Moods in music for five prahars: an exploration by Aarohi
Georgia Tech’s Indian classical music society, Aarohi, presented its Fall 2019 concert, “Prahar: Exploring Indian Classical Music from Sunrise to Sunset” on Friday, Nov 1, 2019 in the GT Student Center Theater. The event was fully organized and performed by Georgia Tech students, with musical pieces representing Hindustani, Carnatic, and modern styles.
The evening explored the musical concept known as Prahar. A prahar is a three-hour division of the day and has a specific mood attached to it. Every musical composition was carefully crafted with a specific prahar in mind, with the intention to elicit the most emotional impact when enjoyed at that time of day. This concert featured five performances that flowed through each prahar of the day, starting with early morning and ending at midnight.
The first performance was a traditional Tamil prayer in the early morning prahar. The piece “Muruga Muruga” in ragam Saveri evoked a feeling of devotion and love towards Lord Muruga, lord of warfare and son of Lord Shiva.
The concert continued into the mid-morning prahar with the bandish “Aaj To Anand” in rag Ahir Bhairav. Pandit Jasraj composed this bandish to convey the ultimate bliss experienced with the birth of the almighty god Krishna.
Having wrapped up the morning, the concert proceeded to the early evening with a Carnatic “Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi” showcasing various evening ragams such as Shanmukhapriya and Pantuvarali.
Entering the thick of the night, the fourth performance was a talavadya or percussion ensemble. This instrumental piece focused on the thalam Rupakam, starting with simpler rhythms and elaborating through creative improvisations.
Approaching the midnight prahar, the final performance was a modern jugalbandhi blending Hindustani and Carnatic traditions with a hint of jazz and Western classical music. Set in the rag Desh, the piece mixed sitar, flute, and saxophone to deliver a captivating finale to the concert.
Aarohi was founded in the mid-1990s by Dr. Shamkant Navathe, a professor in the College of Computing. Dr. Navathe is also the founder of the Indian Classical Music Society (ICMS) of Greater Atlanta. For over 20 years, Aarohi has been spreading awareness of Indian classical music throughout the broader Atlanta community. At Georgia Tech, Aarohi seeks to foster a community of like-minded students passionate about Indian classical music, and develop a strong base of talented musicians.
If you are interested in learning more about the organization or would like to request a music performance for your event, please contact aarohigt@gmail.com or visit facebook.com/aarohigt. Also, please check out the YouTube channel Aarohi GT, where you can find videos of our past couple of concerts.
Website Bonus Feature
List of videos at facebook.com/aarohigt.
16:07 Talavadya - Prahar by Aarohi GT
17:55 Jugalbandhi - Prahar by Aarohi GT
5:03 Vote of Thanks - Prahar by Aarohi GT
16:57 Muruga Muruga - Prahar by Aarohi GT
15:51 Aaj To Anand - Prahar by Aarohi GT
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