Strategic Movements in the Afzhal campaign

We are well versed with the story of Shivaji Maharaj single-handedly destroying Afzhalkhan at the battle of Pratapgad, and the following counter attack on Vijapur territory that increased the Maratha empire by a few folds. I wont be dwelling on too much details- but would try to touch the key aspects of war strategies- intelligence, diplomacy and troop mobility.

Shivaji Maharaj had entered Kokan region and wreaked havoc over there- both political and religious, as the spread of Islam became difficult. The Vijapur Sultan in order to curb these activities and thus remove the hindrance to the spread of Islam had appointed Afzhal Khan to either capture or kill Shivaji Maharaj. Afzhal when he started boasted a huge army. Several other leaders would join him on his way to the campaign. Afzhal started from Vijapur, but instead of coming to Pune- which was the principal jahagir of Shivaji Maharaj, he instead attacked places like Tuljapur, Pandharpur etc, and destroyed the temples over there. His motive was to draw Shivaji out of the mountains into the open plains, where the Marathas would be easier to defeat. His route, thus looks a little bit ridiculous. Although it was a good strategy to try, the Marathas had excellent knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses, and thus, refused to come out. Shivaji Maharajs diplomacy should be noted here. He did not even bother sending a letter to Afzhal to stop the destruction. Afzhal thus had to abandon that plan.

                                                          (Afzhal Khans initial route)


The Maratha Diplomacy to draw Afzhal to Jawali and the Maratha Defence.

Shivaji Maharaj knew the Sahyadri Terrain inside out, and decided to trap Afzhal in the jungles of Jawali, and thus made his move from Rajgad to Pratapgad which was situated in the heart of Jawali forest. Afzhal in the mean time made his move from pandharpur to phaltan to wai. At phaltan, he imprisoned Shivajis brother in law, who ironically was fighting from Afzhals side, and sentenced him to death. However, again using cunning, clever letters Shivaji made sure that his brother in law escaped death. Shivaji in the meantime with tremendous help of Kanhoji Jedhe had managed to unite the Deshmukhs of Mawal under the Saffron banner and to fight for the cause of Swaraj- the exception to this being Khandoji Khopade, who defected to Afzhal.

       

Afzhal had decided to play his next game sitting at Wai- near enough to the mountains, but still on the plains, and hoped to lure Shivaji out of the jungles of Jawali into Wai, and then kill or capture him. When he had reached Wai, he had captured 4 locations of importance- Pune, Shirwal, Saswad and Supe. Many sardars had joined the main afzhal army from Vijapuri forts all over Maharashtra, as the sultan had issued such orders. The killedar kept only a few handful of soldiers that were needed to maintain the fort, and sent the rest of the army to join Afzhal khan. In addition, the Sultan had also sent 3 ships with supplies to the creek of Rajapuri, should Afzhal have to base the campaign in Kokan.

                             (Afzhals Movement from Pandharpur onwards to Wai via Phaltan)

Shivaji knew of Afzhals intentions through his superb spy network which infiltrated the Afzhal camp. Moreover, through sheer diplomacy, blatant lies, and a superb drama of being scared to meet such a powerful leader, Shivaji sowed seeds of arrogance and overconfidence in Afzhals mind. His vakil convinced Afzhal to believe that Shivaji was genuinely scared to come and meet Afzhalkhan, and thus is requesting him to come and take him away from Pratapgad. The seeds of arrogance which had been sown in the mind of Afzhal had began to bear fruit, and he, thinking Shivaji was really scared decided to move from Wai to first Mahabaleshwar and then to Pratapgad. He had sever hardships in getting his army, his cannons, his cavalry to the high plateau of Mahabaleshwar and even more trouble getting everything down into the forest of Jawali. In the meantime, Shivaji Maharaj had mobilized his troops so that half of it would be with Netaji Palkar on the Mahabaleshwar plateau, 9 miles from where Afzhal had capmed, and half would remain with him on the fort of Pratapgad, both of  which would be in hiding in the Jungles of Mahabaleshwar, Pratapgad and Jawali.

             (Movement of Afzhals and Shivajis troops when Afzhal accepted to go to Pratapgad)

Convinced that Shivaji was really scared, Afzhal made the mistake of moving into Jawali. Here, two things went wrong for him. 1st- his army got divided into two parts- half of which landed up on the foothills of pratapgad in Jawali the other landed up in the forest at Par.  The second- due to supreme ego, arrogance and lack of caution and unprepared scout reports unknown to the Afzhal Army, they were now surrounded by Maratha army, dispersed and hiding in the jungles and hills, from all the sides who were just waiting for orders to attack. This greatly boosted the maratha mental strength, for now, even if Afzhal had killed Shivaji by deceit, the fact remained that he was to face defeat at the hands of the Marathas.

(Closer look at the routing of and surrounding of Afzhals army in the mountainous jungle regions of Jawali)

I will not go into the details of the meeting between Shivaji Maharaj and Afzhal khan- for that is an immense story that needs to be handled individually. It is more of a story, and deviates away from the main agenda of troop mobility. As shown in the above picture, on the day of meeting between Afzhal and Shivaji Maharaj, unknown to Afzhal, his army was surrounded and was to be routed. The meeting took place on 10th November, and fortunately for us, not only Shivaji Maharaj managed to evade the evil intentions of Afzhal, but also managed to kill him outright and give a morale boosting start of what was to follow.

The Maratha Counter offensive and the capture of Kolhapur:

With all eyes set on the meeting at Pratapgad, the stations of Pune, Shirwal Saswad and Supe were unprepared for Maratha attacks. So were the 3 royal ships at the docks of Rajapuri. After Shivaji successfully killed Afzhal, a signal was sent to launch an all out attack on his Army at Jawali. Afzhals army was routed, and many well known sardars were captured or killed. In the mean time, the 4 stations of Pune, Saswad, Shirwal and Supa were captured, and one ship of the royal navy of Vijapur was captured, though the rest managed to escape.

                        (The pre planned Maratha Counteroffensive on the 10th November)

A bulk of Afzhals army started retreating towards the reserve forces in Wai. but before they could reach there or the reserves at Wai could be called into action, the Marathas attacked Wai at night and won over the force stationed there. The army of Afzhalkhan started retreating towards Vijapur, and the Marathas gave them a solid chase. Towns, forts and military outposts on the way were almost empty and fell as easy pickings to the Marathas. Te movement was so swift that forts in todays Satara and Sangli districts were soon run over. Afzhal was routed on the 10th of November. Wai was captured on the same night and 11th November morning. In a mere 15 days, Shivaji Maharaj had captured all area, towns, and forts streching from Wai to Kolhapur, and on 25th November, he won Kolhapur. After 2 days, the key of Southern India- Panhala was under attack by Marathas, and on 29th November it was captured. These actions were so rapid, that the Sultani court at Vijapur was first given the news that Panhala was captured by Marathas, and then the news came that Afzhal khan was killed. These were hammer blows to the Sultan. In the meantime, Netaji Palkar and the Maratha cavalry under him attacked the city of Vijapur itself! Such was the nature of Maratha swiftness.

                      (The Maratha Counter offensive from a period of 1 month from 10 November)

This war was the most important war in establishing Shivaji as an undisputed leader in the south for it drew the attention of the court of Delhi as well. The sultan of Bijapur made one last attempt to capture Shivaji at Panhala after this, though Shivaji managed to outwit him there too and escape from the siege. Nevertheless, this whole Afzhal episode provided a much required morale boost both for the military and the general public that the idea of Swaraj was indeed justifiable and sustainable. It gave inspiration to numerous other victories. This formed a blueprint of the classic Maratha defensive-offensive- politics- cunning- all in one war strategies which continued for years to come. This was our Ganimi Kawa, or Shivaneeti. This was our DNA till 1818, when the British managed to somehow mutate it. That spirit though weak still lingers in all of us.

Thoughts:
Today politicians of Maharashtra like the Sultans are destroying out great state and ideologies given to us by Shivaji Maharaj. Caste based dirty politics, lawlessness, deviation of funds for self interest are rampant. Last time this became a problem, the Lord Narasinvha rose from the Stambha called Sahyadri and disemboweled the Hiranyakashyapu of that day- Afzhal khan. Todays Hiranyakashyapus are unfortunately our own people- but nevertheless they are Hiranyakashyapus. They are kicking Sahyadri,Samudra, Marathi manoos and all everything associated with our culture for their own monetary benefits. Its high time that we awaken the sleeping Lord Narasinvha in our bodies, minds and souls, destroy these modern Hiranyakashyapus and rebuild a strong, unified, cultured and lawful Maharashtra once again. The inspiration is there, its just that we have to ignite it from within us.

Har har har Mahadev!

(Ive based the maps using the narration by Dr. Babasaheb Purandare, and a few articles from Ninadrao Bedekar. These may not necessarily depict the exact route, but are done based on the narration)

Thanks to Ashutosh Gavali for mentioning some required changes.

The story of two Shyam Kalyans

Shyam Kalyan as many of us classical enthusiasts know, is a very very popular evening raga which is formed as an amalgamation of two beautiful ragas- Kamod and Kalyan. While Shyam Kalyan is a Kalyan ang raga, it has elements of kamod in it, which gives it a completely different flavour. It is one of the sweetest ragas that are around- and it is its sweetness that largely contributes to its popularity. Today, as a background for enhanced labwork, I had tuned into the Shyam Kalyan by Ustad Shahid Parvez and as a result, got done what was to be done with a lot of time to spare. Thats when Shyam Kalyan really captured my imagination. The recurring phrase M-P-D-P-M-P-G-m-R-S gets to your soul. I made up my mind to have a closer look at it after finishing my work.

Labwork finished at around 5.30, and I had to run an errand at 6, so in that half an hour in between, I got hold of the finest article that gives an insight into shyam kalyan- that by Dr.Ranjan Parrikar on his website. Id specifically like to thank Dr.Parrikar for his limitless efforts that gives crazy people like myself a chance to glimpse and handle classical music. I read through the article for better understanding, and absorbed as much as I could. The best part about Dr. Parrikars articles are that it is dotted with gems. Each article has a gem from Pt. Rameshraya Jha. His teaching, although recorded, has given me trremendous insights on how a raga should be dealt like. The man is a pure genius. Nothing else. Anyway, I got my basics of Shyam Kalyan cleared from the Pt.Jha record. 

Over to dinner, the notes of Shyam Kalyan were playing havoc in my head. Shoora me vandile, a famous marathi natyageet has been set in the raga, and its version by Kaivalya Kumar Gurav in the video above was running like a never ending tape in my head. All for the good, as such records make you hum the swaras, and get the foundations of understanding atleast solid. So, I was busy humming my way through Shyam Kalyan on my way home when suddenly another almost numbing thought struck my mind. This is not the first or the only Shyam Kalyan I have adored so much. 

Shyam and Kalyan- were two names given to my grandfather.(Mothers father). His official name was Kalyan, but all his siblings and cousins and friends called him Shyam. I do not know who named him so, but whoever did, was absolutely correct in naming him that way. As far as I know, I barely know anyone from the Chaphekar side of my family who is deeply rooted into Indian Classical Music to name one of its members in the way he has been. Whether the name was kept knowingly or unknowingly, for me it does not matter- for the name was apt. My grandfather, like the nature of the raga was very very sweet. Infact, I would not think twice to say that he was the sweetest person I have ever met. For 23 years of my life, he was always looked upon as the most selfless man, a true friend, a loving husband, an even more loving father and an ever caring grandfather. He passed away a couple of years ago, but he lives forever in our hearts through uncountable memories which will always be cherished. I am just sharing a few of them.

 

(My very own ShyamKalyan- Ajoba)

Ajoba, as we called him, used to stay in Andheri till the year 2000. Every summer holidays, me and my cousins used to go to his place for a months time. Every evening, at around 7, the Flying Ranee- a double decker railway used to cross Andheri Station on its way from Surat at very high speed. I distinctly remember ajoba taking us to the railway overhead bridge at Andheri at that very time so that we could catch a glimpse of the Flying Queen of Surat. Those were some of the very first memories. 

Later when Ajoba shifted to Pune, he used to come to teach me science and Mathematics when I was in 9th and 10th. It always used to be a morning session- 7 am to 9 am. It was the time of the day I used to look forward to the most. I never learnt more from anyone as much as I learnt from him. He is the sole reason why  I developed a liking for science and maths. He is the only person who is responsible for giving me a rock solid understanding and foundation in mathematics. One feature of this session used to be the fact that he used to teach for 20 minutes and spend the rest of the time calling his friends and cousins leading to increased telephone bills, which used to annoy my mother. "Tumhi shikvayla ala ahat, phone karayla nahi" were her frequent remarks- but to no use! Whatever he did, he could not be blamed though, for I always received over 98% marks in what he taught me. Science was never taught as science, but as history of science, where stories of all scientists were told at great length. Yes- it made learning much more enjoyable. 

Another memory of Ajoba that will always be cherished is the way he used to appreciate my grandmother (Aaji) if she made any dish. He loved his wife. And he loved her a lot. No one can ever say anything against that. The testimony to this statement? Ask anyone from my family of what Ajoba said about Aaji's cooking. He always used to say that its the best and the tastiest food that we can ever get as it has a secret ingredient in it- dollops of love. I have never ever seen a husband so affectionately praising his wife. But Ajoba being Ajoba and a total sweetheart stands out in this respect.   

There are many memories that can be told, but Id rather not. I want to keep Ajoba to myself too. But there is one last one- a memory from his last few days. Ajoba was not at all in good health, and could not necessarily remember lesser important things in life such as songs and poems. But there was one song that he always remembered- Sudhir Phadkes "Paraadhin ahe jagati, putra manavacha", penned by GaDiMa. He was never a great singer, but just the way in which he used to recite this song provided a complete picture of it. His rendering of the paragraph "Don ondakyanchi hote, sagarat bhet" always used to bring a tear. After his demise, even more. Some songs are always associated to someone you know. Paradhin ahe jagati will always be my Ajobas song. 

The Raag Shyam Kalyan which I was listening to a couple of hours ago has been taken over by Yaman in which the song Paradhin Ahe Jagati Putra Manawacha has been set. But its the memories of My Shyam Kalyan that are now flooding and taking over my mind. I miss him.. And this is the point which seperates the two Shyam-Kalyans I adore so much- one will be taken over by something more soothing to the ear, the other is an irreplaceable part of my heart. I know the latter is always there in my heart, but I miss him...

The Kavi Bhushan Way

Mahakavi Bhushan, is one of the most enigmatic poets from our history. His poems- based on veer rasa, with Shivaji as its central theme are often considered as an unparalleled collection diving into the realm of imaginary and fantasy. They have, thus been dismissed as frontline evidences which tell us our history. Another possible factor which has led to this belief is the language that has been used to compose the poems- they are in Braj, a dialect of hindi from Uttar Pradesh, and that is not fully understood in Maharashtra. Efforts by people such as Ninadrao Bedekar and Babasaheb Purandare have definitely made Bhushan more approachable for common man. Bedekar excels in this field. His lecture series on Shivaji Maharaj are filled with poems by Bhushan which adds a shine and gloss to the character of shivaji, for Bhushan has richly ornamented Shivaji with all sorts of adjectives.

Recently I happened to stumble upon a pdf of a Marathi translation of Shivbhushan – a set of poems by Bhushan ji on Shivaji Maharaj. Reading through the pages, while initially hard to understand, I started to get hold of the poems one by one. Two factors contributed to this:

1.    The brilliant style in which Shri. Bedekar recites the poems rubs off on you, and you attempt to learn new ones in the same way, and grasp them quickly. The meter to which the poems are set is that of veer rasa. It sets a tempo of excitement, bravado.
2.     The Marathi translations provided by the translator Durgaprasad Asaram Tiwari are fantastic. All poems have been fabulously translated retaining the rhyme and meaning in equal measures.

These styles of saying the poem and its valuable translations have made me understand them better. They do come out as a valid evidence of the events of the past. A lot more on this issue has been dealt with in depth by Shri. Bedekar in his cassette titled “ Shivaji ani Kavi Bhushan”. The set of four cassettes is actually a must listen to all of us,  for they bring out the reality from the 17^th century, and not the cover up versions provided by the government to appease certain people. Bhushan, thus plays a big role in fully understanding Shivaji. It has been said that his collection of poems on Shivaji do not include events such as his coronation, so there must be other, as of now unknown set of poems which do tell of these events, for they are unlikely to escape the eyes of Bhushan.

For all of us, eager to learn more about Shivaji in an unbiased way, and not the government cover up way, then such literature is of utmost importance, and efforts must be taken to translate it into English, which unfortunately has become the language to reach the masses today.  Literature given by people such as Shri Bedekar and Purandare is priceless in its value. However, to gain a better perspective, Ive also referred to books by authors such as Kinciad, Jadunath Sarkar, and Grant Duff. However, all these are latter accounts, from a point of view of the author. Such literature though, is always welcome, for it gives a fresh outlook. A few sources can, and will actually shed more light on the life of shivaji- Shivbharat by Kavindra Paramanand, Shivbhushan by Kavibhushan, other so far unknown and lost collections of KaviBhushan, and better studies of the letters, bakhars and other historical data from that period. It is totally upto us to get this task done, and uncover the glorious deeds of the King before whom even 300 years after his death we bow down in respect.

The  sole purpose of writing this article was to try and reignite the fire of history within myself and inspire myself as well as others to spend some time of our lives devoted to this glorious study. As and when time permits from my PhD studies, I go through the writings of Bhushan which are available in pdf formats. (You can contact me by mailing to me.punekar@gmail.com, I can send you the pdf) It certainly sheds a new light on our outlook on Maharaj. 

To end this post, I'm putting up one of the most famous poems composed by Kavi Bhushan and its poetic translation in Marathi by Shri Durgaprasad Asaram Tiwari, and an english word to word translation by myself. The mention of Kavi Bhushan invokes in the Marathi souls the spirit of the poem “Indra jimi Jrambha par” made immortal by Pt. Hridaynath Mangeshkar and Lataji, and refurbished with a new look by the superb duo of Ajay-Atul for a Star Majha Serial. Although both versions are superb, I still urge people to get hold of the version read by Shri. Bedekar in many of his cassettes for that is the best one we have.

The story of this poem is as brilliant as the poem itself. When shivaji maharaj was on his daily patrol of the Raigad fort, he saw a stranger sitting near the Mandir on the fort. On asking, he came to know that this stranger was a poet from North who had come to sing ballads on Shivaji. Maharaj, who was disguised at the time requested the poet to sing a poem. The poet with all his gusto sang the poem given below. Maharaj was so awe struck by the lucidity of it that he requested the poet to sing it again and again, 18 times in total, till the poet could sing it no longer. The next day, when the poet came to the royal court, he was awarded 18lakh Hons and 18 villages as gift- one for each time he had sung the poem the previous night. While this story can never be authenticated, it is a brilliant one, for it tells of the donations of Maharaj- another quality which Bhushan so often praises.

So, yes, without saying much, here is the original poem from Shivbhushan itself and its translations:

इंद्र जिमि जम्भपर, वाडव सुअंभ पर, रावन सदंभ पर रघुकुल-राज है |
पौन बरीबाह पर, संभु रतिनाह पर, ज्यो सहसबाह पर राम द्विजराज है||
दावा द्रुमदंड पर, चीता मृग झुंड पर भूषण वीतुंड पर जैसे मृगराज है|
तेज तम अंस पर, कान्ह जिमि कंस पर, त्यो मलिच्छ बंस पर सेर सिवराज है||

 जम्भावारी इंद्र, लांकापतीच्यावारी की जसा जानकीचा पती|
मेघावरी वायू, कामावरी की महादेव- ज्याची तापाची रती ||
दुःशासनाच्या वारी भीम, किंवा कन्हय्या जसा दुष्ट कंसावरी|
हा भोसले- भूप गाझी शिवाजी तसा भूतली म्लेंच्छ वंशावरी ||

Like Indra attacking Jambhasura, or as an inextinguishable fire dancing on open ocean and like Shri Ram attaking Ravana
Like the winds that blow away the storm clouds, or like Shiva who incinerates the arrogant husband of rati, and like Parshuram on Sahasrarjuna,
Like a fire which decimates the forest, Like a leopard that stalks a deer herd and like an emboldened lion who attacks an elephant,
Like the light of dawn that dispersed darkness, and like Krishna who kills Kans, like all the above the lion hearted Shivaji-the religious protector of the earth is fighting the clan of Mlenchchhas.

(I cannot make it any more poetic, I call on my friends who do it better to come up with something. Ive just given the literal translation of the original verse.)

Decoding the forts of Maharashtra

Maharashtra, is an ancient state. A state of wealth, a state of knowledge, a state of riches. The riches that its land holds, attracted ill minded people looking to plunder it in past, present and no doubt in future too. In past it was the Islamic sultanates of Delhi, Ahamednagar and Bijapur who took people of Maharashtra for granted, tortured them, plundered them. Later on it was the Britishers who took on the responsibility. All these were met fiercely by the locals who remain to this day immensely proud of their heritage and culture. The Islamic rulers were handed blows by Chhatrapati Shivaji- the first ray of hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Later on, the Brits feared Marathi speaking people the most for their part in trying to disrupt government functioning. Tilak, Savarkar are just a few of them. But no doubt the inspiration for all Marathi people remains Shivaji Maharaj.

Shivaji Maharaj was an astute leader, who led not by using force, but by using cunning and diplomacy. If anyone has used Krishnaneeti to perfection, then its Maharaj. He knew what his strong points are and used it to full advantage against his opponents.The fleet footed marathas knew every single crack and stone in the impregnable Sahyadri Ranges. They used it to their complete advantage to achieve independence from a tyrannic barbarian blind race of rulers.

Sahyadri is a fierce mountain range. Born out of volcanic eruptions that created the Deccan Plateau, the Sahyadris generally tend to have a gradual slope from the east and a steep slope from the west. Numerous chains of mountains run perpendicular to the Main ridge in the east west direction. These mountains are impregnable. Steep slopes, Jungles beyond imagination, and dotted with hard to capture forts, make the region invincible. Quite how it fell into the hands of fanatics is a question that remains unanswered.

Forts have played a tremendous role in the history of the region. Most forts date back to the Shilaharas, Bhojas and Rashtrakutas. The islamic rule did not see any major fort building in the Sahyadri- infact, most of them were neglected. This was revived by Maharaj. He changed our outlook towards forts. Forts are essential for defensive and counter attacking. A siege to a large fort could last months. Forts provided command over the surrounding area. They kept watch on important routes. Shivaji Maharaj milked his forts to the maximum. He constructed many of his own to the already existing ones, thereby creating a chain of forts spreading from Salher in the north to Panhala-Vishalgad near Kolhapur and had this chain till as far south as Jinji. Sources say that he controlled more than 350 forts in the modern day states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. These were of various types- large ones- such as Raigad, Panhalgad and Jinji. Strategic ones such as Rajgad, Torna, Lohagad, Purandar, Salher etc, and numerous other small ones.

Today, I was trying to pinpoint a few important forts on google earth. While doing so, I realized that these forts always appear in a cluster. There is not a single stand alone fort. Every fort has another fort within 10-12 hours of it(could be 5-6, but 10 considering the difficult terrain). Geographically, the forts are a masterpiece in strategy. They stand guarding well known caravan routes- not one or two, but a chain of them. They stand overlooking potentially important towns. They stand near other strategically important and big forts acting as fall backs should the bigger fort be under attack. More often than not, near these forts are towns that flourished in history, or are rock cut temples and caves, or important religious shrines.

Im taking this opportunity to analyze the defensive importance of forts of Maharashtra, their overall importance as stand alone forts (Only the important ones) and its significance as a cluster of forts. I may need your help in doing so, so any help is more than welcome. You can email me your ideas on me.punekar@gmail.com . Id be more than happy to write on your analysis.

Here, just for starters Im putting up a snapshot of a map from google earth showing the Bhor Ghat near Khandala and the hill forts guarding it. Its well and truly important to control such vital trade routes, and what else to guard it than forts! This is just an attempt to understand the strategies behind fort construction and how Geography was used to make it simpler. If I make any mistake in the subsequent articles which deal with forts, please forgive me, and do correct me wherever possible.

This project will take possibly several years, Im determined to do it. Your help would be great!

An Einsteinian Relativistic glance at Indian classical music.

( Although this is a post related to music, I will be making frequent comparisons to possibly the most abstract concepts of all times- General theory of relativity. I do not know understand it properly. This is just an attempt to compare two totally different phenomenon possibly having common theories)

Consider an imaginary fabric, stretched tightly around the middle (waist high) throughout a rectangular room. The fabric can be considered flexible enough to absorb the weight of any object that is kept on it. Now consider an object is kept on this stretched elastic fabric. Since its suspended mid air, the object, thanks to gravity will try to go down to the ground. However, since the fabric which is elastic absorbs the energy of the object sinks, yet supporting and carrying the object. We can conclude that heavier the object, the deeper into the fabric it sinks. Similar concepts have been used by His Authority in Physics Sir Albert Einstein in his General Theory of Relativity where he says that gravity is nothing but curvature of the space-time fabric. Without plunging too much into Relativity, I will try to explain my take on its application to Indian classical music.

According to General theory of relativity, space time can be thought of as an elastic fabric. If we place massive objects on the fabric, the space time curves. A ray of light entering the region of curvature is bent by a few degrees, depending on the curvature of space time. Greater the curvature, the more it is going to deviate. If the object on the fabric has super massive weights such as black holes, not even light entering the event horizon will be able to escape it. [Singularity]. What is more important that we need to consider is that the path is slightly, significantly, or completely altered.
 
When we listen to music, we take a certain mood to it, interact with it, and after this interaction we change our mood, for better or worse. If we close our eyes, and listen, every single note of a particular raga has an impact on us. We can possibly assign hypothetical weights to each note(some relative pitch related calculation?). We then assign binary digits for presence or absence of a note in a particular raga. If a particular note is present we assign 1, else zero. We can statistically determine the frequency with which each note occurs. Obtaining a product of the frequency of note, the weight associated with that note and the binary decision variable, and adding it over for 22 shrutis, we get the weighted sum of the raag. This will possibly give the overall weight[Impact factor] of a raga. I dont know, but somehow, ragas such as Todi, Darbari, Shree, Malkauns etc always have a more profound impact(having a tone of seriousness to them?) than other lighter ragas such as Bhup, Haunsadhwani etc. [ thus, the gravity of the raga will be defined by the mood it generates(?).] 

We can now imagine our minds as being an infinite elastic fabric[mind as it is, is completely flexible and elastic- proven by the no. of thoughts that usually we get in a few seconds], and our present mood as a path followed [different moods will have different paths I suppose- how we act and stuff?]. If we are not exhibiting any emotions at a particular moment- then fantastic! we can just consider it to be a stray ray of light having no particular direction.

Now, we already have defined our ragas as optimized sum of the weight of its constituent notes. when these ragas interact with our minds- they stretch the fabric of our imagination- yes they strech our minds, and have an impact on it. This impact can be thought of as similar to the curvature created by massive objects in space time. A lighter raga, such as say jaijaiwanti, bhup,will possibly stretch our imagination to a lesser degree. It just shows a glimpse of a happy thought, we smile, alter our mood a little according to the deviation and proceed on our mood path with a slight deviation. Other ragas, such as say Puriya, Marwa, Malkauns, Jog etc stretch our imagination further. We significantly shift from our original mood paths when we listen to these. Yes, these are possibly ragas, which challenge us intellectually, and thus have more weight attached to them.The mood path may curve back in some cases. If we are approaching the raga in a correct frame of mind, we are close enough to a concept I call Force Horizon of the raga. In this context our mood gets "captured" and starts revolving around the mood of that raga[similar to how a planet will circle the sun].

Then there are some ragas, which suck you into them like a black hole. Todi, Darbari and Bhairavi are prime examples. Once you are in trance, then the impact of these are so great, that you do not want to or cannot come out of that trance. It slowly, but surely sucks you towards what can only be described as a fleeting realization of god. Ive had a particular experience with Todi, that it leaves such a deep impact, that everything else seems trivial. These can be thought of as musical singularities. as in physical world, we cannot tell for sure whether singularities exist or not, and if they do, what do they physically mean. maybe in a musical sense, we can say that obtaining a singularity is attaining that state of mind, through music, which is actually completely void of any mood and possibly of extreme quiet and serenity.

[Just as the mass of the object determines the deviation of the path of light, the impact mass of a raga can determine the path(mood) with which we approach it, and the path we reach on our interaction with it.]

These theories, as of now, have no basis. I just realized that Music and Relativity can be though of as parallels. Once I get some time to think, I will, possibly with the help of few "experts" try to draw up more methodical comparisons, and if possible, present proof for the raag-mass-mind-curvature theory. Whatever it comes out, the gravity of the raga, does indeed have a deep impact on our minds. This is just a humble attempt to point out the fact, that there are indeed similarities between two totally unrelated subjects- physics and metaphysics. Universe and Music.