Indian Classical Music dates back to Vedic period. Dr. Lalmani Misra researched into the music of Sama-Veda and deciphered the notes used in that period. To save these notes for posterity he created a Raga – Sameshwari. This Raga was beautifully rendered by a vocalist of repute and disciple of Dr. Lalmani Misra, Dr. Lakshmi Ganesh Tewari. In a personal interview he said,_
"If the Vedic notes are traditionally considered to be M G R S D, then in relation to modern music practices, the notes would be S N D P G. In those times there were no microphones or loudspeakers. Sam was sung in large, wide, open or canopied spaces with the intention that all present should be able to hear it. In such a condition if the song has notes M G R S D it would be audible at best in a single room, but if the notes, S N D P G starting from Tār-saptak are sung they would be loud enough for all to hear. So, from this angle of usage too, S N D P G seems more appropriate than M G R S D._
In this way I found S N D P G M R, S N D P G as prominent notes and M R as minor notes to be the Sāmik notes."
This Raga has also been presented by his daughter, Ragini on sitar at a function organized by Madhukali, Bhopal.
Dr. Ragini Trivedi, after the death of her father and brother Dr. Gopal Shankar Misra is now the sole exponent of Misrabani, a style of playing string instruments that was established by the vichitra veena maestro.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
