Patti (Mahala 3)

Rag Asa
Of the thirty-one principal rags in the Guru Granth Sahib, Rag Asa is designated the fourth place in the sequence. The Bani of six Gurus and five Bhagats under this rag is recorded from pages 347 to 488 of the Guru Granth Sahib. This includes one hundred seventy Sabads by Guru Nanak Sahib, fifteen by Guru Angad Sahib, forty-eight by Guru Amardas Sahib, thirty by Guru Ramdas Sahib, one hundred eighty-eight by Guru Arjan Sahib, one by Guru Teghbahadar Sahib, thirty-seven by Bhagat Kabir Ji, five by Bhagat Namdev Ji, six by Bhagat Ravidas Ji, and two each by Bhagat Dhanna Ji, and Sheikh Farid Ji. Guru Nanak Sahib revealed the greatest number of Sabads in this rag.

In Gurmat Sangit (Sikh Devotional Music), Rag Asa (a musical mode) is incredibly significant. The melodious notes of this rag can be heard everywhere in the land of Panjab. Every morning, the golden rays of dawn stream together to the sweet melody of ‘Asa Ki Var.’ As the redness of every evening is gradually absorbed in the lap of nature, the melodious notes of this rag sing the praises of ‘So Dar.’

There are many prevalent forms of Rag Asa. In earlier times, ragis sang this rag in various angs (styles), such as Pahari ang, Bilaval ang, Kalian ang, and Kaphi ang. Four other forms of Rag Asa are also included in the Guru Granth Sahib, such as Rag Asa Kaphi, Asavari Sudhang, Asa Asavari, and Asavari.

Rag Asa is not commonly sung in Hindustani music, and there is little information about it in musicology texts. Another rag similar to Rag Asa is Rag ‘Mand,’ and both are based on folk tunes. While the same notes are used in both Rag Asa and Rag Mand, since they are rendered differently, they form distinct rags.

Rag Asa is devotional in nature. Master Bhai Prem Singh, darbari ragi (court musician) and poet of the state of Patiala, writes in ‘Ratan Sangit Bhandar’ that Rag Asa is a combination of Sirirag, Rag Megh, and Rag Maru. This rag falls in the category of sandhi-prakash rags, which are sung and played in the mornings and evenings. This is an utrang vadi rag.

Rag Asa is Panjab’s famous and melodious rag. Long before Guru Nanak Sahib’s time, the famous ‘Tunde Asraje Di Var’ (an ode to the maimed king Asraj) was also sung in this rag. The Bani of the bhagat contributors of the Guru Granth Sahib, who predate Guru Nanak Sahib, is also written in this rag. Hence, Rag Asa was prevalent even before the arrival of Guru Nanak Sahib. Folk legends, songs, stories, and tunes sung and narrated in Rag Asa were extremely pleasing and popular. Due to its unique qualities, outside of the kirtan tradition, Rag Asa is still dominant in folk music, classical music, and cinema.

Sri Vimalkant Rai Chaudhary describes two forms of the Rag ‘Asha’ in Hindustani music. In one form, notes Re, Ga, Dha, and Ni are komal (flat), and in the other form, Ni is flat, and the jati (class) is aurav-sharav. This second form of Rag Asha is closer to the Rag Asa prevalent in Gurmat Sangit (Sikh Devotional Music). The form accepted by the Rag Nirnayak Committee is as follows:

Description of Rag Asa
That: Bilaval.
Svar (notes): All shudh (natural).
Varjit Svar (forbidden notes): Ga and Ni in aroh (ascending scale).
Jati (class): aurav-sampuran.
Vadi (prominent note): Ma.
Samvadi (sub-prominent note): Sa.
Aroh (ascending scale): Sa, Re Ma, Pa, Dha Sa (tar saptak - upper octave).
Avroh (descending scale): Sa (tar saptak - upper octave) Ni Dha Pa, Ma, Ga Re Sa Re Ga Sa.
Mukh Ang/Pakar (main part): Re Ma, Pa, Dha Sa (tar saptak - upper octave), Ni Dha Pa Ma, Ga Sa Re Ga Sa.

Singing Time
The first quarter of the morning (dawn) and the evening (dusk).