Raag Marwa has a somber mood, it is sung during sunset and projects an intense, meditative emotion. One of the greatest Indian classical vocalists of all time, late Ustad Amir Khan, has contributed volumes to the Marwa repository with his emphasized delineation of Dha (6th) in the lower octave. This spin has imbued the raga with the introspective personality of a Yogi in a mood of renunciation.

With a precedent as this, living up to this raga is nothing short of a challenge for any musician.

In this recital, Sameehan Kashalkar gives a stunning performance of Marwa, weaving deep and reposeful notes into evocative phrases. He emphasizes the resting points of Marwa – Re and Dha during his bol-alap, magnifying the meditative beauty of this raga. With a slow composition set to vilambit ektaal (12 beat cycle), he expands the poignant progressions with flair. The sombre and complex spectrum of Marwa is brought out in the middle and upper octaves with patient phrases and their appropriate sequencing.

The chota-khayal is set to a faster tempo in teental (16 beats); With earnest emotions, Kashalkar fills up the Marwa canvas with striking hues. He concludes this piece with a tarana, also set to a faster teental. He shows fine command over ornamentations and laykaari, capturing the imagination of his audience.

He is definitely a younger version of his father; having said that, he shows promise with his refined approach and proves his worth with a gripping recital, never giving his listeners a single redundant moment.

Manjeet Rasiya (tabla) and Chinmay Kolhatkar (harmonium) play out a brilliant team-work, supporting the young Kashalkar sensitively and elevating the performance to its best level.

An ancient melody that is both a thaat (parent scale) and a parent raga to a host of extremely powerful and popular ragas, Marwa represents the transition from day to night and opens a pathway to enter Kalyan Thaat. It uses 6 notes in its ascent and descent. The dominant note is komal Re (flat 2nd) and the sub-dominant is Dha (6th). It omits Pa (5th) from the scale and deploys teevra Ma (sharp 4th).

Musicians
Sameehan Kashalkar (khayal)
Manjeet Singh Rasiya (tabla)
Chinmay Kolhatkar (harmonium)
Shobhana Patel & Gunwant Kaur (tanpuras)

Raag: Marwa, Thaat: Marwa, Samay: sunset