Kamal Music Center

Description

Bhupali is a a very common raag.  Also called Bhoopali or Bhoopaali.

This rag is very ancient and is very popular.  Common songs based upon this rag include “Jyoti Kalash Chalke” or “Pankha Hoti To Ud Ati Re”.

The same notes of Bhupali are also used in rag Deshakar,

Bhupali is classified under Kalyan thaat; however, madhyam is totally absent.  Deshkar which has the same scale, yet Deshkar is classified under Bilawal that.  This means that the missing madhyam of Bhupali is tivra while the missing madhyam in Deshkar is shuddha

Thaat is                      Kalyan

Vadi sawar                 Gandhar         (GA)

Samvadi swar           Dhavat           (DHA)

Jatti                             Audav Audav

Samay(Time)            Raat Ka Pehla Paher (First part of Night)

Arohana

Avarohana

Pakad

The structure of Tilak Kamod is quite pleasant.  Some musicians maintain that the vadi is Sa and the samvadi is Pa.  Others claim that Re is thevadi.  It is Shadav-Sampurna due to the omission of Dha in the arohana.  It is performed in the second part of the night. (continue reading…)

Purvi is considered to be the fundamental rag in Purvi That.  It is performed around sunset (Sandhi Prakash).  There are two philosophies concerning this rag. (continue reading…)

Todi, also known as Mian-ki-Todi (Miyan-ki-Thodi), is a very common morning rag.  However, there is a certain disagreement as to its structure.  According to some, all seven notes are used in both the ascending and descending structures; according to this approach, this rag is sampurna – sampurna. (continue reading…)

Rag Marwa is considered to be the most fundamental rag in Marwa That.  It is an evening rag that is quite popular.  This rag is unusual in that the tonic is not harmonically well defined; there is no pancham (5th) and the madhyam is tivra rather than shuddha (i.e., there is no natural 4th).  It is this harmonic imbalance that gives marwa its peculiar character.  Considering this imbalance, rag marwa has a surprisingly simple structure.  Reis the vadi and Dha is the samvadi.  It is shadav – shadav due to the total exclusion of pancham (the 5th).  One well known song in this rag is “Payalia Banwari Bhaje“.  Marwa’s characteristics are:

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Shadav – Shadav

Time

Evening

That

Marwa That

Drone

Sa – Dha

Rag Malkauns (A.K.A. Malkosh) is a very popular rag in the North Indian system (Hindustani Sangeet).  In the South it is known asHindolam.  It is a pentatonic rag that has has the five notes Sa, Komal Ga, Ma, Komal Dha, and Komal Ni. (continue reading…)

Lalit (sometimes transliterated as Lalith) is a moderately common rag.  One well known song in this rag is “Tu Hai Mere Prema Devata“.  There is some disagreement concerning the Dha; some suggest that Lalit uses shuddha Dha and others say that it uses komal Dha.  It has Panchamabsent in both the ascending and the descending structures, therefore it is shadav – shadav jati. (continue reading…)

Description

This rag is one of the most common in Indian music.  Although it is used in the classical styles, its romantic character makes it much more appropriate to the semi-classical and lighter styles.  It is traditionally ascribed to the second part of the night.  “Kuch To Log Lahenge” and “Nazar Lagi Raja Tore Bungal Par”, are two well known examples of common songs in this rag.  There are many other popular film songs in Khammajas well.

Rag Khammaj has a clear musical structure.  It is a shadav-sampurna rag due to the ommission of the Re in the arohana.  Even in theavarohana, the Re is durbal (weak).  The vadi is Ga and the samvadi is Ni.  Undoubtedly its method of using Nishad is one of its most defining characteristics; it is shuddha (i.e., natural 7th) in the arohana but it is komal (i.e., minor 7th) in the avarohana.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Shadav – Sampurna -

Time

Second Part of Night

That

Khammaj That

Pakad

This rag is known by several names; Kalyan, Iman, Eman, or Yaman.  Strangely enough, Yaman Kalyan is a different rag.  Kalyan is very popular and some commonly known examples of songs in this rag are “Ansu Bhari Hai Jai Jivan Ki Rahen”, “Ja Re Badara Bairi Ja Re” and“Jiya Le Gayo Re Mora Sanvariaya”.  Yaman is a sampurna rag which is performed in the first part of the night.  The vadi is Ga and the samvadiis Ni.  Typically Sa and Pa are weak in the arohana.  However their omission is not obligatory.

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Sampurna – Sampurna

Time

First part of the night

That

Kalyan That

Drone

Sa – Pa

Rag Kalingada is very similar to Bhairav.  Unlike Bhairav, this rag is performed in the last part of the night.  There has been a strong tendency over the last few decades to take lighter interpretations of both Kalingada as well as Bhairav.  The result is that the two rags have begun to converge.  Whenever there is such a convergence, the general tendency is for rags to asume the name of Bhairav. If this tendency continues, we can expect Kalingada to completely merge with Bhairav and to lose its identity in the process.

The structure of Kalingada is very simple.  It is a sampurna – sampurna rag performed in a very straight manner.

The problems of the vadi / samvadi theory are clearly seen here.  Some say that Pa and Sa are the vadi and samvadi.  Unfortunately, there is no agreement on this point.  Ga, Dha, and Ma have also been declared to be the vadi and samvadi (in various combinations).  Kalingada’scharacteristics are:

Arohana

Avarohana

Jati

Sampurna – Sampurna

Time

Last part of night

That

Bhairav That -

Drone

Sa – Pa -