Raaga is an important concept in Indian classical music and is indeed the oldest Indian melodic edifices. Raaga has been derived from the word ranja, standing for an element that delights and enthralls the mind. Because of its free flowing element raaga also means an array of colours and that undying and underlying passion, spontaneously created by characteristic melodic movements. Raaga can never be exemplified in one single sentence, due to its all-pervasiveness of grammatical and musical notes, that too in various moods, time and feeling. It is a kind of abstract art form that demands elaborate explanation. Raaga is therefore a combination of notes illustrated by melodic movements, producing unparallel and eternal pleasant sensations. There are numerous types of raagas, like - Multani, Jaunpuri, Gaud, Sorath, Maand and Pahadi, Ahiri, Gurjari, Asavari, including several others. And each of these is resonant of some perceptive kind of earthly form. Raaga generally utilizes the entire range of the octave, starting with aroha and ending in avaroha, where the singer culminates the recital, as of in a musical frenzy. It is hugely complex in tonal quality, and it entirely depends on the performer to make the best use of it adroitly.

Raagas were not created in one day and the journey of raaga as the elementary base of Indian classical music is indeed long, yet rich. A number of raagas are derived from the regional, folk or tribal melodies. These tunes or melodies were the first effort of humans in expressing their feelings and emotions through the pattern of notes. As time glided, these tunes were formally tidied, grammatically formed and stylized and gradually transformed into raagas

Raaga therefore as understood today is a melodic idea involving five different notes of the octave in a certain order. The characteristic mood of each raaga is obtained amidst the skilful use of certain principal notes. The raagas are essentially time bound, and divisions are made with the kinds and exactly when to be sung. The raagas are generally governed by time and seasons, and if sung accordingly, are known to evoke the loftiest of all sensations. According to the division of the day - day and night, similarly, the raagas have also been divided into groups, due to the sensations they emote when performed. The raagas for the diurnal period are called Dinegeya or Suryamsa raagas, whereas for the nocturnal are called Ratrigeya or the Chandramsa raagas. And the sub-divisions are named as sandhiprakash raagas - the raagas sung during the twilight, pratah-sandhi raagas - the raagas sung during the transitional period of night and morning. It is also stated that a day is divided into eight praharas, or the quarters/watches, each lasting for three hours. And the raagas that are sung are divided according to the importance of the notes in every one of them. The octave is further divided into uttaranga and poorvanga, denoting the upper and lower cases of the musical octave.

Raagas and time are inter-linked in a dubious way, baffling every critic or historian regarding its origin. There exists a belief that a raaga, if rendered in a stipulated time, generates an even sublime effect. And this very belief is the basis of musicologists and singers, regarding the mysterious connection between raaga and time. Since ancient ages, the ingrained faith exists that a raaga must be performed at a fixed time or season, because it is assumed that every raaga is harmonized with the natural disposition of each person. For instance, a raaga that should be sung at night must never be touched at dawn, or vice-versa. This can make or break the general mood of a person. The innovative therapeutic schools of music insist that swaras have a curative effect on the human psyche, thus signaling a need to sing a raaga in a stipulated time.

Not just with time and season, raaga has a deep seated relation with human emotion also. Raagas and emotions are very much interdependent, and continuously complementing each other. It is pretty much well known that a soulful raaga rendition evokes the subtlest of emotions, bringing forth the rare aspect of a raaga sung at a particular time. However, it not proven or exactly known as to why one is moved by the mellowed voice or the haunting raaga that is rendered. People are of the belief that it touches the psyche, and thus place much substance on to the raaga. In earlier times, it was the custom to picture a raaga or a musical symphony through the natural pictorial or auditory modes - that can be called an effective method by which a listener could suddenly envisage a raagabhaava. Although, another group of thinkers are of the faith that it is not the raaga that arouses the emotional chord, but the other way round, i.e., it is actually the mind and the unfathomable human psyche that is capable of making a raaga thus blissful.

A raaga is not just another form of Hindustani classical music form, nor is it bothered much about song-text, technical precision and rhythm; Raaga is more than just the musical notes. Musicians agree that each raaga has a chaal (gait) , bearing and personality. According to them each raaga has a face which the performer unveils through his raaga rendition. And herein lies the secret of a successful raaga rendition

A singer adept in raaga rendition is supposed to envisage the amalgamation of pictorial and poetical quality into the various moods and senses of a raaga bandish. Raaga is personified as the male counterpart to the Raagini feminine playfulness, combining to form a unified whole. Raaga can never be that attractive by itself, it is the duty of the singer to give it the essential jerk and push to arouse its innate characteristics.