31, August 2026

Raga Bhairavi in Hindustani Classical Music: Negotiating Raga Grammar, Performance Practice, and Aesthetic Identity

VOLUME-12; ISSUE-8; AUG-2026

Author(s): Barot Amitkumar Govindbhai

Authors Affiliations:

Assistant Professor, School of Performing Arts & Fine Arts, Indian Institute of Teacher Education, Gandhinagar

DOIs:10.2015/IJIRMF/202608021     |     Paper ID: IJIRMF202608021


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Raga Bhairavi provides an important case for examining the relationship between textual raga theory and living performance practice in Hindustani classical music. It is conventionally associated with Bhairavi Thaat and with komal Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni, but its identity cannot be adequately explained through its scalar structure or aroha-avaroha alone. This paper examines how Bhairavi retains recognizable identity despite variation in swara treatment, melodic movement, phraseology, ornamentation, improvisation, genre, and performance context. A qualitative musicological approach is adopted, combining historical-documentary analysis, textual comparison, and comparative consideration of recorded performance. The discussion draws on research concerning tonal hierarchy, intonation, melodic motifs, raga recognition, improvisation, rhythmic organization, gesture, and musical emotion. Existing empirical research demonstrates that characteristic melodic motifs contribute substantially to raga recognition and that trained musicians can identify such motifs despite variation in their acoustic realization (Ganguli & Rao, 2019; Rao et al., 2014). Research on performance contexts further indicates that raga motifs can undergo considerable variation while retaining categorical identity (Ganguli & Rao, 2021). The paper argues that Bhairavi is better understood as a dynamic melodic grammar than as a fixed scalar structure. Its identity emerges through the interaction of swara hierarchy, nyas, phraseology, chalan, ornamentation, genre, performer tradition, and performance context. The concept of negotiated continuity is proposed to describe the process through which performers preserve recognizable raga relationships while adapting them to different musical situations.

Raga Bhairavi; Hindustani Classical Music; Raga Grammar; Performance Practice; Melodic Identity; Improvisation.

Barot Amitkumar Govindbhai (2026);  Raga Bhairavi in Hindustani Classical Music: Negotiating Raga Grammar, Performance Practice, and Aesthetic Identity, International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field, ISSN(O): 2455-0620, Vol-12, Issue-8, Available on –   https://www.ijirmf.com/

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