Todi.

There are many beautiful morning ragas in Hindustani Classical music. Raga Todi or Miyan ki Todi was the trademark composition of Miyan Tansen the legendary composer in the court of Akbar. Raga Todi is also known as Miyan ki Todi, Shuddha Todi and Darbari Todi. All these names essentially refer to the same Raga Todi.

Todi is a morning raga that is sung from 8am to 10am. It has the ability to evoke the same mood of playfulness of a newborn lying in bed content, smiling and playful. In film music, Raga Todi has been largely used in composing songs that depict pathos. 


The ten thaats (arrangement of notes) in Hindustani Classical Music are Asavari, Bilawal, Bhairav, Bhairavi, Todi, Poorvi, Marwa, Kafi, Kalyan, Khamaj. I use a simple mnemonic (AB-BB-TPM-KKK) to remember the list.
Click on Raag name to get details about the Raag and to listen the Aaroh-Avroh and Bandishen of the Raag.

Abhogi Kanada	Adana	Aheer Bhairav	Alhaiya Bilawal	Bageshree	Bahar
Bairagi	Bairagi Todi	Basant	Basant Mukhari	Bhairav	Bhairavi
Bhatiyar	Bheem	Bheempalasi	Bhoopali	Bhupal Todi	Bihag
Bilaskhani Todi	Chandrakauns	Charukeshi	Chhayanut	Darbari Kanada	Des
Deshkar	Desi	Dev Gandhar	Devgiri Bilawal	Devshree	Durga
Gaud Malhar	Gaud Sarang	Gauri (Bhairav Ang)	Gopika Basant	Gorakh Kalyan	Gunkali
Gurjari Todi	Hameer	Hans Dhwani	Hans Kinkini	Harikauns	Hemant
Hemshri	Hindol	Jaijaivanti	Jaldhar Kedar	Jaunpuri	Jhinjhoti
Jog	Jogeshwari	Pancham Jogeshwari	Jogiya	Jogkauns	Kafi
Kalawati	Kamod	Kaushik Dhwani (Bhinn Shadj)	Kausi Kanada	Kedar	Keerwani
Khamaj	Khambavati	Komal Rishabh Asawari	Lalit	Lanka Dahan Sarang	Madhukauns
Madhumad Sarang	Madhuvanti	Malgunji	Malhar	Malkauns	Mand
Maru Bihag	Marwa	Megh Malhar	Mohankauns	Multani	Nand
Narayani	Nayaki Kanada	Nut-Bhairav	Parameshwari	Patdeep	Pilu
Puriya	Puriya Dhanashri	Puriya Kalyan	Poorvi	Rageshree	Ramdasi Malhar
Ramkali	Sarang (Brindavani Sarang)	Saraswati	Saraswati Kedar	Shahana Kanada	Shankara
Shivranjani	Shobhawari	Shree	Shuddha Kalyan	Shuddha Sarang	Shyam Kalyan
Sindhura	Sohani	Sundarkali	Sundarkauns	Surdasi Malhar	Tilang
Tilang Bahar	Todi	Vachaspati	Vibhas	Yaman

Use the Samay Chakra to see when a raga sounds at its most melodious

glabella.

 ajna, the seat of "concealed wisdom".

 the great flutist Emmanuel Pahud, explains to a student how to place flute tone in the nose rather than in the mouth. He calls the perceived place of resonance, in the nose between the eyes, the "wasabi point", I suppose because that is where you feel the burn when eating wasabi.

The Bates method is an ineffective alternative therapy aimed at improving eyesight. Eye-care ..... that she was practicing neither optometry nor ophthalmology and represented herself not as a doctor, but only as an "instructor of eye training".

Dr. Bates was an orthodox doctor in New York City, and considered an authority by members of the ophthalmological profession. In 1886 he introduced a new operation for relief of persistent deafness consisting of incising the eardrum membrane, an operation still in use today. In 1894, as a research physician, he discovered the astringent and hemostatic properties of the aqueous extract of the suprarenal capsule, later commercialized as adrenaline.
Dr. Bates was not satisfied with the prevailing theory of accommodation (how the eye focuses). The prevailing theory of accommodation was, and still is, that the curvature of the lens of the eye is the only part responsible for accommodation and that inflexibility of the lens causes failing sight. This happens to a large number of the population around the age of 40 and is commonly called “old age sight,” presbyopia, or farsightedness. But this term doesn’t apply to younger children who certainly cannot fall into this category, nor anyone who has not reached age 40. For the opposite problem we are told that the eyes are abnormally long or, in other words, it is a structural problem of the eyeball. This is commonly called myopia or nearsightedness. This still does not account for the fact that before the person had eye problems there was no structural problem.

For years Dr. Bates felt there was something wrong about the procedure of prescribing glasses to patients who came to him about their eyes. “Why,” he asked, “if glasses are correct, must they continually be strengthened because the eyes, under their influence, have weakened? Logically, if a medicine is good, the dose should be weakened as the patient grows stronger.” Dr. Bates gave up his lucrative practice and went into the laboratory at Columbia University to study eyes as they had never been studied before. Disregarding all he had learned in textbooks, he experimented on eyes with an open mind. He ran experiments on animals and examined thousands of pairs of eyes. He never restricted himself to the usual eye examination room, but carried his retinoscope with him, inspecting the refractive state of eyes of both people and animals in many different situations. He refracted eyes of people when they were happy and sad, angry and afraid. Much of this time was spent with children attempting to discover the cause of eye disorders. His retinoscopic findings indicated that the refractive state of the eye was not the static condition textbooks reported, but varied tremendously with the emotional state.

He published an account of a little girl who developed temporary myopia when she lied to him. This fact seemed very significant to him as it was consistent with other findings that people tend to become myopic when apprehensive. Dr. Bates found that the eye is never constantly the same, that refractive error can change momentarily – that mental strain and tension can increase it and relaxation can decrease it. His conclusions were that imperfect sight is not possible without first a mental strain; that eyes are tough to what happens from the exterior; that they can mend rapidly from scratches, bumps, and even burns; but that they can be blinded by mental strain.

Dr. Bates discovered the cause of poor eyesight and developed this method of restoration and normalization of poor eyesight. Integral Eyesight Improvement is the original method as taught by Dr. Bates and furthered by Margaret Corbett. Dr. Bates wrote “Perfect Eyesight Without Glasses”, a book outlining his discoveries as well as eleven years worth of monthly publications called “Better Eyesight” accounting personal findings and research with case histories.

The purpose of the ... method is to teach activity under relaxed conditions by which the eye and mind co-ordinate normally, thus returning the function of seeing to the involuntary system, and permitting vision to take place. Relaxation, which is the secret of normal vision, should therefore be the basis of eye training. There are two types of relaxation:

1. The sort you indulge when you are at rest, not attempting to use your eyes.
2. The sort you must maintain habitually at your work while it is necessary for you to see rapidly and accurately.

After this habit of relaxed visual activity becomes automatic with you, the eye will grow keener and stronger with use, just as any other portion of the body, if used correctly, will improve in health and power. ... No athlete is good until he relaxes. Slow motion pictures of a good boxer or runner show that even though his working muscles may tighten for an instant to provide power, he is boxing or running while relaxed. This is largely the reason that athletes warm up, by slight exercise, before engaging in contests.

gestures.

Indian vocalists trace intricate shapes with their hands while improvising melody. Although every vocalist has an idiosyncratic gestural style, students inherit ways of shaping melodic space from their teachers, and the motion of the hand and voice are always intimately connected. Though observers of Indian classical music have long commented on these gestures, Musicking Bodies is the first extended study of what singers actually do with their hands and voices. Matthew Rahaim draws on years of vocal training, ethnography, and close analysis to demonstrate the ways in which hand gesture is used alongside vocalization to manifest melody as dynamic, three-dimensional shapes. The gestures that are improvised alongside vocal improvisation embody a special kind of melodic knowledge passed down tacitly through lineages of teachers and students who not only sound similar, but who also engage with music kinesthetically according to similar aesthetic and ethical ideals. Musicking Bodies builds on the insights of phenomenology, Indian and Western music theory, and cultural studies to illuminate not only the performance of gesture, but its implications for the transmission of culture, the conception of melody, and the very nature of the musicking body.

pure joy.

A little boy wanted to meet God.  He knew it was a long trip to where God lived. So he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a
six-pack of Soft Drink and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old
man.  He was sitting in the
park, just staring at some pigeons.  The boy sat down next to him and opened his
suitcase.  He was about to take a drink from his Bottle when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him some chips. He gratefully accepted it and
smiled at him.

His smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a
soft drink.  Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted!  They sat there all
afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word...

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave;
But before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his
biggest smile ever...

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was  Surprised by the look of joy on his face.  She asked him, "What did you do
today  that made you so happy?"

He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added,
"You know what?  He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home.  His son was Stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?"

He replied "I ate potato chips in the park with
God."  However, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Hitopadesa.

Maxim on learning

Learning to a man is a name superior to beauty;
learning is better than hidden treasure.
Learning is a companion on a journey to a strange country,
learning is strength inexhaustible.
Learning is the source of renown
and the fountain of victory in the senate.
Learning is a superior sight,
learning is a livelihood;
a man without learning is as a beast of the field.

—Hitopadesa

Compassion

As your life to you is dear,
So is his to every creature.
The good have compassion for all,
By comparison and analogy with their own nature.

—Hitopadesa Book 1 
The work is to encourage proficiency in Sanskrit expression (samskrita-uktishu) and knowledge of wise behaviour (niti-vidyam). This is done through the telling of moral stories in which birds, beasts and humans interact. Interest is maintained through the device of enclosed narratives in which a story is interrupted by an illustrative tale before resuming. The style is elaborate and there are frequent pithy verse interludes to illustrate the points made by the various speakers. On account of these, which provide by far the greater part of the text, the work has been described as an anthology of (sometimes contradictory) verses from widespread sources relating to statecraft.
The Hitopadesha is organized into four books, with a preface section called Prastavika. The opening verse expresses reverence to the Hindu god Ganesha and goddess Saraswati. There are several versions of the text available, though the versions are quite similar unlike other ancient and medieval era Hindu texts wherein the versions vary significantly. The shortest version has 655 verses, while the longest has 749 verses. In the version translated by Wilkins, the first book of Hitopadesha has nine fables, the second and third each have ten, while the fourth has thirteen fables.

Book 1 Mitralabha: How to gain a friend

The Book 1 is introduced with the statement that wise and sincere friends may be poor or destitute, but it is they who may help one achieve successes in life. The book recommends that the good find good friends, they are like a vessel in which one deposits both joys and sorrows of life, and it is not words that define a friend but their behavior and actions.

The pigeons, the crow, the mouse, the tortoise and the deer

The deer, the jackal and the crow.

The blind jackal, the cat and the birds.

The history of Hiranyaka the mouse.

The old man and his young wife.

The huntsman, the deer, the boar, the serpent, and the Jackal

The rajah's son and the merchants wife.

The jackal and the elephant.

Book 2 Suhrdbheda: How to lose a friend

The Book 2 is introduced with the statement that great friendships can be destroyed by the cruel and envious beings who envy such friendship. The book states that misinformation creates wedge between friends, as does a focus on disagreements, rash action without due investigation and a lack of communication.

The bull the two jackals and the lion.

The ape and the wedge.

The thief the ass and the dog.

The lion the mouse and the cat.

The poor women and the bell.

The adventures of Kanadarpaketu.

The farmers wife and her two gallants.

The crow the golden chain and the black serpent.

The lion and the rabbit.

The partridges and the sea.

Book 3 Vigraha: War

The third book presents a series of fables wherein war is described as a consequence of greed, criticism of others, wicked people and their ideologies, cruel and ungrateful leader, lack of restraint, lack of preparation, poor fortifications, weak military, weak diplomacy, and poor counsel.

The geese and the peacock.

The birds and the monkey.

The ass dressed in tigers skin.

The elephants and the rabbits.

The goose and the crow.

The Varttaka and the crow.

The wheelwright and his wife.

The blue jackal.

The man who sacrificed his own son.

The barber who killed a beggar.

Book 4 Sandhi: Peace

The fables in Book 4 state that it is always better to seek peace with seven types of people: the truthful, the virtuous, the just, the strong, the victorious, those with many brothers, and the self-destructing worthless. Peace can be achieved, states Hitopadesha, if one examines one's own behavior and one's own seeking as much as that of the opponent, pays attention to the counsel of one's good friends, treats the opponent with respect and understanding that is in tune with the opponent's character, forms one or more of sixteen types of treaties, reciprocal assistance and cooperative ventures between the two sides thereby enabling the pursuit of truth.

The geese and the peacocks/ 2.

The tortoise and the two geese.

The three fishes.

The merchant and his artful wife.

The boobies and the weasel.

The mouse and the hermit.

The booby and the crab.

The Brahmin who broke the pots and pans.

The two giants.

The Brahmin and his goat.

The camel the crow the tiger and the jackal.

The old serpent and the frog.

The brahmin and the weasel.

The text ends with the following

May peace forever yield happiness to all the victorious possessors of the earth,
May just men forever be free from adversity, and the fame of those who do good long flourish,
May prudence, like a glorious sun shine continually on your breasts,
May the earth, with all her vast possessions, long remain for your enjoyment.

— Hitopadesa, 

Translator: Charles Wilkins

ragas timely

The park bench.

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read.
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose
And declared with overacted surprise,
"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.
That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the very first time
That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
And appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy,
Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

by Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey