Among Hindustani musicians the word for what we have called 'rarely heard' ragas here is 'achop ragas'. 'Achop' means 'minor' or 'lesser', and suggests that such ragas do not figure as part of the major or greater part of a gharana's repertoire of ragas. But it is in this sense alone that they are achop; they are not in any sense lesser or minor in richness of from or ethos. They are often confined in their teaching and rendering to the inner circles of a particular gharana. And in this sense, too, they are 'rare'.
What makes many of them a rare delight is their complexity and subtle individuality of structure (raga-rupa) and evocativeness (raga-bhava). In musicology, they are described as 'sankirma', that is, 'syncretic' forms since they carve a unique space for themselves out of two or more well-known ragas. It is the sign of a great master to be able to display their distinct individuality, separating them distinctly from their parent ragas and other ragas which they might resemble. Yet great masters, such as the four presented in this series, also bring their own individual style and vision to the rendering of ragas. It is in the sensitivity with which he can give a unique life to the individuality of a raga that the genius of a master lies. When the raga is to reveal and even expand and enrich the musical space of a raga which lies in an area between other ragas.
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