Deshkar has exactly the swaras of Bhoopali: Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha, with neither Ma nor Ni. Yet the two are never mistaken by anyone who knows them. Bhoopali lives in the lower half and dwells on Ga, in the evening; Deshkar lives in the upper half, on Dha and Pa, touches Re and Sa only lightly, and belongs to the morning. It belongs to Bilawal thaat.
Hear it
How it moves
Dha is Deshkar's vadi and Ga its samvadi. Its phrases circle Pa and Dha:
Where Bhoopali falls to mandra Dha and rests on Sa, Deshkar keeps its weight high: on Pa and Dha, and on taar Sa.
Its hour
Deshkar belongs to the second prahar of the day, the late morning. Its vadi, Dha, lies in the upper half of the saptak, which by Bhatkhande's observation places a raag between midnight and noon: the mirror of Bhoopali's evening.
On the bansuri
- S
- R
- G
- P
- D
- S
- Play it high: Deshkar's phrases live around Pa, Dha and taar Sa. Let Re and Sa pass quickly.
- The trap is the opposite of Bhoopali's: dwelling on Ga and Sa, or dipping below Sa, turns it into Bhoopali.
Look-alikes
Shuddh Kalyan climbs as Deshkar does, but lives low, and lets Ni and tivra Ma in on the way down:
Practise it
- Long notes on Dha and Pa.
- The aaroh and avaroh, slowly.
- Paltas in its five swaras, in threes.
- The pakad and the phrases, staying high.
All ten alankars in Deshkar, to hear in your Sa →
Meend starts it with Aaroh–Avaroh, Pakad, Paltas in Deshkar, Aalap and Bandish, 27 minutes a day, and listens as you play: each swara of the notation lit as it is played, the time kept, a lotus grown petal by petal.
Questions
What is the difference between Deshkar and Bhoopali?
The same five swaras. Deshkar lives in the upper half, on Dha and Pa, in the morning; Bhoopali in the lower half, on Ga, in the evening.
Which thaat is Deshkar in?
Bilawal.
When is Deshkar sung?
In the second prahar of the day, the late morning.