Raga Bhatiyar is a raga you listen to as you are still in bed, in that half asleep half awake state. Almost like what the first day of the calendar feels like. A little hazy as you still dwell on the last year gone by before you wonder what lies ahead as the year unfolds. This raga is unhurried. It is a raga that is full of hope.
Bharatpur for me is much more than the national park. It was about discovering the flavor of Raga Lalit. That morning in Bharatpur, I woke up early. I stared out of the window and looked at the first rays of the sun. It was cold and I sat up in bed still wrapped up and snug in the crumpled sheet. The gardener of the hotel was busy watering the gorgeous flowers. His day must have started early. All India Radio was playing Raga Lalit by Ustad Bismillah Khan. Bismillah is a word used to invoke God's blessings before the start of anything auspicious. The old transistor had seen better days for sure. Yet all that did not seem to matter as the gardener went about stooping over the marigolds and showering them before patting away extra water from the leaves. The fog had not yet lifted fully. The notes of Raga Lalit wafted through the fog ...
Natha (played by Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) are two brothers who are impoverished farmers who cannot repay their loans. The Govt has announced a "relief" of about $2000 to the family of every farmer who commits suicide. Budhia comes up with this idea of encouraging his brother to commit suicide. In a weak moment Natha succumbs to that passing thought.
