Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia
(Reference Edition: Vol. I and Vol. II)
Author: KL Pandey
Sangeet Shilp Prakashan, Lucknow
Second edition (Revised and Enlarged): 2020
Hardcover ₹3200 on Amazon

(Note: ‘Sur Samvadini’, a glossary of Hindustani Classical Music and a list of 174 raags appearing in Hindi film songs with their basic grammar, available complimentary if ordered directly from the publisher)

The vast ocean of Hindi film music has attracted several explorers to undertake Samudra-Manthan on different parameters and organise its wealth in convenient compilations, kosh, concordance and encyclopaedias. Considering that songs have been an integral part of our films from the very first talkie Alam Ara (1931) and the data about early decades was scarce or non-existent, the work of pioneers like Harmandir Singh ‘Hamraz’, the compiler of Hindi Film Geet Kosh (in six volumes up to 1985), is truly monumental. KL Pandey’s ‘Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia’, the raag analysis of about 20,000 Hindi film songs from 1931 to January 2020, is another monumental work of enormous significance for music lovers, academics and researchers.

To give you some idea about the scale of the work, over 13000 films were made in the above period having over 80000 songs. Out of this only 65000 songs are available. I have often mentioned that memorable songs over long periods are not more than 15.20% of the total songs. Mr Pandey has covered over 30% of the total available songs, which means any worthwhile song you can think of is covered in the book.

How does one identify the raag of a film song? A lay listener’s method is, if the song sounds like Bhimpalasi, it is Bhimpalasi. This is not the way a knowledgeable person identifies the raag(s) of a song. Except for a few, most music directors were not purists; their main purpose was to  compose a melodious song which fitted into the narrative. If it had classical flavour it was incidental, most songs had a mix of raags.  Mr Pandey has done the complete DNA sequencing of each song by first identifying its Root Note, or its scale, playing its record on a device or online, and in parallel a couple of musicians playing it on the harmonium, or guitar or the keyboard, and some singing it. Then they would meticulously record the sequence of notes appearing in the song. Any difference of opinion was settled by discussing it further with some experts. On this basis the raags in a song and the sequence in which the raags appeared were identified.

Each song would easily take a couple of hours for this analysis. It is no wonder it has taken 14 years for Mr. Pandey and his team to complete this work. He did all this work while he was holding very busy assignments in the Indian Railways, such as DRM Vadodara, Chief Commercial Manager, Kolkata, Chief Operations Manager, Jabalpur and Additional Member, Railway Board until 2014 when he retired from the Railways, and thereafter, Member, Railway Claims Tribunal, Gorakhpur for two years. One can only marvel at his discipline, dedication and time management for carrying on this work during his active service.

Mr Pandey had compiled and analysed so much data that he had originally planned to bring out ‘Hindi Cine Sangeet Raagopaedia’ in 7 volumes. That would have given complete notation of each song. Realising that that was too mammoth and expensive, he published a bilingual Reference Edition in 2017 in 3 volumes running into 2000 pages, covering about 17000 songs. That had become too bulky, therefore, he has brought out this revised and enlarged single-language (English) edition in hardcover in which 3000 more songs have been added.

The scheme of presentation would be clear from a page from the book:

The nine columns contain: Serial Number, Song opening line, Film (Year), Singer(s), Lyricist, Music Director, Taal, Scale, Raags (in the order in which they appear in the song, and not in the order of their prominence in the song).  He has considered only the vocal part in the song for his raag analysis. Since he has all the data available, he plans to bring out 3 companion volumes of raag-wise analysis: Vol. III: Abhogi to Kalingada (82 raags); Vol. IV: Kamod to Neelambari (41 raags) and Vol. V: Pahadi to Zila: (51 raags), i.e. a total of 174 raags appearing in film songs.

Mr Pandey’s preface and articles in the two volumes give a perspective how different raags occupied pre-eminence in different periods.  Kafi and Khamaj dominated in the 30s and well into 40s, when towards the end Bhairavi stole the limelight and became the most popular raag in the succeeding decades. Pahadi, which is the most common raag in film songs, surprisingly, is a late entrant towards the end of the 1940s. Another interesting observation Mr Pandey makes is that Carnatic raags, such as Kirwani, Kalawatti, Charukeshi, Hansdhwani, which are quite popular now, are hardly seen in the 30s and 40s.

Expectedly, Mr Pandey mentions different music directors’ preference for particular raags, such as Roshan’s for Yaman, Khayyam’s for Pahadi etc. (Remember what Subodh Agrawal said: Lagta hai Khayam Saheb pahad se kabhi utare hi nahin.)

What is raag? The literature defines raag as ‘Ranjayati iti raagah’  (रंजयति इति रागः) – a combination of notes which delights the heart of listeners is raag. We generally associate raag with classical music which has a grammar and, thus, accessible only to the initiated. But if any form of music is melodious and it pleases your heart, it has some underlying raag(s) which adds myriad colours to a blank canvas. This is equally true of film music.

A common question may arise in the minds of millions of lovers of film songs: I love, I enjoy film songs. I do not know classical music or any raag, nor do I care about it. What is the use of this Encyclopaedia? We can paraphrase the same question to Mr Pandey, “Why did you do this backbreaking work? What is the purpose of all this?” Let us hear the answer in his own words, “To make our grand cultural heritage of Hindustani classical music reach the masses through a very easy and powerful medium which is Hindi film music.” Many lovers of film music are passionate listeners and collectors of classical music,  without knowing anything about raags or their grammar.  This two-volume set is an important contribution in the study of raags in Hindi film songs.

Are there any flaws in the book? In such a massive work, I don’t want to quibble over minor aberrations in proof reading and printing in the preface and articles preceding the main book. I have drawn Mr Pandey’s attention to what appeared awkward to me. As for the raag analysis, Mr Pandey acknowledges that there may be difference of views among experts about the raags in some songs, and he welcomes any comments, suggestions or corrections.

Acknowledgement: The book parcel came to me when I was yet to order it. I was trying to find out how to pay for it when I realised that it was a gift from our regular DP Rangan. Thanks a lot Mr Rangan for your wonderful surprise.

The post ‘Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia’ by KL Pandey: Book Review first appeared on Songs Of Yore.