Bhairavi lowers all four swaras that can be komal: Re, Ga, Dha and Ni. Only Sa, Ma and Pa are left as they are. It is the darkest of the ten thaats, and its raags are some of the most deeply felt in Hindustani music: raag Bhairavi itself, which by long custom closes a concert, and Malkauns, the great raag of midnight.
Its swaras
Komal Re, a semitone above Sa, is the swara that defines Bhairavi: it falls onto Sa like a sigh. With komal Ga, Dha and Ni beside it, nothing in the scale pushes upwards; everything leans down, towards home.
All ten alankars in Bhairavi, to hear in your Sa →
How bright it is
Four komal swaras: the foot of the ladder, four steps below Bilawal.
On the circle of thaats
Bhairavi sits beside Asavari: raise its Re and it is Asavari. On its other side the ring breaks: to reach Todi, two swaras must change, Ma raised to tivra and Ni to shuddh.
Its raags
Raag Bhairavi, a morning raag, is sung at the end of a concert at any hour; in its lighter forms every one of the twelve swaras is welcome. Malkauns, five swaras with neither Re nor Pa, is a raag of deep night. Bilaskhani Todi, Bhupal Todi and Komal Rishabh Asavari belong here too.
In the West and the South
In Western music it is the Phrygian mode: a minor scale with its second lowered too, E F G A B C D on the white keys.
In Karnatic music it is the 8th melakarta, Hanumatodi, the scale of Karnatic Todi. The names cross over: Karnatic Todi is Hindustani Bhairavi, and Hindustani Todi is another scale altogether.
Practise it
Tune komal Re against Sa: it lies so close that it is easy to let it drift. Hold Sa, then komal Re, then return to Sa, until each is still.
To make the ten thaats a daily riyaz, Meend has them ready: begin a riyaz of the thaats.
Questions
Which swaras are komal in Bhairavi thaat?
Re, Ga, Dha and Ni: all four that can be. Sa, Ma and Pa are as they always are.
Which raags are in Bhairavi thaat?
Bhairavi, Malkauns, Bilaskhani Todi, Bhupal Todi and Komal Rishabh Asavari, among others.
Why is Karnatic Todi the same as Hindustani Bhairavi?
The names travelled differently. Karnatic Todi, the 8th melakarta Hanumatodi, has the swaras of Bhairavi thaat; Hindustani Todi has a tivra Ma and a shuddh Ni.