Soul Mantra

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

The King of Mantras…..

I BOW TO SHIVA, THE DESTROYER OF THE EGO AND ALL NEGATIVE QUALITIES.
I BOW TO THE INNER SELF.

OM – The primal vibration
SHIVA – The auspicious me, the divine consciousness that resides in the heart of all beings

The words Na Ma Shi Va Ya also embody the five elements that everything in our cosmos is composed of:
NA – Earth
MAH – Water
SHI – Fire
VA – Air
YA – Space

Continuous recitation of this Mantra purifies all the elements in ourselves and in the universe.
Tantric Scriptures – The Tirumandiram – from over 2000 years ago show us the benefits of chanting this Panchakshara (5 syllabic) mantra.

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA ….

BHAIRAV

(Mayamalava Gowlai – Camatic equivalent)
Taal – Ek Taal – 12 beats
A major morning raga, with the mood of renunciation and pathos, this raga is named after an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Bhairav uses a seven note (Sampoorna) scale ascending and descending, whose 2nd and 6th notes are flat (Re, Dha Komal)

Scale
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
1 2♭ 3 4 5 6♭ 7 1
1 7 6♭ 5 4 3 2♭ 1
(1 is approximately A in this recording)

YAMANKALYAN

(YamanKalyani – Carnatic equivalent)
Taal – Punjabi Theka – 8 beats
No other raga has cut so wide a swathe across all genres of Indian music as has Yaman – the auspicious, masterly evening raga. It is at once capable of evoking a multitude of emotions – from pious devotion to lighthearted joy. Yamankalyan, drawn from Yaman, uses a sampoorna scale ascending and descending and uses both Mas (Shuddh and Thivra) – the 4th notes.

Scale
a Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
​​Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga, Re Ga Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
1 2 3 5♭ 5 6 7 1
1 7 6 5 5♭ 3, 2 3 4 3 2 1

​​TODI

(Subapanthuvarali – Carnatic Equivalent)
Taal – Dhamar – 14 beats.
This deeply devotional and romantic morning Raga was the creation of Tansen, the court musician of Akbar, the great emperor of yester – years. Todi uses a sampoorna scale with flat and sharp notes (Re, Ga, Dha, Komal; Ma Thivra) which give it a uniquely gut wrenching pathos.

Scale
Sa Re Ga Ma Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
1 2♭ 3♭ 5♭ 6♭ 7 1
1 7 6♭ 5 5♭ 3♭ 2♭ 1

HAMSADHWANI

(Hamsadhwani – Carnatic equivalent)
Taal – Addha – 8 beats
A popular Carnatic raga, Hamsadhwani’s bright, resounding, fast moving notes evoke joyous devotion.
The Raga uses a pentatonic scale with no flat notes. The 4th and 6th notes are omitted in ascent and descent.

Scale
Sa Re Ga Pa Ni Sa
Sa Ni Pa Ga Re Sa

Western
1 2 3 5 7 1
1 7 5 3 2 1

BHIMPALASI

(Bhimpalasi – Carnatic equivalent)
Taal – Tevra – 7 beats.
This majestic mid – afternoon raga, reaches deeply into our devotional being with visions of oneness with the Shiva in us. This Raga uses a seven note scale, with Re and Dha omitted in the ascent. The third and seventh notes are flat (Ga, Ni Komal)

Scale
Ni Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
7♭ 1 3♭ 4 5 7♭ 1
1 7♭ 6 5 4 3♭ 2 1

LALIT

(Lalit – no clear Carnatic equivalent)
Taal – Teentaal – 16 beats
No other ancient raga so fittingly heralds the break of dawn like Lalit – with its deeply moving intense, pleading notes and movements. Lalit is a hexatonic raga in which the 5th note (pa) is excluded, making Ma, the 4th note, very dominant. It also uses both Mas in succession (the only raga where this occurs), which makes for very moving interplays.

Scale
Ni Re Ga Ma, Ma Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha Ma, Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
7 2♭ 3 4, 5♭ 6♭ 7 1
1 7 6♭ 5♭ 4 3 2♭ 1

BAIRAGI

(Revathi – Camatic equivalent)
Taal – Sultaal – 10 beats
This morning raga is suffused with devotion and piety – many of its notes are used in traditional mantra/veda chanting. Bairagi uses a pentatonic scale whose 2nd and 7th notes are flat (Re, Ni Komal)

Scale
Sa Re Ma Pa Ni Sa
Sa Ni Pa Ma Re Sa

Western
1 2♭ 4 5 7♭ 1
1 7♭ 5 4 2♭ 1

KEDAR

(Hamir Kalyani – near Carnatic equivalent)
Taal – Roopak- 7 beats
This early night raga is named after Lord Shiva, in his ascetic, deeply meditative form. Many oblique melodic movement characterize this raga which is a soothing balm to the soul. Kedar uses mainly shuddha notes with the addition of Thivra Ma and the occasional use of Komal Ni.

Scale
Sa Ma Ga Pa, Ma Pa Dha Pa Sa
Sa Ni Dha Pa, Ma Pa Dha Pa Ma Re Sa

Western
1 4 3 5, 5♭ 5 6 5 1
1 7 6 5, 5♭ 5 6 5 4 2 1

BHAIRAVI/RAGAMALA MEDLEY

(Sindhu Bhairavi – Carnatic near equivalent)
Taal – Keherwa – 8 beats
Truly the most versatile of all Hindustani Ragas, Bhairavi is used to depict a wide range of moods, feelings and genres – from deeply devotional, pleasingly romantic, to wailingly plaintive. It is often used as an ending raga in concerts.
Bhairavi uses a sampoorna scale with four flat notes (Re Ga Dha Ni Komal) in ascent and descent.
Interjected into Bhairavi is a medley of all the nine ragas used in the compositions.

Scale
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

Western
1 2♭ 3♭ 4 5 6♭ 7♭ 1
1 7♭ 6♭ 5 4 3♭ 2♭ 1

CHANDRIKA KRISHNAMURTHY TANDON

Throughout her spiritual and musical journey, Chandrika has had the great fortune of having been guided by some wonderful musicians and people – her mother Shantha Krishnamurthy, Pandit Jasraj, who introduced her to Hindustani music, Girish Wazalwar, Vijay Kichlu, Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Shubhra Guha, T. Viswanathan and B.V.

Raman / Lakshman – in both Hindustani and Carnatic traditions. She sings western music and can sing in many languages including French, Portuguese and English. Chandrika has conceived of the idea of Soul Mantra, composed all the pieces, and sung them.

TEJENDRA NARAYAN MAJUMDAR

Tejendra is one of the foremost sarod players in the world. He is also a composer and arranger of music. Groomed by the late Ustad Bahadur Khan, he bloomed under the guidance of the greatest sarod maestro of our time, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. Tejendra’s music sparkles with the very rare combination of virtuosity with classical purity and a deep sense of aesthetics. His style today is a fusion of dhrupad, tantrakari and gayaki ang, representing the baaj of Maihar gharana. Tejendra has taken part in almost all the prestigious concerts and conferences in India and abroad.

He has also composed and arranged music for many albums of popular singers, films and ballets. Tejendra has arranged music for all of Chandrika’s albums.

CREDITS

Assistant Music Arranger: Snehasish Mozumder
Recorded at: Resonance Studios, Kolkata
Recording Engineer: Gautam Basu
Mixing / Mastering: Wings Studio, Mumbai
Design: Glamour Design Studio, Mumbai
Special Thanks to: Anjali Sharma, Vijay Kichlu, Shubhra Guha, Girish Wazalwar, Tinnu Anand & Ranjan Tandon