Back to sexy songs in India

So, the last time I talked about sexy songs in India, it was about movie songs and the euphemistic sexual motifs they borrow from our folk and literary traditions. This time round, I delve into the sensuality of Indian classical music...particularly, the sensuality of the viraha vedana mood or rasa of song and dance.

The viraha vedana style embodies moods of longing, sexual and emotional desire, and almost always reflects the longing of the woman for her beloved. This woman is the virahini (Hindi speakers may know her as a birhan). Songs in this mood can be sung by either men or women, but the narrative voice is that of a woman.

Common motifs employed in songs of viraha vedana are the monsoon rains (which are symbolic of growth, fertility and mating) and the sexually heightened state of the woman (often represented by images of untamed beauty). Very common to this style is the use of the Radha-Krishna motif, where, Radha, separated from her lover, calls out to him.

The monsoons are used in these songs to create a sense of irony and contrast. As mentioned above, they are symbolic of fertility and growth, but are seen here as heightening the lonliness and desparation of the the virahini. That is, the monsoons, which quench the thirst of the parched soil, only serve to leave the virahini thirsty for her parted lover, hunger for his touch. The drops of rain that cool and soothe the earth, set fire to the virahini's desires. You can see this motif in the following verse, which is reworked into many a classical song:

The gusts of cool wind , the drops of rain

Are like arrows on my skin.

My tears flow and smear the kohl in my eyes,

Setting my soul ablaze.

The torment of the monsoons is a sweet torment though, as it is laden with anticipation of imminent union.

Other than the image of rain as a tormentor, elements within the monsoons too carry a lot of meaning. They are, for instance, messengers. This image is deeply rooted in the Indic cosmology where the clouds are seen as messengers to the gods, or meghdoot (literally, cloud-messengers). This representation continues in songs of viraha vedana, in which the virahini sends messages to her lover through the rain-heavy clouds. Even birds commonly associated with the monsoons, like the parakeet, are addressed as messengers. Here's a good example of the monsoons seen as a conduit of love and longing:

Oh clouds go to my lover

Rumbling and thundering, go to the land of my lover

My soul is tormented, and I long for him

Go, clouds, and bring back his message to me.

These songs in the viraha vedana mood also contain some of the most beautiful representations of female sexuality and sensuality. This sensuality is usually represented by descriptions of disarray in the woman's dress and appearance. The woman dresses and awaits her lover; but as their separation is prolonged, her appearance becomes disarrayed and untamed in the throes of longing. Thus, the woman's appearance as a virahini is antithetical to the woman's appearance in the sringara rasa, where the woman adorns herself in anticipation of her lover. This motif is one of sexuality and sensuality because it mimics the state of a woman after the act of consummation. So again, there is a use of contrast and irony. The woman's sexuality is heightened, but there is no lover to give her release.

Here's an example of a typical verse that exemplifies this motif:

My tresses have come undone,

My eyes are now kohl-smeared,

The flowers in my hair now lay scattered,

Oh my love, where are you.

Also important to the viraha rasa is the motif of the Radha-Krishna pairing. In this motif, the lovers have been parted, and Radha longs for her lover Krishna, who is often depicted as being neglectful of his lady-love. Meera Bai, the 16th century poetess and devotee of Krishna, has written beautiful poems in this mood. In these poems, Meera Bai situates herself as Radha and sings of her longing for Krishna. Here's one:

Oh I am one mad with love,

No one knows my pain

Only the wounded know the pain

Of I who am wounded.

or

With anklets on my feet, I dance

I am a slave to my lord of my own volition.

And so am I mocked, called mad!

Songs of viraha vedana are set to beautiful raagas like Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar, Malhar, Maru Bihaag, Bilahari, Han etc. I highly recommend these raagas for anyone just starting to explore Indian classical music (both North and South Indian styles). In dance, these songs are accompanied by stylized hand gestures that reflect moods of longing, love, anticipation, joy and sorrow. This is more apparent in South Indian classical forms such as Bharatanatyam and Kuchupudi and the East Indian dance form of Odissi, as these are dance-forms which lay a lot of emphasis on hand movements to convey meaning and mood.