Equivalent (and Near-Equivalent) Ragas in Hindustani and Carnatic Music

The hindustaani equivalent of a mELaa is called a thaaT. All hindustaani ragas are classified under 10 thaaTs. Names in brackets are mELaa names. The thaaTs are as follows:

1. kalyaaN (mEcakalyaaNi) 2. bilaaval (dheera shankaraabharaNam) 3. khamaaj (harikaambhOji) 4. bhairav (maayamaaLava gowLa) 5. bhairavi (tODi) 6. asaavEri (naTabhairavi) 7. tODi (shubhapantuvaraaLi) 8. poorvi (pantuvaraaLi) 9. maarvaa (gamanaashrama) 10. kaafi (kharaharapriyaa)

What follows is a table of raagaas, which are the scales in Indian music, or the set of notes used in any given piece. First is the hindustani (north Indian) raagaa, followed by its equivalent/near equivalent raagaa in carnaaTic music. For each raga, the thaaT and the mELakartaa or mELaa scales, notations of the main or raga from which the derivative or janya raagaa is formed, are also given.

Where carnaaTic raagaas are separated by a slash , the first raga is aarOha (ascending scale) and the second raga is the avarOha (descending scale).

That Hindustani Raga Mela Carnatic Raga

10 abhOgi kAnadA 22 aabhOgi

1 adbhut kalyAN 29 nirOSTa

2 alahiya bilAval 29 bilahari

9 ambikA 59 dharmavati

1

Anandi,

AnandkalyAN,

nand

65

Anandi,

AnandkalyANi,

nand

6 asAvri 20 naTabhairavi

2 auDhava bilAval 29 LalitA

10 bAgEshrI 22 bAgEshrI

10 bAgEshrIkAnaDA 22 kAnaDA

10 bahAr 22 kAnaDA

4 bairAgibhairav 2 rEvati

4 bangalAbhairav 15 kannaDabangALA

4 basantmukhAri 14 vasantamukhAri

2 behAg 29 behAg

4 bhairav 15 mAyAmAlavagauLa

5 bhairavi 8 sindhubhairavi

2 bhaTiyAri 28 cHAyAtarangiNi,

sAmA

2 bhImpalAsi 20 bhImpalAs,

karnATakadEvagAndhAri

1 bhUpali,

bhUp 28 mOhana

1 bhUpkalyAN 65 mOhanakalyANi

4 bibhAs 15 bibhAsu,

bauLi

2 bilAval 29 dhIrashankarAbharaNa,

shankarAbharaNam

10 brndAvanisArang 22 puSpalatikA

3 campak 28 balahamsa

1,3 campAkali 64 kEtakapriyA

10 candrakauns 21 kadaram

1 chAyA 29,65 bEgaDa/sAranga

8 dIpak 51 dIpaka

3 dEs 28 dEs

3 dEsgauD 28 dEsyagauLa

3 dEshAkSi 28 bilahari

2 dEshkAr 28 mOhana

4 dEvaranji 15 dEvaranji

10 dhanAshri (bhImpalAs anga) 22 karnaTakadEvagAndhAri

5 dhanAshri (tODi anga) 8 dhanyAsi

6 darbArikAnaDA 22 darbArikAnaDA

2 durgA 29 shuddhasAvEri,

madhuradhvani

3 gArA 22 dhanakApi

4 gauri 15 gauri

4 girijA 17 vasantA

10 gOpikAmbhOdi 20 gOpikAvasanta

10 gauNDgiri 22 puSpalatikA,

suddhadhanyAsi

1 hamIrkalyAN 65 hamIrkalyANi

2 hamsadhvani 29 hamsadhvani

1 hamskalyAN 29/65 hamsadhvani/kalyANi

2 hEmkalyAN 29 bEgaDA

2 hEmant 29 hEmant

1 hindOl

sAnjh 65 sunAdavinOdini

8 indumati 51 indumati

9 jait (type 4) 53 gamanAshrama

1 jaitkalyAN 28 mOhana

10 jaijaivanti 22 dvIjavanti,

jIjavanti

10 jayant 22 jayantasEnA

6 jIvanpuri,

jOnpuri 20

jOnpuri,

shuddhadEsi

10 jhinjOTi 28 jinjUTi

4 jOgiyA,

guNakrI 15 sAvEri

3 kalAvati 16 valaji

1 kalyAN,

yaman 65

mEcakalyANi,

kalyANi

3 khamAj 28 harikAmbhOji

4 kamalamanOhari 27 kamalamanOhari

10 kAfi 22 kharaharapriyA

6 kOkilapancham 8 prabhupriyA

2 kEdAra 29 nIlAmbari

3 khamAjI 28 khamAjI

3 khambAvati 28 balahamsa

8 kusumaranjani 15 gauLipantu

2 lAjvanti 29 shuddhasAvEri

9 lalit 17/53 sUryalalit

4 lalitpancam 15 lalitapancama

10 madhmadsArang,

madhyamadisArang 22 madhyamAvati

10 madhuranjani 36

22

gambhIranATa

shuddhadhanyAsi

9 madhuvanti 59 dharmavati

5 mAlkauns 20 hindOLa

1 malarANi 60 hamsanAda

6 mAlkali 20 jayantashrI

2 mAND 29 mAND

2 manOhari 22 manOhari

1 mArgabehAg 65 shuddhakOshala

9 mArva 53 gamanAshramA

4 mEgharanji 15 mEgharanjani

7 multAni 45 gamakasAmantam

3 nAgasvari 28 nAgasvarALi

3 nArAyaNi 28 nArAyaNi

4 naTbhairav 27 sarasAngi

3 nATakuranji 28 nATakuranji

10 palAsi 22 puSpalatikA

rudrapriya

5 pancam mAlkauns 20 jayantashrI

9 paraj 15 paraju,

paras

10 paTadIp 22 paTadIp

10 paTamanjari 22 phalamanjari

10 pIlU 22 pIlU

9 pUria 53 hamsAnandi

9 pUriAdhanshrI 51 kAmavardhini

8 pUrvi 51 kAmavardhini

9 pUrvakalyAN 53 pUrvikalyANi

3 pratApavarALi 28 pratApavarALi

3 puNDalIka 28 nAgavalli

3 rAgEshrI 28 ravicandrikA

2 salang 29 skandamanOramA

1 sarasvati 64 sarasvati

4 saurASTrabhairav 17 saurAStra

10 shahAnA 22 ShahAnA

2 shankara 29 shankara

10 sindhUrA 22 saLagabhairavi

6 shObhAvari 20 sutAdri

1 shrIkalyAn 64 sarasvati

2 shuddha bilAval 29 shankarAbharaNa

1 shuddha kalyAN 65 mOhanakalyANi

6 sindhubhairavi 10 sindhubhairavi

9 sOhini 53 hamsAnandi

3 sOraT 28 suraTi

3 suhAkAnaDA 28 puSpalatikA

3 sUryakauns 23 kamalA

4 takkA 15 takkA

3 tilak kAmOd 27 nalinakAnti

3 tilang 30 tilang

7 tODi 45 shubhapantuvarALi

9 varaTi 52 paTalAmbari

9 vibhAvari 14 lasaki

1 yamankalyAN 65 yamunAkalyANi

Next: Close raagas

Darbaar or Naayaki?

Previous: Equivalent Raagas in Hindustani Next: Raga and Rasa

darbaar and naayaki are two of the many close raagas which have the same swarastaanas (notes) but which differ subtly from one another. Citraveena Ravikiran tells the story of a musician who was singing darbaar, but with many traces of naayaki in it. When another prominent musician complained, he quipped, "What kind of darbaar (court) would it be without naayaki (a heroine)!"

So keeping such raagas straight is not an easy task even for seasoned musicians. There are many such raagas, with the same notes but which differ slightly. Other raagas have very different swaras but strongly have the chaaya (see glossary, C) of another raaga. These can be hard to separate whether you are performing or just listening to music. We will attempt to separate a few commonly confused raagas here.

Some often confused raagas:

darbaar and naayaki

bhairavi and maanji

aarabi and shyaamaa

sudda dhanyaasi and udhaya ravi candrikaa

shree and madyamaavati

valaci and malayamaarutam

Soon, we will discuss these raagas in more detail. You will notice that some of the pairs noted above have the same swarastaanas, and others even have the same aarOhana and avarOhana. Subtleties of gamaka and stress separate these raagas.

Darbaar is separated from naayaki by the phrase g, g, r s with emphasis on the two ga's. In naayaki, one should have only m g r s or g r s. This makes a very subtle but important distinction that separates the two raagas.

Bhairavi and maanji are different subtly as well, both having the same swaras. You will find, however, that only maanji contains P M P M P, or P G R S. These can be difficult to separate but these subtle sancaarams will make the difference. Similarly, in husEni, the phrase P N2 D2 N2 is characteristic.

Aarabi and shyaamaa are also very close raagas. Aarabi often uses a nishaadam (N3) in avarOhana phrases such as S N D P, which is never used in shyaamaa. But some compositions in aarabi are nishaadam varja (no ni is performed), and in these, subtle phrases like S R G S will tell you it's shyaamaa, because aarabi does not have G in the aarOhanam. Other phrases like M D D S and D P D S are also usually restricted to shyaamaa.

Udhaya ravi candrikaa and sudda dhanyaasi are not always distinguished as raagas, and indeed are considered by some to be the same raaga. However, strictly speaking, sudda dhanyaasi's aarOhana uses S G M P N P S while the other uses S G M P N S.

Shree and madyamaavati often sound very similar. However, shree raga contains a saadhaarana G, which when it appears is distinct. It also contains da in the phrase S N P D N P M. Madyamaavati is simply S R M P N S, S N P M R S. Also, the R oscillates in madyamaavati and is usually stationary in shree.

Valaci and malayamaarutam are often confused. They have the same scales, but they are easily distinguished because valaci does not contain ri. Malayamaarutam includes sudda rishabam (R1) in both the aarOhaNam and avarOhanam.

These brief notes will help you distinguish some of the easily confused raagas, but the best training, of course, is to just listen to compositions in these raagas so you get a feel for them. It takes time but it's not that hard!

How does a raga make you feel?

Previous: Close ragas Next: Time of Day Now you know something about how to identify and distinguish ragas. But there is another, subtle, aspect of ragas: how they evoke emotion. This is called the "rasa" or "rasam" - literally the "essence" of the raga.

There are a number of rasas corresponding to various ragas. Below is a table of ragas that are associated with different rasas. Keep in mind that a single raga can evoke diverse feelings.

Rasa Meaning Ragas

adbhuta/arpuda wonder, astonishment behaag

saaranga

bhayanaka fear punaaagavaraaLi

bibhatsa disgust aThaaNaa

hasya joy/laughter

hamsadwani

kEdaaram

mOhanam

karuNaa sorrow, anguish

ghanTa

kaanaDaa

naadanaamakriyaa

sahaanaa

varaaLi

rowdra anger aThaaNaa

aarabi

shaanta calm, peace shyaamaa

vasantaa

shringaara love

asaavEri

bhairavi

husEni

kaanaDaa

kalyaaNi

kamaas

sahaanaa

shuruTTi

veera courage

aThaaNaa

bilahari

bEgaDa

dEvagaandhaari

hamsadwani

Aside from these rasas, there is "bhakthi rasa," the feeling of devotion. Many ragas invoke this, most notably the ragas used in the Vedas and slokas, like kharaharapriyaa and rEvati.

Some types of songs also go with certain ragas. Lullabies typically use ragas like neelaambari or navrOj, among others. Mangalams and finishing songs use madyamaavati.

Finally, different composers may use various ragas to evoke emotions other than what is assigned to that raga. So, you may find a laali in madyamaavati, a sad song in hamsadwani. The composers define the music, so the raga itself may be adapted to the feeling that seems to suit the song!

Next: Time of Day

At what time of day should you perform a raga?

Previous: Raga Rasas Next: Introduction to Taala After finding out how a raaga can make you feel, you are not ready to perform it yet. Each raaga actually has an appropriate time to be performed!

Here is a brief compilation of the times and some raagas corresponding to them. You can find more about each time in the glossary.

Time of day Time Ragas

Early Morning before sunrise

4-6am

ghanakaala raagas

bhoopaaLam

bowLi

Morning after sunrise

6-9am

bilahari

dhanyaasi

kEdaaram

Forenoon before noon

9am-noon

asaavEri

dEva manOhari

saavEri

Midday noon-1pm

madyamaavati

maNirangu

shree

Afternoon 1-4pm bEgaDa

mukhaari

Evening end of day

4-7pm

ghanakaala raagas

aananda bhairavi

naaTTai kurinji

poorvi kalyaaNi

shanmugapriyaa

vasantaa

Night 7-10pm kEdaara gowLa

neelaambari

Sarvakaalika any time of day

bhairavi

kaambhOji

kalyaaNi

shankaraabharaNam

The last set, the sarvakaalika raagas, are common raagas and can be performed at any time.

You'll find that compositions are also composed - many lullabies are sung at night and are therefore composed in neelaambari. Other songs are morning songs and composed in bhoopaaLam.

Performers always conclude a concert with madyamaavati. Though it is intended to be a midday raaga, it is said to appease the gods and nullify any inconsistencies in singing raagas at the wrong time.

Next: Introduction to Taala

Here is a table of the major taaLas used in Carnatic music.

Previous: Introduction to TaaLa Next: Gamakas

First we list the 16 angas (sOdashangams) and then follows the table of the 35 taalas. Please see the previous page or the glossary for a description of the terms and system of taalas.

anga name symbol aksharakaalas movement

anudrutam U 1 beat with palm

drutam 0 2 beat with palm + turn (wave)

druta viramam U

0 3 (1 + 2) anudrutam + drutam

laghu |(#) 4 (or 3,5,7,9) beat + finger counts

laghu viramam U

| 5 (1+4) anudrutam + laghu

laghu drutam 0| 6 (4+2) laghu + drutam

laghudruta viramam U

0| 7 (1+2+4) anudrutam + drutam + laghu

guru 8 8 wave to left and right or circle with thumb-up

guru viramam U

8 8 (1+8) anudrutam + guru

guru drutam 08 10 (8+2) guru + drutam

gurudruta viramam U

08 11 (1+2+8) anudrutam + drutam + guru

plutam |8 12 (8+4) beat + wave to sides

pluta viramam U

|8 13 (1+12) anudrutam + plutam

pluta drutam 0|8 14 (12+2) plutam + drutam

pluta druta viramam U

0|8 15 (1+2+12) anudrutam + drutam + plutam

kaakapaadam + 16 beat plus wave up and to sides

The table of the 35 taaLas is listed below. The total numbers in the laghu are given in parenthesis, ex. catushra jaati = |(4). TaaLas are named first by their jaati then by the taaLa type of the 7, as in tishra jaati Eka taaLam.

taala group jaati angas aksharakaalas

1. dhruva tisra |(3) 0 |(3) |(3) 11

2. catushra |(4) 0 |(4) |(4) 14

3. khaNDa |(5) 0 |(5) |(5) 17

4. mishra |(7) 0 |(7) |(7) 23

5. sankeerna |(9) 0 |(9) |(9) 29

6. matya tisra |(3) 0 |(3) 8

7. catushra |(4) 0 |(4) 10

8. khaNDa |(5) 0 |(5) 12

9. mishra |(7) 0 |(7) 16

10. sankeerna |(9) 0 |(9) 20

11. roopaka tishra 0 |(3) 5

12. catushra 0 |(4) 6

13. khaNDa 0 |(5) 7

14. mishra 0 |(7) 9

15. sankeerna 0 |(9) 11

16. jhampa tishra |(3) U 0 6

17. catushra |(4) U 0 7

18. khaNDa |(5) U 0 8

19. mishra |(7) U 0 10

20. sankeerna |(9) U 0 12

21. tripuTa tishra |(3) 0 0 7

22. catushra (aadi) |(4) 0 0 8

23. khaNDa |(5) 0 0 9

24. mishra |(7) 0 0 11

25. sankeerna |(9) 0 0 13

26. aTa tishra |(3) |(3) 0 0 10

27. catushra |(4) |(4) 0 0 12

28. khaNDa |(5) |(5) 0 0 14

29. mishra |(7) |(7) 0 0 18

30. sankeerna |(9) |(9) 0 0 22

31. Eka tishra |(3) 3

32. catushra |(4) 4

33. khaNDa |(5) 5

34. mishra |(7) 7

35. sankeerna |(9) 9

These are the major taaLas (suladisapta taaLas). Incorporating the other angas (guru, plutam, kaakapaadam) brings us up to 108 taaLas, and even more if one includes the caapu taaLas and other variations.

Next: Gamakas

Gamakas are subtle (and not-so-subtle) decorations of notes, usually referred to as "shaking the note." They come in various forms and are incorporated into ragas, giving each note a unique characteristic and a delicate beauty when performed.

Previous: TaaLa table Next: Singing Practice

The types of gamakas are below:

aarOha - this is the ascending scale. Moving from one note ascending to the next is a gamaka. These can also be done rapidly and in succession, giving long runs of great beauty when executed with skill. ex: s r g m p d n S R G M

avarOha - similarly, moving down from a higher note to the next lower note is also a gamaka. ex: M G R

S n d p m g r s

daatu - using one note as a base and jumping to others in succession. This is great for emphasizing one

note and also giving almost a rhythmic tone to the singing. ex: sr sg sm sp sd sn sS

spuritam - these are repeated notes, in twos. In such cases, the second note is usually stressed. ex: ss

rr gg mm pp dd nn SS

kampitam - this means singing a note between two notes. For example, ma can be sung instead as

gpgpgp... giving a shake to the note

aahatam - using notes in succession (ascending) but paired with the next note. ex: sr rg gm mp pd dn ns

It can also be used as gmg rgr srs

pratyaavatam - the same as aahatam but in the descending scale. ex: Sn nd dp pm mg gr rs It can also

be used as sns ndn dpd ...

tripuccam - repeated notes in threes. ex: sss rrr ggg mmm ppp ddd nnn sss

aandOLam - also called dOlakam, this is, for example, srsg srsm srsp srsd srsn srsS

moorcanai - this is using the proper gamakam of the raaga. If a raga requires the use of a particular

gamaka for a certain note, this must be performed when singing the scale or whenever the note is sung

or performed

daaTu - this is jumping of notes within a scale, skipping notes. ex: sg rm gp md pn dS

jaaru - a glide or slide from one note to another (whether successive or from a distant note) ex: s .... S

hampitam - a rarely used gamaka in recent years, this is the use of the syllable "hoom" (like boom)

naabhitam - swelling a note in volume (like a crescendo)

mudritam - humming, singing with the mouth closed ex: mmmmm...

tribhinnam - performing multiple (usually 3) notes at once, as in a chord. This is for instrumental

performers only

mishritam - using a mixture of any gamakas listed above

Next: How to Practice Singing

Carnatic music practice - if you are a singer of Carnatic music, here are some useful basics of music practice.

Previous: Types of Gamakas Next: Notation and Symbols

Practice early in the morning. This is useful because you're on an empty stomach and not sleepy. It's also a time when it's quiet and you won't be distracted by duties and random sounds all over the place.

You will first want to turn on a tambura or sruti box. Your teacher can teach you how to tune it - make sure you learn properly, and learn what pitch you usually sing to. If you don't have either of these, record the tambura sound or sruti box on a tape and play it while you sing, on both sides (so you can just play the other side of the tape when one side is done).

Listen to the tambura, sruti box, or a tape of the tambura or shruti box for three to five minutes. This will help get you in the music mood and will help calm you, too. Just sit and listen and breathe with the notes.

Watch your posture. You should be sitting with legs crossed and arms at your thighs, preferably. Sit up - no slumping or slouching, keep your chin up (but don't look up), and look straight ahead. Don't hold your breath but take deep breaths, pushing your diaphragm (and stomach) OUTWARD when you breathe in and letting it sink back when you exhale thoroughly.

Your singing can begin with Sa. It's useful to begin singing in a raaga like maayamaaLava gowLa or shankaraabharaNam. Hold the sa for as long as you can. If you run out of breath, try again. With practice you'll be able to hold your breath longer. It helps to push your stomach outward when you are trying to hold the sa to push more air out of your lungs. Use your breath sparingly, and don't exhale all the air at once, but DO sing loudly and freely. As teachers say, you must really "sing from your stomach," which lets the vibrations come from your stomach to your chest, then your throat and finally your mouth, giving a rounded, rich tone to your voice.

Your mouth and neck should also be straight. When you sing, avoid shaking your head too much. When you sing gamakas, they should not REQUIRE shaking of your head, so hold your head upright. Keep your chin back towards your neck and not sticking out (like a duck), with your shoulders back. Imagine the sound coming from the back of your throat, not the front of your mouth. Sing in front of a mirror or get someone to watch you and point out what you're doing wrong occasionally.

After you sing sa, you can vary around the sa, as in sn.srssn.n.p.n.n.srrsnrs This practice of varying around a note will allow you to extend your range lower. After varying around sa, you can vary around low ni, etc. Slowly sing sa, and work your way up to singing ri next. From there go to ga, ma, pa, da, and ni, and finally high sa, holding each note as long as possible. At first you may only be able to hold the notes for 10 seconds, but eventually you should be able to hold notes for an entire minute, clearly and strongly without gasping for breath.

From here you can sing the sarali varisais, janta varisais, daaTu varisais and the other beginners' lessons, found here. Sing the lessons at different speeds: one note per beat, then two, then four, then finally (when you can) eight notes per beat. These exercises will improve your ability to say the swaras, improve your breath, extend your range, and most importantly, understand the swarastaanas - that is, sing the proper, steady pitch for each note at whatever speed.

You should also split the swaras properly. Thus srgsrgsr should not be sung as just a string of swaras. It is made of small phrases: srg - srg - sr. Pay attention to these, because they make the difference between just singing what is written and bringing out the composer's (or singer's) knowledge of music.

These exercises include various forms of gamakas, and you can see them in the swaras you sing. To improve your gamaka, you can also sing the phrases next with the sound aaa... instead of the swaras. Then try other syllables, like eee..., ooo..., ayyyyy...., aii...., mmm...., ohhhh.... etc.

Add the taaLam when you are proficient at the early lessons. This will be useful especially when singing in the four speeds. Concentrate on keeping the taaLam on your lap, not beating too hard but lightly and lifting the palm at each beat, even on the laghu. Do not get lazy with you taaLam!

When you have a particular song you are going to practice, it's useful to do this practice of the early phrases in the raaga. If it is not a sampoorna raaga (with some swaras missing), you can adjust the phrases accordingly. For example, with a raagam like mOhanam you can sing: srsrsrgp | srgpddS, || SdSdSdpg | Sdpgrrs, || ssrrgsrg | ssrrggpp || rrggprgp | rrggppdd ||... srgpdSS, | S,,,S,,, || pdSRSdpg | Sdpgrss, ||...

When you have a raaga now firmly based in your head, you can go on to sing songs. Keep in mind that the splitting of phrases you do with the swaras of a song may be very different from those of the words. Learn the meaning, composer, and raaga of every song you learn in addition to just the words. Know the proper splitting of words, so you won't accidentally take a breath in the middle of a word and maybe even offend some people!

If you are singing a song, pay special attention to the words or lyrics of the song. You should pronounce them properly and clearly, without splitting words in half. Find out from your teacher, a friend, or on this

site the complete lyrics and full meaning of the song so that you understand each word as well as the complete meaning of the song. Try to keep the meaning of the song in mind - the composer has created it with such feeling, and you must convey that to your audience to make the music melodious and true to its creator.

Proper practice is vital to good voice cultivation and knowledgeable and beautiful singing. Don't get disheartened - small amounts of daily practice whenever you can add up, and you will improve every day!