abheri and bhimpalashi

[Sangeet]

Friends,

Does abheri have similarities with the Hindusthani raga Bhimpalashi?

Sangeeta

[mohan]

Yes they are almost identical. Others might be able to advise of any subtle differences between the two.

[Lakshman]

As far as I know bhImpalAs is the HM equivalent of CM karnATakadEvagAndhAri. Abheri used shuddha dhaivata while bhImpalAs uses catushruti dhaivata.

[mohan]

Lakshman-ji I am sure you know there are two versions of Abheri. One with the shuddha dha (used by Dikshitar in the kriti vInAbheri and in the older version of Nagumomu as sung by R. Vedavalli) and the other with the catushruti dha as in the popular version of Nagumomu and Bhajare Manasa. Dikshitar school calls this karnataka devagandhari or just devagandharam. This latter version is similar to the Hindustani Bhimpalasi. The treatment of various notes with gamakas is slight different in the approach in Carnatic Abheri and Hindustani Bhimpalasi.