Raga Bageshri or Bageshree (IAST: Bāgeśrī) is a Hindustani raga. It is a janya raga (derived scale) of the 22nd Melakarta raga Kharaharapriya. It is meant to depict the emotion of waiting for reunion with one's lover. Being a very melodic raga it has gained popularity over the centuries. Like all ragas, Raga Bageshri traces its origins to the Samaveda, a sacred Hindu text with roots that likely date back to around 1500 BCE, though its oral tradition could be much older [3].
Raga Bageshri is a night time raga (madhya raatri Ragsamaya), written in Kaafithaat, MaVadi, Sa Samvadi, 5/7 Jati, Hasya Rasa (associated with joyful, the comic, and happy emotions)[4]. [5]
In modern days, people like the popular Hindi music director C.Ramchandra favour composing songs in Bageshri, as he found it simple. In a 1978 interview at BBC studios with Mahendra Kaul, he explained this, while playing songs like (Radha na bole – Azad, 1955) that were set to Bageshri.[6]
Bageshri raga a popular raga. It is derived from the 22nd Melakarta, Kharaharapriya.[7] This raga is a janya raga (derived) as it does not have all the seven notes in the ascending scale.
Bageshri is an asymmetric scale that does not contain panchamam or rishabam in the ascending scale. It is called a audava-sampurna rāgam,[7] in Carnatic music classification (as it has 5 notes in ascending and 7 notes in descending scale). Its ārohaṇa-avarohaṇa structure is as follows (see swaras in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
Bageshri is a very melodic raga in Carnatic music.[7] So, even though this scale has been used only in a few krithis (compositions), many devaranamas, ashtapadis, thiruppugazhs, and other lyrics have been set to tune in this raga. It is typically sung in concerts after the main piece, in viruttams, padams, bhajans, and ragamalika.[7]