Rag Ahir Bhairav

(a.k.a. Chakravaka)

Description

This is an old rag. It is characterized by the use of Komal Re and Komal Ni. This mode does not belong to any of the 10 thats put forward by Bhatkhande; however for some inexplicable reason, he ascribed this rag to Bhairav That. Often times, this rag is referred to by its south Indian name of Chakravaka. This is an early morning rag. For those who are still inclined towards the Vadi / Savadi theory it has been suggested that Ma is its vadi and Sa as its samvadi.

Ahir Bhairav is very well known through old film songs such as “Pucho Na Kaise” and “Meri Bina Tum Bin Roye Sajana“. There are actually so many film songs in Ahir Bhairav that it is not really possible to go over them here.

There are two approaches to this rag (Rao 1980). The first type omits Ni in the arohana: it is therefore shadav – sampurna. The second approach does not omit any note; therefore it is sampurna – sampurna. However, since no other rag shares the same modality, one need not worry too much about impinging upon a different rag.