---

Swing into the New Year with guest article by Ashwin Bhandarkar

(A promise made is a debt unpaid. When Ashwin Bhandarkar wrote his first guest article on 6 May 2017, titled Beena mdhur madhur kachhu bol, I had indicated he would be writing more articles for SoY. Here he makes good his promise, and I thank him profusely for that. There is yet another good news for music lovers – this is different from the theme he had reserved with me originally, which means we can expect more from him.

Ashwin is one of the select Group of Music Experts on the blog. As for his day job, he is a BITS Pilani and IIM Calcutta alumnus, and works with an IT services major in Pune. His last post established his reputation as a Pun-dit Pun(e)kar. In this one, too, he wears his scholarship lightly. He presents an amazing range of ‘Jhoola’ songs from Hindi and regional films, and Hindustani and Carnatic classical music. There is no better way to ring in the New Year than swinging to the massive playlist (42 songs) he has compiled in the end. Thank you Ashwin again, and wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. – AK)

It feels so good to be back as a guest writer on SoY! My prolonged absence, after a debut that I am not shy to say I am proud of, can be attributed to a combination of procrastination, writer’s block and the fear of not being able to come up with something that would hold the attention of my readers. A few days back, I decided that enough was enough and that everything would work out well, provided I only put finger to keyboard and got started. So I swung back into action in right earnest over the weekend by beginning this article on songs on swings.

One of the criticisms of my debut post was that readers had to wade through a lot of stuff before they could get to the music. Stung by (and that was not an intentional pun on the topic of my previous post – my coming up with it was by hap-pun-stance) this, I decided that for future posts, I would get on with the business of presenting the songs curated by me, without much ado. So, here goes…

We begin with this ‘Leela-on-a-jhoola’ song from Jhoola, in which Leela Chitnis’s character rides a swing while singing “How do I swing on the swing while my soul is swaying?” (in Hindi, of course). However tough this challenge might appear to be, she pulls it off with aplomb, first twirling around in the swing, then swinging in a standing position, and finally, swinging gaily while sitting. Notice how the male character, played by Shahnawaz, moves (swings?) his camera from side to side, trying to capture the object of his attention on film.

1. Main jhoola kaise jhuloon by Leela Chitnis (MD – Saraswati Devi, Lyricist – Pradeep), from Jhoola (1941)

Here are a few interesting observations about the lyrics and the music of the song:

Both jhoola, as well as hindola, are used in the lyrics, which is no wonder considering that it was Pradeep, a master of the language, who penned the lyrics. As for the music, there is a lot of Raga Jhinjhoti in the song. This seems to have been one of the favourite ragas of Saraswati Devi. In Jhoola itself, she had Ashok Kumar sing Ek chatur naar in Raga Jhinjoti. The same composition was later parodied by Kishore Kumar in Padosan (1968) in what became an evergreen hit. Much earlier, in 1936, Saraswati Devi had composed Koi humdum na raha in Raga Jhinjhoti for Ashok Kumar in Jeevan Naiyya, his debut film. Kishore Kumar reprised the song 25 years later, albeit with changed antaras and more sophisticated music arrangements, in Jhumroo (1961). The connection between the Ganguly brothers, Saraswati Devi and Raga Jhinjoti was indeed quite an enduring one.

The next song is something of a no-brainer choice for this post – the lively Raga Pilu-based Jhoole mein pawan ki aayi bahaar. Onscreen, it features a swing that miraculously transforms Baiju and Gauri from children into adults in just a matter of half an oscillation. If only growing up were as simple in real life…

2. Jhoole mein pawan ki aayi bahaar by Lata Mangeshkar & Mohd.Rafi (MD – Naushad, Lyricist – Shakeel Badayuni), from Baiju Bawra (1952)

Those were songs that had swings figuring in both the lyrics as well as onscreen. Let us now turn our attention to those songs in which there is mention of jhoola and/or hindol in the lyrics but swings do not figure in the video content.

I would like to begin this list with yet another no-brainer choice – the Bhimsen Joshi-Manna Dey duet in Raga Basant Bahar from the film of the same name. The sthayi ends with the line, jhoolana mein baithe aaj pee ke sang jhoole. The story behind the recording of this song is now part of Bollywood folklore and both singers have reminisced about the making of the song in a documentary made by Gulzar, the link to which I have given below. What I would also like to draw the attention of my readers to, is the quality of the lyrics. A traditional khayal bandish in Raga Basant was the foundation of the song. Replacing the words of a bandish, while preserving the metre of the composition and its alignment to the taal, is no mean feat, and while Shailendra has achieved all of this in the song, he has gone a step further and has so wonderfully evoked the scenes of spring in his lyrics.

3. Ketaki gulaab juhi champak ban phoole by Bhimsen Joshi & Manna Dey (MD – Shankar-Jaikishen, Lyricist – Shailendra), from Basant Bahar (1956)

Here’s the link to Gulzar’s documentary. The portion in which Bhimsenji and Mannada speak about their memories of the making of the song starts at 45:44.

(Picture taken at the recording of Ketaki gulaab juhi. From L to R – Shankar, Shailendra, Ramkrishna Patwardhan, Bhimsen Joshi, Narayan Deshpande, Manna Dey, Jaikishen, Unidentified)

Moving on, we come to one of the greatest lullabies composed for a Hindi film. Even though it is a cradle, and not a swing, that is being referred to in the song, the song still qualifies to be included in this list, thanks to the line Jhoola jhulaaun nindiya ko tori. The melody is based on Raga Pilu.

4. Chandan ka palna by Hemant Kumar (MD – Naushad, Lyricist – Shakeel Badayuni), from Shabab (1954)

In the following song, the heroine expresses her longing for the hero, her refrain alluding to the swings put up in the month of saawan that are empty.

5. Saawan ke jhoole pade by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – R.D.Burman, Lyricist – Anand Bakshi), from Jurmana (1979)

We now take up a triplet of songs in which jhoola and hindol have been used in a metaphorical sense.

The first example is from Sargam, the Raj Kapoor-Rehana starrer released in 1950. In this song, the seven notes of the saptak are first likened to clouds, and then to swings. The song is based on the Raga Devgandhar.

6. Jab dil ko sataawe gham by Lata Mangeshkar & Saraswati Rane (MD – C.Ramachandra, Lyricist – P.L.Santoshi), from Sargam (1950)

In the next song, the swing is used as a metaphor for a heart smitten by love. Dil ke hindole pe mohe jhoolana jhulaye sings the heroine in a song that is based on a blend of Raga Kafi and Raga Bhimpalas.

7. Aaj mere man mein sakhi by Lata Mangeshkar & Chorus (MD – Naushad, Lyricist – Shakeel Badayuni), from Aan (1952)

In our third example, the heroine daydreams about swinging on a rainbow with her beloved – jhoola dhanak ka, dheere dheere hum jhoolen.

8. Phaili hui hain sapnon ki baahein by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – S.D.Burman, Lyricist – Sahir Ludhianvi), from House No:44 (1955)

Now that the discussion on songs on swings is in full swing, we will turn our attention to song sequences that are impossible to recall without recalling the swings in them even though there is no mention of swings in the lyrics.

We will begin this parade of songs with yet another no-brainer example – the celebrated Aayega aanewala from Mahal. If the swing in the song from Baiju Bawra could catapult its occupants from childhood into adulthood in a matter of seconds, the one in Mahal bestows the power of vanishing into thin air upon its occupant.

9. Aayega aanewala by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – Khemchand Prakash, Lyricist – Naqshab), from Mahal (1949)

The second song in this sub-category is this one from Ratan, in which village belles are shown playing on swings hitched to tree boughs in the fields during the season of saawan.

10. Rumjhum barse baadarwa by Zohrabai Ambalewali & Chorus (MD – Naushad, Lyricist – D.N.Madhok), from Ratan (1944)

The third example is proof that the prop roots of a banyan tree can make excellent substitutes for a swing.

11. Aaha rimjhim ke ye pyaare pyaare by Lata Mangeshkar & Talat Mehmood (MD – Salil Chowdhury, Lyricist – Shailendra), from Usne Kaha Tha (1960)

In the last song in this sub-category, the swing is an important accessory in the heroine’s attempts at seducing the hero. The zooming of the camera onto the statue atop the cupola at the end of the song leads me to believe that the heroine’s efforts were successful.

12. Haay haay ye majboori by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – Laxmikant Pyarelal, Lyricist – Anand Bakshi), from Roti, Kapda aur Makaan (1974)

Let us now turn to songs – film and non-film – in other languages. I would like to begin with two of my favorite songs from Tamizh films. The first is set in Raagam Sahana of Carnatic Music (which is different from, yet quite close to, Raga Shahana in Hindustani Music but we will not get into these details here). It is one of my favourite songs not only because it is very melodious but also because it uses clever puns and word play around then, which is the Tamizh word for honey and which is also the conjugate for the past tense of many verbs when used in the first person. The song would have been an excellent fit for my previous post on bees and honey but I got to know of the song from friends only after that post had been published. While I made amends by citing it in the comments section of that post, I am pleased to be able to include it in this article since the song scene depicts a swing.

13. Paartthen siritthen by P.Suseela and P.B.Sreenivas (MD-K.V.Mahadevan, Lyricist – Kannadasan), from Veera Abhimanyu (1965)

Oonjal is the Tamizh word for ‘swing’, and my second Tamizh song is from the film Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu, which literally means ‘Youth is Swinging’ and alludes to the indiscretions of youth. The movie starred both Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth and this song, based on Raga Pahadi, went on to become a super-duper hit. The meaning of the sthayi is

‘You exude desire like the moon; your (state of) youth is on a roll!’

The film was remade in Hindi as ‘Dil-e-Nadaan’ in 1982, and interestingly, it featured a song expressing similar sentiments and with a reference to a swing in it as well! The similarity does not end there – the tune of this song is also based on Raga Pahadi. Here are YouTube links to both songs.

14. Ore naal unnai naan by Vani Jairam and S.P.Balasubramaniam (MD-Ilaiyaraja, Lyricist – Vaali), from Ilamai Oonjal Aadugirathu (1978)

15. Chaandni raat mein ek baar tujhe dekha hai by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar (MD-Khayyam, Lyricist – Naqsh Lyallpuri), from Dil-e-Nadaan (1982)

The sexual connotation in the expression ilamai oonjal aadukirathu brings to mind the idiomatic usage of ‘swinging’ in English, as in ‘swinging parties’ and ‘swinging both ways’. I am sure that similarities between similes and metaphors in unrelated languages would make for an interesting study.

Next in the selection is a Marathi film song in which the nayika implores the dark blue clouds (or Krishna) not to swing the jhoola as a storm approaches and it is about to rain (love).

16. Ghana neela, ladiwala zhulavunako hindola by Manik Varma (MD-Sudhir Phadke, Lyricist – G.D.Madgulkar), from Umaj Padel Tar (1960)

At this point, let us sample some music relevant to the theme of this topic from the semi-classical and classical genres of Hindustani Music. We will begin with the former.

The Ganga-Jamuna Doab has a rich tradition of what may be called seasonal songs. These are sung by women and fall under many categories such as kajri, chaiti, hori, baramasa, saawan and jhoola, depending on their themes and the seasons that they are sung in. The tunes of these songs are usually based on ragas such as Khamaj, Kafi, Pilu, Des, etc. i.e. the ragas in which thumris, dadras and tappas are usually sung. Similarly, the talas that these songs are sung in are the ‘lighter’ talas such as keharwa and dadra. Jhoolas are sung during the season of saawan when it is customary for swings to be put up and for young people to swing on them (as depicted in /referred to in Songs # 5 and 10). A recurring theme in jhoolas is that of Krishna swinging on a jhoola along with Radha or the gopis.

I would now like to present three very well-known jhoolas, one each by Girija Devi and Shobha Gurtu, both doyennes of the thumri and related genres, and one by Ghulam Mustafa Khan, the reputed ustad of the Rampur Sahaswan khayal gharana. The one by the former is about Rama and Sita, while the one sung by the latter is about Krishna.

17. Siya sang jhoole bagiya mein ram lalna by Girija Devi

18. Jhoola dheere se jhulao by Shobha Gurtu

19. Jhoola kinne daara re amaraiyya by Ghulam Mustafa Khan (MD-Khayyam), from Umrao Jaan (1981)

Now it’s time to segue into the classical music selection. We start off by savouring a few khayal bandishes, the texts of which have references to swings. The first one is a chhota khayal in Raga Gaud Malhar set to the 16-matra Teentaal. The bandish – Pyaari laadasi jhooli. The artiste was a scholar at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, holds a Ph.D. in Music, teaches at Viswa Bharati University in Santiniketan,  and learnt her art from Kashinath Bodas, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Ulhas Kashalkar and Girija Devi. She also happens to be the granddaughter of R.Venkataraman, former President of India.

20. Raga Gaud Malhar by Ranjani Ramachandran

The second composition is once again a chhota khayal, but this time in Raag Shankara and set to the 12-matra Ektaal. The first line of the bandish is Jhoolana jhula de, aayi ritu saawan ki, once again serving to remind us about the link between the swing and saawan. The artiste, the great Roshanara Begum, sings the same bandish in progressively faster laya starting from vilambit and ending with ati drut. One is struck by her extraordinary tayyaari.

21. Raga Shankara by Roshanara Begum

Purists might take exception to my classifying the next song in the classical music section but to me, it is nothing if not a rendition of a chhota khayal except that the artiste has not sung taans. The mukhda is Jhoolana jhulaao ri and the recording is KL Saigal’s first private one. The song is preceded by an introduction by Pankaj Mullick.

22. Raag Devgandhar by KL Saigal

Now that we are done with the starters, let us proceed to the main course in the classical music fare. The entrée in the main course is Raga Hindol of Hindustani Music. The words that come to mind when one listens to this raga are gambheer, ‘grand’ ‘gravitas’ and ‘majestic’. A raga of great antiquity, it is one of the 6 purush ragas, each with 6 (5 according to some) ragini wives and several offspring ragas, in the quaint raag-ragini classification system, which formed the foundation of the Raagmala paintings of the Basohli and Kangra schools. This system was supplanted by the thaat system promulgated by Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande, the pioneering musicologist, in the first half of the 20^th century.

Traditionally associated with the season of Basant (in fact, Raga Basant is one of Raga Hindol’s sons according to the raag-ragini system), and not saawan as one might assume, Raga Hindol is performed in the latter part of the morning (though I have come across references to it being performed in the evening – maybe these performances were in the season of Basant since it is accepted practice to sing a raga at any time in the season that it is associated with).

Let us depart from SoY convention by diving headlong into renditions of Hindol (and its related ragas) in the classical genres before covering the sugam sangeet examples.

The gravitas of a dhrupad alaap is the perfect means for delineating Hindol in all its grandeur. The alap, jod and jhala are followed by a dhamaar (a dhrupad sung to the 14-matra Dhamaar taal) in this live performance by Uday Bhawalkar, one of the leading lights of the dhrupad tradition from my generation, the generation that was born in the swinging sixties. 

23. Raga Hindol by Uday Bhawalkar

Next, a recording of a live performance by the grande dame of the Kirana gharana, Gangubai Hangal. As usual, accompanying her on vocals is her daughter, Krishna Hangal. The composition is a well-known bandish by the profilic Sadarang and there is a reference to spring in the sthayi.

24. Raga Hindol by Gangubai Hangal

Next, I present a chhota khayal in the sprighly Ektaal by Rashid Khan, another maestro from my generation, and a leading light of Rampur Sahaswan gharana, who got his training, among others, from his mama and a stalwart of the gharana, Ghulam Mustafa Khan (Song #19). Rashid Khan is one of the most famous stars to come out of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

25. Raga Hindol by Rashid Khan

The Carnatic scale-equivalent of Raga Hindol is Raagam Sunaadavinodini. I choose my words carefully here because while the scale is the same for both, the chalan is not. The biggest difference is that the nishaad is ignored in the ascent in Hindol while this is not the case in its Carnatic counterpart. Here is a recording of an outdoor concert by the maestro M.Balamuralikrishna in which he has rendered a kriti by Mysore Vasudevacharya in Sunaadavinodini.

26. Raagam Sunaadavinodini by M Balamuralikrishna

It will be of interest to readers that by just substituting the notes of Raga Hindol with their flatter versions, one gets the scale of Raagam Hindolam of Carnatic Music (which is the equivalent of Raag Malkauns of Hindustani Music)! This points to the close relationship between the two ragas – quite obviously one was derived from the other in the distant past. Here is a recording of a live performance of Raagam Hindolam by the peerless MS Subbulakshmi in which she has rendered a kriti by Sadashiva Brahmendra, the saint-philosopher-composer.

27. Raagam Hindolam by MS Subbulakshmi

Changing only the madhyam of the scale of Raga Hindol yields Raga Hindoli, which is better known as Raga Bhinna Shadja or Raga Kaushikdhwani. I never cease to wonder at the phenomenon of how a change in just one note of a raga leads to such a drastic change in mood, as I am sure my readers will discern in the piece below. The artiste hails from a family that has been steeped in Hindustani Classical Music for four generations prior to hers. She has learnt from a galaxy of stalwarts, starting with her grandfather, the legendary Gajananbuwa Joshi, who was a singer, a violinist and a guru who trained musicians of the calibre of Ulhas Kashalkar, Padma Talwalkar and Veena Sahasrabuddhe, among others.

28. Raga Hindoli by Apoorva Gokhale

Readers can visit Subodh Agarwal’s article on Raga Malkauns for more examples of songs in Hindolam/Malkauns. It also has a table that very nicely explains the similarities and differences in the scales of the ragas that I have cited above.

In Hindustani Music, ragas can be created by conjoining two or more ragas into a compound raga or a jod raga. There are several such hybrid ragas that have been formed with Hindol as one of its constituents. Let us quickly sample three of them.

The first one is Raga Hindolita, an offspring of the union of Ragas Hindol and Lalit. Here is a recording of Bhimsen Joshi’s rendition of this raga. This cheez is a famous one in Raga Miyan ki Todi, which the maestro has recast in this beautiful jod raga.

29. Raga Hindolita by Bhimsen Joshi

The second is Raga Hindol Bahar, obtained by melding  that chanchal prakriti ka raag associated with the season of Basant – Raga Bahar – with Raga Hindol. The gravitas of Hindol finds its match in the ebullience of Bahar in this compound melody. In my observation, it is perhaps the most widely performed of the Hindol-derived jod ragas as far as performances of vocal music are concerned. I will request my readers to read the second paragraph of this article first, in order to get an idea of the challenges involved in presenting a jod raga, and then listen to the wondrous Hindol Bahar rendition below to get an idea of the sheer genius required not just to do justice to a jod raga, but to make it flower in all its beauty.

30. Raga Hindol Bahar by Ulhas Kashalkar

While curating the songs for this article, I came across Raga Basant Hindol of the Sikh tradition. It was quite interesting to observe that the Basant that has been used in this compound is the Raga Adi Basant/Shuddha Basant, which is the equivalent of Raga Basant and Raagam Vasanta found in Odissi Music and Carnatic Music respectively.

31. Raga Basant Hindol by Bhai Ikbal Singh

Now that we are done with the main course, let us proceed to the desserts by sampling the light music fare available in Raga Hindol and some of the other ragas covered above.

First off, an abhang, the tune of which is largely based on Hindol and in which Sant Tukaram extols the greatness of Sant Dnyaneshwar.

32. Dnyaniyaancha Raja by Bhimsen Joshi (MD – Ram Phatak, Lyrics – Sant Tukaram)

The second song is a Marathi bhavgeet about Radha falling in love with Krishna.

33. Radha krishnaavari bhaalali by Asha Bhonsle (MD – Vasant Prabhu, Lyrics – P Sawalaram)

Next, a Meerabai bhajan, tuned in the manner of a bandish, in Raga Hindoli.

34. Ud ja re kaaga by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Lyrics – Meerabai)

My fourth selection is a Marathi film song in which the character of Ravana boasts about the splendour of Lanka. The tune is in Raga Hindol Bahar. In my opinion, getting Bhimsen Joshi to lend his power-packed voice for the character of Ravana was an apt choice but Chandrakant Mandare, the actor playing the character, fails to convey the vigour with which the song has been sung. I am sure my comment will prompt fans of the actor among SoYers to come out swinging in his defense.

35. Ramya hi swargaahuna lanka by Bhimsen Joshi (MD – Vasant Desai, Lyrics – G.D.Madgulkar), from Swayamvar Zhaale Seeteche (1964)

The next song is an interesting one and this is why –

The notes of Hindol are a subset of the scale of Yaman and therefore Hindol is classified as belonging to the Kalyan thaat, of which Yaman is the main raga. This proximity between the two ragas has been exploited by Hridaynath Mangeshkar in the next song in the sense that the sthayi starts with Hindol and then moves into a Yaman-variant. Hindol returns towards the end of the second antara before the tune segues into the Yaman variant again. The song itself is the musical version of a love poem by the famous Marathi poet, Bha Ra Tambe. The music is very haunting and only adds to the tenderness of the feelings expressed by the poet. The santoor plays an important part in the song and I am sure that it was played by Shivkumar Sharma. Many years after the Marathi song was recorded, a Bengali song was recorded by the Lata-Hridaynath duo with the same tune but with lyrics that were not the translated version of the Marathi original. Both versions can be heard in the link below. The meaning of the Marathi version has also been given in the video.

36. Tinhi saanja sakhe millalya and Dhure akash shamianaay by Lata Mangeshkar (MD – Vasant Desai, Lyrics – BR Tambe)

Let us finally get off the Hindol and set out to take a glimpse at how swings feature in religious traditions and the celebration of life events in India.

Across many regions of India, it is a very common custom in temples to conduct worship by singing songs in praise of the deity while the image of the deity is gently rocked on a swing/in a cradle. This is especially the case in the Vaishnava tradition, given the association of the swing with Krishna and Radha. Here is an instance of a hindola kirtan from the Haveli Sangeet parampara (which has close links to the dhrupad dhamaar tradition).

37. Balakrishna vihaari jhoolata, a Hindola Kirtan in Raga Bhimpalas by Jaidevlalji Goswami

Here is an example of a similar example from the oeuvre of Saint Annamacharya, an ardent devotee of Venkateshwara of Tirupati.

38. Dolaayaam chala by MS Subbulakshmi (Raagam – Khamas, Lyrics – Annamacharya)

In Tamizh weddings, a mandatory ritual involves ladies singing oonjal songs to the bride and bridegroom while the bridal couple is seated on an oonjal (swing). The swinging of the oonjal symbolizes the vicissitudes of life which the newlyweds will face together. The first song in the following album of wedding songs by the renowned Carnatic singer, Sudha Raghunathan, is an oonjal song.

39. Wedding songs by Sudha Raghunathan

(M.S.Subbulakshmi & Sadasivam on an oonjal, on the occasion of Sadasivam’s 60^th birthday)

I came across this video of the oonjal ceremony at a real wedding and thought of sharing it. Here, the oonjal song cited above has been customized to include the names of real relatives, and so on.

40. Oonjal song at Athulya’s wedding by Raji Akka & Viji Akka

The swing is also an integral part of the Maharashtrian baby shower ceremony known as dohale jevan. The expectant mother sits on a swing throughout the ceremony. Here’s a dohale jevan song from a film.

41. Yenaar yenaar by Anagha Domse and Jaanvee Prabhu-Arora (MD-Ajit Parab, Lyricist – Shrirang Godbole), from Nau Mahine Nau Divas (2009)

Bringing the selection of songs to a close is a Sufi song which needs no introduction. It is a prayer to the Sufi saint, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, revered by Muslims and Hindus alike, and considered by the Sindhi community to be an incarnation of Jhoole Lal, their patron god, who is believed to have been born on a swing. I have chosen a video of a live concert by the celebrated Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

42. Damadam mast qalandar by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and party

Before I end my post, I thought I would reproduce a well-known poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. Hopefully it will take my readers back to memories of their childhood.

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown-
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

–    Robert Louis Stevenson

And that brings me to the end of this post. I am sure there is a lot that I might not have covered. For example, there is the genre of Swing Music – I do not feel comfortable writing about it since my knowledge of the topic is very limited. I leave it to knowledgeable SoYers to fill in the gaps in my article by way of the comments section. I am now ready for the bouquets and the brickbats – bring them on!

(Here is a YouTube playlist of all the songs featured in this post.)

Acknowledgments:

1. Raagmala painting of Raga Hindol from the Raagmala Paintings Collection courtesy Digital Collections of the Cornell University Library
https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:3698393) 
2. Photograph taken at the recording of Ketaki gulaab juhi courtesy www.sunbyanyname.com
3. My friends, Yogini Gandhi and Nandu Kulkarni, for identifying Bhimsen Josdhi’s shagirds – Ramkrishna Patwardhan and Narayan Deshpande – in the picture referred to above. Nandu used to be the the former’s student many years back
4. My friend, Shyam Sundar Kasturi, for the implied meanings of Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu and the mukhda of Ore naal unnai naan, and for pointing out that Chaandni raat mein is the Hindi version of the Tamizh song
5. My friends, Ajit Bhagwat and Ajay Nandgaonkar, for the implied meaning of Ghana neela, ladiwala zhulavunako hindola
6. My friend, Yogini Gandhi, for suggesting the inclusion of the jhoola from Umrao Jaan
7. Photograph of MS-Sadasivam courtesy Vignesh Viswanathan’s Pinterest account
8. Sumana Ramanan and The Caravan for the article cited in the context of jod ragas (Song #20)
9. My wife, Gouri Bhandarkar, for suggesting the inclusion of the reference to the dohale jevan ceremony