Raag Gauri | Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Raag Gauri Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

Gauri is an India musical raga that appears in the Sikh tradition from northern India and is part of the Sikh holy scripture called Sri Guru Granth Sahib.[1] Every raga has a strict set of rules which govern the number of notes that can be used; which notes can be used; and their interplay that has to be adhered to for the composition of a tune. there are Gouris of the Bhairav, Poorvi and Marwa thats with additional qualifiers such as the Shree-anga Gouri, Bhairav-anga Gouri, Poorvi-anga Gouri and so on. These are not considered ‘big’ ragas.

In the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy Granth (book) there are a total of 60 raga compositions and this raga is the ninth raga to appear in the series. The composition in this raga first appear on ang (page) no. 151.

Raag Gauri (ਗਉੜੀ) – Gauri creates a mood where the listener is encouraged to strive harder in order to achieve an objective. However, the encouragement given by the Raag does not allow the ego to increase. This therefore creates the atmosphere where the listener is encouraged, but still prevented from becoming arrogant and self-important.

Gauri was used by Guru Nanak, Guru Amar Das, Guru Ram Das, Guru Arjan and Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the khayal form of singing, as well as for his popular renditions of devotional music (bhajans and abhangs). Joshi belongs to the Kirana gharana tradition of Hindustani Classical Music. He is noted for his concerts, and between 1964 and 1982 Joshi toured Afghanistan, Italy, France, Canada and USA. He was the first musician from India whose concerts were advertised through posters in New York City.[1][2] Joshi was instrumental in organising the Sawai Gandharva Music Festival annually, as homage to his guru, Sawai Gandharva.

In 1998, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour conferred by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama. Subsequently, he received the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Bhimsen Joshi was born on 4 February 1922 in a Kannada Deshastha Madhva Brahmin family to Gururajrao Joshi and Godavaribai at Gadag in Dharwad district that was then in the Bombay Presidency of British India. His father, Gururaj Joshi, was a school teacher. Bhimsen was the eldest among 16 siblings. He lost his mother at a young age.

As a child, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was fascinated with music and musical instruments like the harmonium and tanpura and would often follow processions accompanied by music bands. This exercise often tired him and he would curl up somewhere and sleep, forcing his parents to go to the police after efforts to trace him failed. Fed up, his father Gururajacharya Joshi came up with the solution, writing "son of teacher Joshi" on Bhimsen Joshi's shirts. This worked and those who found the boy sleeping would safely deposit him back to his house.