Remember how on August 15, 1989, raag Desh united the nation? On that special day, the legendary Pt. Bhimsen Joshi’s powerful rendition of ‘Lab pe jaage geet aisa, Goonje bankar desh raag’ resonated deeply within the hearts of millions. Surrounded by a lush landscape, his deep, sonorous voice reverberated as he sang, creating an unforgettable moment for the citizens of India. The song ‘Baje sargam har taraf se,’ crafted during the Doordarshan era to promote the message of national integration, also featured an ensemble of iconic musicians such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, M. Balamuralikrishna, Ustad Allah Rakha, and Zakir Hussain.
In a 2011 interview with The Hindu, the celebrated Carnatic musician Balamuralikrishna shared his emotional connection with both ‘Mile sur mera tumhara’ and ‘Baje Sargam.’ He said, “Having been born in the pre-Independence era, I became emotional when singing those lines filled with patriotic fervour. Being a composer myself, I could imagine the joy of creating this song with diverse artists, art forms, and instruments. I was excited to both play the violin and sing.”
An extremely melodious late-night raag, raag Desh is associated with the monsoon season and is often sung to convey the romance of rain. Despite its name, Desh, it was not originally intended to evoke patriotic sentiments. It acquired this characteristic after being used to compose the national song “Vande Mataram,” penned by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Since then, musicians and composers have embraced raag Desh to create melodies that promote national integration.
This August 15, as India celebrates its 78th Independence Day, the ITC Group has introduced a soul-stirring composition titled ‘Desh Ek Raag.’ This new creation features vocalists and instrumentalists from the Kolkata-based ITC Sangeet Research Academy (ITC-SRA). Adorned in colors of the Indian national flag, the violin, sitar, piano, guitar, sarangi, sarod, drums, mridangam, and flute come together to present the beauty of raag Desh through strings, keys, and percussion, while singers dressed in green, saffron, and white perform a traditional bandish, ‘Beet jaat barkha rut,’ set in the raag.
Sanjiv Puri, Chairman of ITC, highlights the significance of this project by saying, “This musical masterpiece draws inspiration from raag Desh, stirring a profound sense of pride and admiration for our great nation.”
The Sangeet Research Academy, established over four decades ago, is renowned for training young enthusiasts in Hindustani music.
. Renowned vocalist and Patiala-Kasur gharana exponent, Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty, serves as the chief mentor and guru at the Academy. He shares, “We all know about CSR (corporate social responsibility), but the Academy is a unique example of what I would like to term as Corporate Cultural Responsibility. Through ‘Desh Ek Raag,’ we wanted to show our gratitude to the country, whose cultural heritage is a strong binding force.”
The creation of this melodious song has been spearheaded by sarod artiste Abir Hussain. Abir, belonging to the Senia-Shahjahanpur gharana, trained for several years under sarod maestro Pt. Buddhadev Das Gupta and has been further guided by Pt. Ajoy Chakrabarty at ITC-SRA for the past five years. Discussing the song, Abir explains, “The song was conceived for multiple purposes, with the most important being the message of oneness.”
‘Desh Ek Raag’ aims to project India’s cultural values, particularly the guru-shishya parampara (teacher-student tradition). “Therefore, the song features both gurus and sishyas. It also showcases young talent; after all, the future belongs to them. Quite a few artists seen in the video are in their teens,” Abir adds.
The recording of ‘Desh Ek Raag’ took place in SRA’s in-house studio. The transition from live performances to studio recording presented a unique challenge for the young musicians. “Singing or playing an instrument in a studio is completely different from performing live. ‘Desh Ek Raag’ exposed our young musicians to this challenge, and they have risen to it remarkably,” says Pt. Chakrabarty.
In a country where music marks every occasion, it is no surprise that a raag like Desh has become synonymous with freedom and patriotism. This Independence Day, ‘Desh Ek Raag’ serves as a melodious reminder of our rich cultural heritage and the unifying power of music.
