Playlist for Comfort and Grounding
A special musical series including Spotify playlists
Feeling stressed and isolated? Listen to Raag Bairarri.
Raag Bairarri (pronounced Bae-ra-ree) is an extremely powerful Raag (mood). Raag Bairarri is a source of comfort and grounding during challenging times. It offers solace, helping the person feel connected and not alone in the presence of life’s worries and stresses. It addresses feelings of defeat, isolation, and estrangement, allowing the individual to feel connected and grounded to themselves. Raag Bairarri reminds the mind that it is not alone, there is a deeper connection with the soul, and encourages focus on one’s reality rather than getting overwhelmed by external concerns. Raag Bairarri, like all Raags, goes beyond mere music and skill; it serves as a solution for emotional struggles, allowing individuals to express their emotions through sound and providing a sense of understanding and completeness.
The poem “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy expresses the essence of Raag Bairarri.
I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
“The Darkling Thrush” and the experience of Raag Bairarri both start from a place of profound melancholy and isolation. In Hardy’s poem, the bleak winter landscape and the image of the weakening day reflect the narrator’s inner desolation. This mood resonates with the initial feelings of loneliness and emotional turmoil one might seek to alleviate through the Raag Bairarri.
The core of both the poem and the Raag Bairarri experience lies in the transformative journey from despair to a sense of hope or solace. In “The Darkling Thrush,” this shift is marked by the unexpected, joyful song of the thrush. Despite the surrounding gloom and the frailty of the bird, its song injects a sense of unanticipated hope and resilience. Similarly, Raag Bairarri provides a means for the listener to transition from feeling defeated and isolated to a state where they are more grounded and reassured.
Both the poem and the Raag Bairarri encapsulate the human capacity to find moments of profound hope and connection amid despair. They reflect the idea that even in our darkest moments, there are aspects of our experience, whether through nature, music, or other forms of expression, which can lift us from our despair and remind us that we are not alone in our struggles.
Both “The Darkling Thrush” and Raag Bairarri share a deeply human theme: the journey from a state of bleakness and isolation to one of hope, connection, and a rekindled spirit. This journey is reflective of a common human experience, resonating with the universal capacity for resilience and the search for light in the darkest of times. Immerse yourself in Raag Bairarri by listening to this curated playlist on YouTube and Spotify. If you feel stressed or isolated, Raag Bairarri can provide the comfort and grounding you need.
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