Friday, October 29, 2010

Mood and Notes (Part 2)


Prior Reading

  1. The Holy Grail of Music
  2. Swars and emotional response
  3. Musical nuances and emotional response
  4. Moods and Notes (Part 1)

Question

Why is it that certain notes create an unstable mood while others create a stable mood?

Answer

Before we go any deeper, let us state some observations. One note is always stable if it is sustained without change of frequency. Also, any note is stable, if there are no other notes in the background. For this discussion, let us assume that there is a continuous base note in the background. All notes will be relative to this base note.
  • A note that matches in frequency with another note (usually played/sung with a different timbre) also creates stability. As an example, a singer singing Sa, that is in perfect tune with that of a Tanpura (drone) creates stability in the listener.
  • A note that's not correctly sung or played (out-of-tune or besur) generates instability, sometimes even to the point of pain!
  • Certain notes appear to be harmonious with a given note. Examples include Sa:Pa, Sa:Ma, Sa:Ga, etc.
  • Certain notes appear to be discordant with a given note. Examples include Teevra Ma:Sa, Komal Re:Sa, Shuddha Ni:Sa, Komal Dha:Sa, etc.

Relationship between two notes

One note in isolation is not interesting. When two notes are taken together, one acting as a background base note, the other acting as the foreground, lead note, then we have music. Someone said "Anyone can draw one dot on a canvas. To draw the second dot, you need to be an artist".

Let us analyse the relationships between two notes in an octave. One of the fundamental relationship is the ratio of frequencies.

Ratios

  • The same note played together is the best match. Ratio of 1:1!
  • Certain notes appear to be the "same note, just higher or lower". The frequency of the higher "same note" is 2:1 and that of the lower "same note" is 0.5:1. These notes have the highest stability relative to each other -- indeed, they seem to be the same note!
  • The midpoint of an octave appears to have the next best stability. This note is at a ratio of 3:2 and is called Pa.
  • If we shift Pa to the lower Sa, then the Upper Sa is shifted to a frequency of 4*Sa / 3. This Swar, with a ratio of 4:3 to Sa, is called Ma. 
  • Notes that have simpler ratios with a given base note's frequency are also perceived as creating a stable effect. Ga:Sa (5:4) and Komal Ga:Sa (6:5)
  • A note that has complex ratios with a given base note's frequency are perceived as creating instability. Examples include Komal Re:Sa (256:243), Teevra Ma:Sa (45:32), Komal Dha:Sa(128:81), Shuddha Ni:Sa (243:128).
  • Some notes are neither simple, nor complex in ratio: Shudha Re:Sa (9:8), Komal Ni:Sa (16:9), Shuddha Dha:Sa (27:16)
  • The smaller the amount of deviation in a note from a given frequency, the higher the amount of instability. Thus a slightly besur note will be far more unstable than a blatantly besur note.

Case Study: Maarwa vs. Pooriya.

From Mood and Notes (Part 1), we have:

  • Stability(Komal Re + Shuddha Dha) < Stability(Shuddha Ga + Shuddha Ni + Sa)

If we look at the ratios of these swars, we can rewrite this inequality as follows:

  • Stability (256/243) + Stability(27/16) < Stability(5/4) + Stability(243/128) + Stability(1/1 or 2/1)
We can "cancel" Komal Re and Shuddha Ni from this equation -- they seem to contribute in seemingly equal amounts to the instability based on their complex ratios.

  • Stability(27/16) < Stability(5/4) + Stability(1/1 or 2/1)
From this, it's clear that Maarwa has no stabilizing components, but Pooriya has 2 (Shuddha Ga and Sa). However, both have unstable components in excess of stabilizing components, and hence the average effect created will be unstable. Maarwa creates a pure melancholic effect while Pooriya feels more like longing.

First Insight

Simpler ratios create stability, complex ratios create instability.

Second Insight

The more complex the ratio, the more unstable it becomes -- besur or out-of-tune notes have very complex ratios.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Mood and Notes (Part 1)

Prior Reading

  1. The Holy Grail of Music
  2. Swars and emotional response
  3. Musical nuances and emotional response

Question

What mood is created given a set of notes?

Answer

We certainly know now, that the choice of swars (notes) matter in creating mood. However answering "what mood?" is subjective due to influences of culture, prior experiences, meaning of the composition, etc.
We will try and make the "What mood" part simpler to analyse. Let us define a spectrum of emotion, unstable to stable. We will not call these moods by their names, but rather just a point on this spectrum.

Stable Emotions

  • Shades of Happiness (Amusement, Delight, Elation, Joy, Pleasure), 
  • Shades of Love (Caring, Affection, Empathy, Friendliness), 
  • Shades of Serene (Calm, Content, Relaxed) 
  • Courage, Hope, Pride, Excitement, Anticipation, etc. 

Unstable Emotions

  • Shades of Sadness (Despair, Disappointment, Hurt, Longing) 
  • Shades of Anger (Frustration, Annoyance, Contempt, Disgust, Irritation) 
  • Shades of Fear (Helplessness, Doubt, Tension, Stress, Agitation, Worry, Anxiety, Embarrassment Guilt, Shame) 
  • Shock, Envy, Boredom, etc. 

Factors affecting stability

Right off the bat, we can come up with certain factors that usually dictate whether a piece of music is more stable or unstable.
  • Tempo : slower tempos suggest negative emotions while faster tempos suggest stable emotions. 
  • Choice of notes: A common observation is that "suddha" (natural) notes usually create more stability while "komal" (flat) or "teevra" (sharp) notes usually create more instability. 
  • Proportion of notes: The relative ratio of Shuddha vs. Komal/Teevra notes used directly influences the resultant emotion. 
  • Use of volume, timber, meaning, etc. 

Case study: Maarwa vs. Pooriya

Raga rules dictate the set of notes to use, allowed transitions between notes, time spent on a given note and relative proportion. Thus, if we take more than one Raga that have the same set of notes, then we should be able to analyze the relative differences in their emotions without too much effort.

Raga Maarwa and Pooriya share the same set of notes. However, it is commonly accepted that Maarwa is more negative than Pooriya.
Or, Maarwa < Pooriya in stability.
The difference between Maarwa and Pooriya is simply a matter of proportions.
In Maarwa, Komal Re and Shuddha Dha are prominent while Sa, Shuddha Ga and Shuddha Ni are diminished,

In Pooriya, Shuddha Ga and Shuddha Ni are prominent while Komal Re and Shuddha Dha are diminished.

Teevra Ma, for all practical purposes, is used in the same proportion in both.

We can state the following inequality:
Stability(Komal Re + Shuddha Dha) < Stability(Shuddha Ga + Shuddha Ni + Sa)
Based on the "Choice of notes" assumption above, we can see that Maarwa has a stronger negative side, while Pooriya has a stronger positive side.

More Questions

We were able to analyze a pair of Ragas with the same set of notes and separate them in the emotion spectrum based on their rules and proportions of notes.

However, we still don't know why! This will be the topic of a future blog.

Musical nuances and emotional response

Prior Reading

  1. The Holy Grail of Music
  2. Swars and emotional response

Question

For musical phrases that differ in only nuances, is there a clear correlation in the resultant emotional response?

Answer

If we keep the notes of a musical phrase the same, we have the following degrees of freedom, or nuances
  • Tempo 
  • Volume 
  • Timbre or Texture 
  • Pitch 

First Insight

The same compositions rendered by different artists, or even the same artist at different points in time can be significantly different in the emotional response they elicit. Nuances clearly have a say in the matter. This is a case of "How you sing it" vs. "What you sing".

Second Insight

Different volume stresses on notes or words create different effects. Softer notes usually express sadness while volume-stressed notes usually express upbeat emotions.

Third Insight

Tempo seems to have a clear correlation to emotional response. Lower tempos, both overall and over subsets of a phrase express softer emotions like melancholy. Higher tempos, both overall and over subsets of a phrase, express upbeat emotions like cheerfulness, etc.

Fourth Insight

Pitch does not seem to make as big of a difference. A female voice vs. a male voice singing the same song in the same way may differ only in intensity of the emotion. A higher pitch voice usually has more energy due to the high frequency. The difference is very small though, in my opinion.

Fifth Insight

Timbre or the Texture of the sound can affect the brain differently. Different instruments, different vocal qualities can create different effects for the same piece of music. Correlating exact changes to emotional response is difficult though. Cues from spoken communication can guide initial thought.

Swars and emotional response

Prior Reading 
  1. The Holy Grail of Music
Question
Does the choice of swars (notes) affect the resultant emotion?

Answer
Answering this question directly is very difficult. Let us try an indirect approach instead.

Experiment Setup
Let us start with a set of notes or Swars. We create another set of notes, which differs from the first set by a given number of notes. Differences include omission, inclusion and modification of a note.

Now let us ask the following questions based on this experimental setup:

  • For all pairs of notes that differ by exactly one note, is there always a difference in the emotional response, assuming the generated music is rendered the same way?
  • Let us keep the first set of notes constant. Let us generate all sets that differ from the first set by one note. Do all these newly generated sets differ from each other in their emotional response?
  • If the number of notes changed is small, is the change in expression, if any, correspondingly proportional?
  • If we generate a second set that is completely different in all notes (complete inversion), do we get high separation in the resultant emotions?
First Insight
Most Raags that differ from each other in exactly one Swar have different emotions attached. 

Second Insight
The resultant change in emotion does not seem proportional to the size of the change.

Third Insight
Raags that have the same set of swars, just different in the rules of transition can have markedly different emotions attached.


The Holy Grail of Music

Music is very powerful as a communication medium because it operates at the visceral, subconscious and conscious levels. Adept musicians employ music to elicit a spectrum of emotions, mental imagery and even physiological changes in the listeners.


But this raises the following questions:

  • Why does music elicit a response at the physiological and psychological levels? Is the connection deeper?
  • There is a clearly demonstrated cultural factor in responses to different pieces of music, but what is known of the culture independent aspects of music? 
  • What aspects of music control the spectrum of emotional response?
  • As is true with spoken language, is "how you sing something" more important than "what you sing" when it comes to expression in music?
  • At the neurological level, how is language and music different? How are they similar?
These (at least in my mind) are the Holy Grail of music. Finding the answers is a quest. I will devise small and simple experiments to tackle some of the easier aspects of these, to gain insights at the macro level.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

2007 ePrasaran Internet Radio Interview by Dr. Subhash Risbud, Atul Vaidya (48 Min)

Sandeep Ranade talks about his musical inspiration, Ragamatics, creating mood through music, riyaaz technique, etc. He also renders some of his composed Bandishes and tells the story behind them.

Interviewer: Dr. Subhash Risbud
Harmonium: Vivek Datar
Tabla: Shripad Torvi
Recorded: September 2007

A special thanks to Shree Atul Vaidya, co-founder, ePrasaran Internet Radio.

Mp3 (48 Min, 44MB)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Shivaranjani, 16 beats (August 2010)

Composition
तेरे और मेरे जो सपने सजे ||
सपने जो यादे बनके रह गए || ध्रु ||

हम दो दिलोंके अलग रास्ते ||
मुहब्बत रही तेरे ही वसते ||
जी लेंगे तेरी ये यादे लिए || १ ||
Explanation

Remember all those wonderful dreams we wove together, that we thought would become real one day? Well, they will  live on as just dreams now ...

We were never meant to be together, but I will  keep loving you and only you! I'll keep myself happy in those fond memories of the past ... It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all...

Miyaan-Ki-Malhar, Drut Teentaal (June 2010)

सावन घनन घनन ॥
घन घोर घनन, बूंदन सनननन ॥
बिजुरी गिरि गिरि रननन ॥ ध्रु ॥ 
मन तराना गाये तननन
धिर धिर धिर, धिर धिर धिर तों, उमड घुमड घन ॥
ओदानी ओदानी दानी यललोम यललोम ॥
प’ S ग’ म’ रे’ सा’, नि रे’ सा’ रे’ नि सा’ नि ध नि प म प,
ग म रे सा नि सा, रे प म प (नि ध नि सा’ सा’ नि सा’ सा)’ x ३ ॥१॥

मन तराना गाये तननन
बरसत, गरजत, दमकत, झमकत, टपकत सावन ॥
दिन दिन दिन, नागे नागे नागे,
घन घन घन, तिन तिन तिन,
घे घे धिन, घे घे घिन, भिगी भिगी तन (धुमकिटतक धा ति घिं त धा) x ३ ॥ २॥

मन तराना गाये तननन
'नादरंग' छनन नाचे मगन मन ॥
गगन गगन देखो घिर घिर आये ॥३॥

Explanation
This is a "Chatarang". Chatarang is formed by the Sanskrit words "Chatur" meaning "four" and "Anga" meaning "body". A Chatarang is a composition that has four distinct bodies - Bandish, Tarana, Pakhawaj (Bols) and Sargam. This Chatrang is an onomatopoeic description of a rainy day.

The rain clouds, dark and heavy have taken over the sky. Thunder rumbles in the distance, rain drops pitter patter on the ground as lightning streaks across the sky. Today marks the end of a long, hot, thirsty summer!

The heart sings in joy and celebration, accompanied by the drum beats and melody of thunder and rain.

Water rains down in droplets and in sheets, filling the lakes, making puddles sparkle everywhere, soaking everyone's skins.

‘Naadrang’ dances and sings, immersed in bliss, as the dark, heavy sky seems to sag as if to touch the earth!

Chandrakauns, Madhyalaya Roopak (February 2010)

Composition
जा जा बोलो ना कान्हा ॥
सब जगत के तुम पालक ॥ 
हमरी बेर क्योँ झूठा बहाना? ॥ध्रु॥

बन ठन के तोरी देखी बाँट ॥
शाम ढली, बीती रात ॥
कौन समझे मोरा आसूँ बहाना? ॥१॥

Explanation
Don't speak to me, Kanha (Krishna)!
Why do you give your time to everyone, but when it comes to me, you make false excuses?

I was waiting for you, all dressed up for the occasion... and kept waiting till the evening turned to night. You don't understand that when you break your promise, it hurts me Kanha!

Shree, Madhyalaya Teental (March 2009)

Composition
दु:ख बिन कैसी प्रीत, मोरे मीत? ॥
सुख दु:ख हैं ज्योत और धूँआ, 
एक बिना दूजा नही पाया॥
यही है जग कि रीत, मोरे मीत! ॥ध्रु॥
प्रीत में मेल बड़ा है मीठा ॥
प्रेम में बैर अधिक है तीखा ॥
इन बिन जीवन रस गयो बीत! ॥
'नादरंग' यही जीवन गीत ॥१॥

Explanation
Love hurts! 
Happiness and sorrow are like fire and fume, one cannot exist without the other. 
This is the way of life, my friend ... 
'Naadrang' says "In love, harmony is extra sweet and tiffs are extra spicy, but this is the music of life, making it melodious indeed!

Chandrakauns, Drut Teental (March 2009)

Composition
दिन रैन सब जन करत चिंतन ॥
Screen देखन में 'नादरंग' मगन ॥
मनन करत बीते जीवन ॥ ध्रु ॥

जब देखूँ तो देखत है Phone! ॥
नील-दंत (bluetooth!) लगाये कानन ॥
E-mail बिन तरपन, उलझन ॥
तंत्रद्यान कठिन सौतन! ॥१॥

Explanation
Day and night, everyone is lost -
staring at their screens
as life passes by.

Always on the phone,
Bluetooth stuck in ear,
anxiously awaiting the next email.
Technology is a harsh mistress!

Bhatiyaar, Madhyalaya Ektaal (February 2009)

(original composition)
पुरब से सूरज उगा ॥
फैला उजियाला ॥
जागी हर दिशा दिशा ॥ 
जागा जग सारा ॥ध्रु॥


(new Antara)
तन में तेज जगा ॥
मन में ग्यान जगा ॥ 
भागा अंधियारा ॥
जागी हर दिशा दिशा ॥ 
जागा जग सारा ॥१॥


Explanation
(The inspiration for this comes from Doordarshan's Rashtriya Saksharta Mission Ad. I have added the Antara for this poem.)

(original) The sun rising from the east, spreads light and warmth in the world. 


(new Antara)[A good education] similarly spreads vitality and knowledge in the world.

Miyaan-Malhar, Drut Teentaal (January 2009)

Composition
काहे को तुम मोहे सतायो?
हमने तेरो का बिगाडा?
जा के और किसीको सताओ!॥ध्रु॥

कबसे तोहे सहन करत हूं! ॥
ना जानूं कब इस से छूटूं! ॥
जा.के और किसीको सताओ! ॥१॥

Explanation
(To the incessant rain, or perhaps an annoying coworker!)

Why do you bother me so!? 
What harm have I done to you!? 
Please go bother anybody but me!

I have been tolerating your presence for so long! 
When will I be relieved of this irritation!? Please, just leave me alone!

Bilaskhani Todi, Madhyalaya Addha-Teentaal (December 2007)

Composition
पिया अब भूल जाओ भूल ॥ 
बोल हमारे, दु:ख पहुँचाए ॥
बोल तुम्हारे, हम गये भूल! ॥ध्रु॥

जो बोल थे हलके बोल ॥
चुभे काँटो जैसे हमरे बोल ॥
अब तो माफ करदो भूल! ॥१॥

Explanation
Dear, forget my mistake ...
I said some things that hurt you, 
You said some things that I ignored!

I did not mean to hurt you, but my words caused you pain.
Let us put this misunderstanding behind us!

Bandish Ki Thumri, Raga Hemawati, Madhyalaya Addha-Teentaal (October 2007)

Composition
मैं ना पा+उँ, मन जो चाहे ॥ 
कल है जैसे+ कारा अँधियारा ॥ध्रु॥

आज के ज्योती+ मेँ आज ही देखो ॥
कल होगा +नया उजियारा ॥१॥
Explanation
Life is not working out as I thought it would
The future is uncertain!

The best advise is to live in the present 
and believe that tomorrow is a brand new day!
 Recording

Bhimpalas, Drut Teentaal (October 2007)

Composition
जा मंदिरवा मोरे (पिया अब)॥
बिन तोरे कैसे मैं सुख पाउँ (पिया अब) ॥ध्रु॥

देख के तोरी, सुंदर सूरत ॥
मन गाये इस मंगल महूरत (पिया अब...) ॥१॥

Explanation
Come meet me, my love!
I wont be happy till we are together

When we met, I saw your breathtaking beauty and I definitely heard music!

Gorakh Kalyan, Drut Teentaal (September 2007)

Composition
बूँद बूँद बरसे नैना ॥ 
पलक न लागी, बीती रैना ॥ध्रु॥ (Note: Durga's Pancham)
बहुत सताये मोरे सजना ॥
गरवा लगाओ आवत चैना ॥१॥ (Note: Bageshree's Pancham)

Explanation
My eyes are tearful, I'm distraught and can't fall asleep
You have been tormenting me (with your absence) - 
I will feel content when you hold me close.

Charukeshi Tarana, Drut Ektaal (September 2007)

देर ना देर ना तन देरेना ॥
ओदानित तन नन ननन,
तदीम, तदीम, तदीम ॥ध्रु॥
ओदानी तनन देरे ना दीम ॥
ता दीम तनन देरे ना दीम ॥
धाकिटतक धुमकिटतक
[current version] (सा ग सा), (नी रे नी), (ध सा ध), (प नी प), (म ध म),
(ग प ग), (रे म रे) (सा नि सा रे ग …) (or alternatively सा नी ध नी सा रे ...) ॥१॥ 
[older version] (सा सा, नी नी सा, नी नी सा) (सा नी सा) (ध ध नी) (प प ध) 
(म म प) (ग ग म) (रे रे ग) ॥१॥


Note: This is a Tarana composed with syllables from Tabla, "Nom Tom ke Bol", etc. A Tarana is purely aesthetic in melody and rhythm, not semantic.

Ahir Bhairav, Drut Teentaal (August 2007)

Composition
पिया रूठो ना, झूठो॥ 
मुसकान छिपी मुख पे ॥ध्रु॥ 

मन की बात 'नादरंग' जाने ॥ 
आँखियाँ सच बतलाये ॥१॥

Explanation
Don't feign anger with me dear,
I can see your lips twitch!
'Naadrang' knows you rather too well ...
Your eyes betray the truth!

Jog, Madhyalaya Teentaal (August 2007)

Composition
कब +तोहे मैँ देख पाऊँ?
अनगिनत जुग सम बीते !॥ध्रु॥
नौ ही१ दस पल दूर तुम गये ॥
'नादरंग' तरसे जैसे जुग जुग बीते ॥१॥
Explanation
When will I (Naadrang) be able to see you?
It's been so long!
You've been away for just a few moments, yet it feels that we have been apart for ages!

Ramkali, Madhyalaya Teentaal (June 2007)

Composition
हम का है कियो बतलाओ ॥
जैसे बिजुरी मोपर तु गिरी ॥
और मन पे दु:ख बरसायो ॥ध्रु॥

मोरे बलम क्यों हम संग रूठे? ॥
नैन तीर से मन मोरा टूटे ॥
प्रीत भाव न पायो ॥१॥

Explanation
What have I done, please tell me,
Your anger is like a lightning bolt,
that makes me unhappy!

My love, why are you angry at me?
Your fiery eyes are breaking my heart,
'Naadrang' thirsts to see the love in your eyes once more.

Jogkauns, Madhyalaya Ektaal (February 2007)

Composition
सुगंध मेँ बेहे जाऊँ ॥
नयनो मेँ खो जाऊँ ॥ध्रु॥
नूर मेँ सुख पाऊँ ॥
प्रीत मेँ स्वर्ग पाऊँ ॥१॥
Explanation
Youर fragrance is intoxicating.
Your eyes are hypnotic.
Your beauty gives me joy,
Your love is heaven!

Bageshree, Madhyalaya Teentaal (February 2007)

Composition
ऐसे तरपाओ ना मोहे॥
नटखट 'नादरंगीले' ॥ध्रु॥
क्या मैं करूँ अब, कित छिप जाऊँ ॥
पलकैँ मोरी झूकी झूकी ॥
(... तरपाओ ना ...)

Explanation
(A irritated wife to her husband)
"Don't bother me with your impish words!
All-a-flutter, I don't know what to do or where to hide!"

Maru Bihag, Drut Teentaal (January 2007)

Composition
क्या कहे, मन तोरा ॥
मोरे मन से, कहो आज ॥ध्रु॥
बस एक, नजर मोहे दीनी  ॥
'नादरंग' मंगल दिन आज ॥१॥

Explanation
Tell me your deepest thoughts, my love!
One look of love from you makes my day!

Ahir Bhairav, Madhyalaya Addha-Teentaal (January 2007)

Composition
मन की चाहत, अतही डरावत ॥
बोलत मन, 'नादरंग' बिसरावत ॥ध्रु॥
मन अती सोचत, प्रीत छिपावत ॥
मन से पूछत, प्रीत दिखावत! ॥१॥

Explanation
Afraid to face his feelings, 'Naadrang' ignores his inner voice.
Love is suppressed by reason; Get in touch with your true feelings!

Madhuwanti, Chautaal (September 2006)

Composition
जोर शोर पवन चलत ॥
फूल पतियाँ बरसत ॥
शीतल रुतु मन मोहत ॥ध्रु॥

व्रुंदावान डोलत ॥
छाया मेँ सब बोलत ॥
नादरंगीले झूलत ! ॥१॥

Explanation
The wind is howling;
The leaves are swirling;
I love this beautiful evening.

The folks of Vrindavan,
Are happily chatting in the twilight;
Dancing, engrossed in the music!

Yaman, Drut Teentaal (November 2004)

Composition
मोरे बालमाँ, कब आए ॥
उन बिन जियरा तरसे, अखियाँ बरसे ॥ध्रु॥
'नादरंग' व्याकुल दरस बिना ॥
बाँट देखत ये दिन गये बीत ॥
उन बिन जियरा तरसे, अखियाँ बरसे ॥१॥
Explanation
"When will my love arrive?
Without whom, my heart is anxious, my eyes are moist".
'Naadrang' longs for his love, the days creeping by inexorably slowly;
His heart is anxious, his eyes are moist.

Maarwa, Madhyalaya Teentaal (August 2004)

Composition
जाऊँ मैँ जाऊँ जाऊँ, परदेस ॥
जाऊँ दूर, अपनोँ से ॥ध्रु॥
जब से 'नादरंग' बिदेस  गये ॥ 
अखियाँ निस दिन तरस रही हैँ ॥ 
मैया के दरसन को ॥१॥
Explanation
"I am embarking on a long journey;
Away from family and friends".
Ever since 'Naadrang's' departure,
He has been very homesick, and misses his mother a lot!

Malkauns, Drut Teentaal/Madhyalaya Roopak (February 2003)

Composition (Drut Teentaal version)
पिया मोरे आवत नाही ॥
जिया तरसे, मैँ कासे कहूँ ॥
मोरे मन की बतियाँ, न पूछे ॥ध्रु॥
जब से पिया गए परदेस ॥
दरस की प्यासी अखियाँ तरसे ॥
मोरे मन की न सोचे, न सोचे, न सोचे ॥१॥

Composition (Madhyalaya Roopak version)
पिया मोरे आवत नाही ॥
जिया तरसे, मैँ कासे कहूँ ॥
मोरे मन की बतियाँ, न पूछे ॥ध्रु॥
जब से पिया परदेस गए ॥
दरस की प्यासी अखियाँ तरसे ॥
मोरे मन की बिथा,  न सोचे, न सोचे, न सोचे ॥१॥

Explanation
My dearest is not going to be home tonight.
Whom should I share my heart's distress with?

Ever since my love has been away,
My eyes have been thirsty to see his/her face
He/She cant imagine the turmoil I am in.

Recording

Miyaan-ki-Malhaar, Drut Ektaal (July 2002)

Composition
घन घोर मेघा छाये ॥
बिजुरी सरसराये ॥ध्रु॥
कारी घटा बौछारे ॥
'नादरंग' सुख पावे ॥१॥

Explanation 
The sky is overcast with dark rain clouds;
Lightening slithers across the heavens;
Dark, black clouds are pouring rain;
The experience is blissful indeed, for 'Naadrang'.

Miyaan-ki-Malhaar, Vilambit Ektaal (June 2002)

Composition
बरसे गरजे दु:ख के बादल ॥
हो गया मोरा मनवा घायल ॥
दरसन दीजो अब गिरिधारी ॥ध्रु॥

बीत गयी घडी, उलझन की ॥
'नादरंग' पार कराओ भवजलधी ॥
दरसन दीजो अब गिरिधारी ॥१॥

Explanation
Clouds of sorrow are rumbling, pouring with rain; 
My mind is in distracted, melancholy; 
Guide me, O Giridhari. 

The time of sorrow has passed; 
Show 'Naadrang' the path to enlightenment; 
Guide me, O Giridhari.

Lalit, Drut Teentaal (March 2002)

Composition
भोर भई अब जागो गोपाला ॥
रैन बीत गई, हुआ उजाला ॥ध्रु॥


उदय भयो अब उघरी अखियाँ ॥
काहे टूटे ना, तुम्हरी नींदीयाँ ॥
सखा पुकारत लाला ॥१॥


Explanation
It's dawn; wake up Gopala;
The night has passed, the sky is lit.


It's sunrise, open your eyes;
Why are you still so sleepy?
Your friend calls for you.

Hansadhwani, Chautaal June 2001)

Composition
जपन करो हरिनाम ॥
निस दिन जप जो करिये ॥
वो जाए हरि धाम ॥ध्रु॥

दिन दिन  जपन किये,
'नादरंग' दु:ख भूल गये ॥
राम नाम तेज अपार ॥
माया जाल कर पार ॥१॥


Explanation
Chant His name daily;
If you chant His name every day,
you shall find enlightenment.

'Naadrang' forgets all strife and pain after chanting His name every day.
His name has immense power!
Please, guide us through life!