Ahir bhairav

This appealing rag is supposedly a mixture of the now obsolete Ahiri and Bhairav and according to D. C. Vedi, a relatively recent rag.

 Since the melodic movements in the lower half of the octave reflect the distinctive features of Bhairav, rag Ahir bhairav is often included in the Bhairav group of rag-s. 

Some musicians regard it as a mixture of Bhairav (lower tetrachord) and Kafi (upper tetrachord) [Bhatkhande (KPM V) 1974: 346].

Tone material: S r G m P D n

Pa is sometimes avoided in the ascent. The descent can be direct, as in S n D P m G r S, especially in the fast passages, but often it is : S n D P m, G m \ r S  or even  : S n P m G m\r S  with a slight oscillation on flat Re, to express the character of Bhairav.

 Pa and Sa are the important notes in this rag, however Ga can be sustained as well, especially as in r \n S r G-

Some characteristic phrases:n S D n / r – S
r \n D
r \n S r G-
n S r G m \r S

Due to the presence of the flat Ni In the upper tetrachord of Ahir bhairav, it is natural to have some impressions of Kafi or Khamaj. However, with the inclusion of flat Re, and the characteristic passage D n /r, the image of Ahir bhairav can be maintained.

Time: early morning, after sunrise

[ The full tone material is:

S r R g G m M P d D n N S

Komal is lowercase, shuddh is uppercase.

 In the case of ma lowercase is shuddh, uppercase is tivr. There are no lower or upper octave markers. Grace notes are not indicated except for / (slide upward), \ (slide downward), ~ (slow oscillation, andolan). Durations have been indicated at three levels: short (no space), normal (space), prolonged (with hyphen – ): S R G (normal); SRG (fast); S – R – G – (each note long). ]