In the seventh episode of our series on representations of birds in Hindustani raags and compositions, we feature vihang, a generic term in...
In the seventh episode of our series on representations of birds in Hindustani raags and compositions, we feature vihang, a generic term in Sanskrit for a bird. I have yet to come across any khayal or thumri-dadra compositions that mention this word, but there is a rarely heard raag that goes by this name. Here is a rendition of the raag Vihang by the Jaipur-Atrauli maestro Mallikarjun Mansur. He sings a vilambit or slow-paced composition set to the 16-matra Teentaal.
We follow this with another raag named Vihanginee, which seems to suggest a connection with the word vihang. This is a raag composed by Kirana gharana exponent Mani Prasad and we have a presentation by him on the next track. He sings a composition set to a medium-paced Addha taal, a rhythmic cycle of 16 matras.
This raag is said to have inspired eminent composer Hridayanath Mangeshkar to use it in the film Lekin.
As I mentioned, the word vihang is not easily accessible in Hindustani compositions, but here is a composition created by the iconoclastic vocalist Kumar Gandharva....
