Anandabhairavi is one of the more appropriately named ragas. As the very name suggests, the raga evokes a feeling of happiness. It is a gentle melody. Musicians bring out the nuances of the raga in a slow tempo often in interesting patterns and phrases. It is easily believable that the raga as claimed can reduce blood pressure and alleviate depression.

Some of the popular compositions in this raga are Tyagaraja’s Neeka Teliyaka and Ksheera Sagara Vihara, Dikshithar’s Kamalamba Navavarnam and Tyagaraja Yoga Vaibhavam, Shyama Shastry’s Marivere and O Jagadamba. Paluke Bangaramayena, another song in Anandabhairavi, that describes the presiding diety Rama in the temple town of Bhadrachalam is a composition of Bhadrachala Ramdas.

Here are sisters Ranjani-Gayathri singing Marivere Gathi, a masterpiece in Anandabhairavi composed by Shyama Shastri. I hope it does for you what it does for me –  soothes the heart and mind.

As far as I know, there is no Hindustani equivalent raga that corresponds to Anandabhairavi.

Anandabhairavi has been heard in several movies. Here is a charming song in raga Anandabhairavi sung by Jesudas in the Malayalam movie Shastram jayichu Manushyan thottu.

For those who want details, raga Anandabhairavi is a derivative of Natabhairavi (20th Mela). The scale is as follows. SG2R2GM1PD2PS SN2D2PM1G2R2S