's komal Dha. Bracket the descent from that first Pa to the last, after the komal Ni turn, and learn it on one breath, each returning komal Dha included, before attaching the opening and the lower finish.