Hindustani music: raga, tala and forms

Performing Arts (music / dance / theatre) (BPA / BA Music) · Music · free study notes for exams, placements and interviews

In short

Hindustani (North Indian) classical music organises melody as raga and time as tala, and presents them through fixed forms - dhrupad, khayal, thumri, tarana, and the instrumental alap-jor-jhala-gat. Raga is a rule-bound melodic framework (not a scale) with a chosen set of swaras, ascent-descent shape, dominant notes and a characteristic phrase; tala is a cyclic time measure counted in matras, divided into vibhags, and realised on tabla or pakhawaj as a theka. This is the core of BPA and BA/MA Music papers under UGC CBCS, of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya and Prayag Sangit Samiti grade examinations (Praveshika, Madhyama, Visharad, Alankar), and of UGC NET Music. It is tested in performance auditions for All India Radio / Prasar Bharati artist grading, ICCR empanelment, Sangeet Natak Akademi and SPIC MACAY programmes, and in interviews for school and university music teaching posts.

Explained

Swara, saptak and the 22 shrutis

Nada is musical sound; shruti is the smallest perceptible pitch interval. Ancient treatises (Bharata's Natyashastra, Sharngadeva's Sangita Ratnakara) fix 22 shrutis in an octave; they are not equal in size.
Seven shuddha swaras: Shadja (Sa), Rishabh (Re), Gandhar (Ga), Madhyam (Ma), Pancham (Pa), Dhaivat (Dha), Nishad (Ni). Sa and Pa are achal (immovable); Re, Ga, Dha, Ni have komal (flat) forms and Ma has a tivra (sharp) form - 12 swaras in all per saptak.
Bhatkhande's shruti allotment: Sa = 4th shruti, Re = 7th, Ga = 9th, Ma = 13th, Pa = 17th, Dha = 20th, Ni = 22nd. The 22 shruti names begin Tivra, Kumudvati, Manda, Chhandovati (Sa) and end Ugra, Kshobhini (Ni).
Saptak (register): *mandra* (lower), *madhya* (middle), *taar* (upper); ati-mandra and ati-taar are the extremes. Sa is movable in absolute pitch - the performer's tonic, set by the tanpura, usually with Sa and Pa (or Sa and Ma) drone strings.
Samvad (consonance): swaras 13 shrutis apart give shadja-pancham bhav (ratio 3:2); 9 shrutis apart give shadja-madhyam bhav (4:3). Vadi and samvadi are normally in one of these relations.
Alankar/palta are graded swara patterns for riyaz; ornaments include *meend* (glide), *kan* (grace note), *murki*, *khatka*, *gamak* (forceful oscillation), *andolan* (slow oscillation, as on komal Ga of Darbari), *ghaseet*, *zamzama* (tappa), *sut*.

Thaat and the anatomy of a raga

Thaat is a parent scale of seven swaras in ascending order, used only to classify; it is not sung. V. N. Bhatkhande fixed 10 thaats; mathematically 2⁵ = 32 such seven-swara scales are possible, so the ten are a chosen, incomplete classification - a standard exam criticism.
A raga needs, at minimum: (1) at least five swaras, (2) Sa compulsorily present, (3) Ma and Pa not both omitted, (4) shuddha and komal/tivra forms of the same swara not used in immediate unqualified succession, (5) it must be ranjak - pleasing - and have *aroha*, *avaroha* and *pakad*.
Aroha (ascent), avaroha (descent), pakad / mukhya ang (catch-phrase that identifies the raga), chalan (typical movement), swarup (overall form).
Vadi - the most prominent, most dwelt-on swara (the "king"); samvadi - second in importance; anuvadi - other allowed swaras; vivadi - a normally forbidden swara used sparingly for colour; varjit - omitted.
Jati by swara count: *audav* 5, *shadav* 6, *sampoorna* 7, combined as 9 jatis (audav-audav, audav-shadav, audav-sampoorna, and so on for ascent-descent).
Vakra raga: the swaras move crookedly, not in straight order (Shree, Ramkali). Alpatva-bahutva: a swara used scantily or liberally. Graha (starting), nyasa (resting/ending) and apanyasa swaras.
Poorvang = Sa to Pa (lower half), uttarang = Pa to Sa' (upper half); the adhvadarshak swara (Ma or Pa) indicates which half dominates.
Raganga, upanga, bhashanga; also the older classifications Shuddha-Chhayalag-Sankeerna, the Raga-Ragini-Putra system, and the Carnatic 72-melakarta scheme - all superseded for teaching purposes by thaat-raga paddhati.

Time theory, notation and current practice

Samay chakra: the day is divided into eight *prahars* of three hours, and ragas are assigned to them. Rules Bhatkhande formulated: sandhi-prakash ragas (dawn and dusk) use komal Re and Dha - Bhairav, Marwa, Purvi, Bhatiyar; ragas with komal Ga and Ni but shuddha Re-Dha belong to mid-morning/mid-night - Kafi, Bhimpalasi, Bageshri; all-shuddha ragas follow the sandhi-prakash period - Bilawal, Khamaj, Desh.
Poorvang-pradhan ragas (vadi in the lower half) are sung from noon to midnight; uttarang-pradhan ragas from midnight to noon. Seasonal ragas: Malhar group (monsoon), Basant and Bahar (spring), Hindol (Holi).
Bhatkhande swaralipi (the standard in most Indian universities): komal marked by a horizontal line below the letter, tivra Ma by a vertical line above; taar saptak a dot above, mandra a dot below; X marks sam, 0 marks khali, 2, 3, 4 mark the other talis; matras in boxes, two swaras in one matra joined by an arc. Paluskar swaralipi (Gandharva Mahavidyalaya) uses a different set of signs for saptak and swara variety.
Bhatkhande's Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati and Kramik Pustak Malika, and Paluskar's Sangeet Balprakash, are the prescribed sources; Bhatkhande also wrote lakshan geets (songs that state a raga's own rules).
Professional context: performers' rights are protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 (performer's right inserted by the 1994 amendment; exclusive and moral rights of performers and royalty sharing added by the 2012 amendment); royalties are administered through IPRS and ISRA. Fees for a performance in a folk or classical art form are exempt from GST up to ₹1,50,000 per performance per the services exemption notification (brand-ambassador work is excluded); the standard service rate otherwise is 18%.

Tala: matra, vibhag, theka and laya

Tala is a fixed cycle of time; matra is one beat; vibhag (khand) is a section of the cycle; avartan is one full cycle; sam is matra 1, the strongest point; tali is a clapped (filled) vibhag; khali is the empty vibhag, shown by a wave of the hand and played with lighter, open bols.
Theka is the standard bol-pattern of a tala on tabla (pakhawaj for dhrupad talas). Bol = drum syllable: Dha, Dhin, Na, Ta, Tin, Ka, Ge, Tirakita.
Laya (tempo): *ati-vilambit*, vilambit (slow), madhya (medium), drut (fast), *ati-drut*. Broadly, vilambit is under about 60 matras per minute, madhya roughly 60-150 and drut above that; the boundaries are conventional, not standardised.
Layakari - dividing the matra: *thaah* (1 syllable per matra), dugun (2), tigun (3), chaugun (4), aad (1½), *kuaad* and *biaad* (commonly 1¾ and 2½; usage varies by gharana).
Tihai - a phrase repeated three times to land its last stroke on sam: *damdar* (with gaps between repetitions), *bedam* (without gaps), chakradar (the whole tihai itself repeated three times).
Tabla repertoire: peshkar, kayda (with its *paltas* and *tihai*), rela, tukda, mukhda, mohra, gat, paran, uthan. Tabla gharanas: Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Benares, Punjab.

Vocal forms

Dhrupad - the oldest surviving form, austere and masculine in character; sung with a nom-tom alap (syllables like *na, re, te, tom* on the raga, without tala) followed by the composition in four sections: sthayi, antara, sanchari, abhog (often only the first two are sung). Talas: Chautaal (12), Sultaal (10), Teevra (7) on pakhawaj; text in Braj Bhasha, devotional or in praise of a patron. Four banis: Gauhar, Khandar, Dagar, Nauhar. Dagar, Darbhanga (Mallik) and Bettiah lines carry it today.
Dhamar - the Holi-related form in Dhamar tala (14 matras); Sadra - in Jhaptaal (10).
Khayar/Khayal - the dominant concert form; imaginative and elaborative. Bada khayal in vilambit laya, preceded by an *aochar/alap*, developed through *bol-alap*, *behlawa*, *bol-banao*, *sargam*, *bol-taan* and taans (sapat, koot, gamak, jabda, halak); chhota khayal in drut laya follows, ending in fast taans and a tihai. The composition (bandish/cheez) has sthayi and antara, with a mukhda - the phrase that brings the singer back to sam.
Khayal talas: vilambit Ektaal (12), Tilwada (16), Jhumra (14), Ada-chautaal (14); drut Teentaal (16), Ektaal, Jhaptaal.
Khayal gharanas: Gwalior (the oldest, plain and balanced - Haddu-Hassu Khan), Agra (dhrupad-influenced, nom-tom, forceful), Kirana (swara-centred, slow vilambit - Abdul Karim Khan, Bhimsen Joshi), Jaipur-Atrauli (complex and uncommon ragas - Alladiya Khan, Kesarbai, Kishori Amonkar), Patiala (tappa-thumri colour, brilliant taans - Bade Ghulam Ali Khan), Rampur-Sahaswan, Bhendibazar, Mewati (Jasraj), Delhi.
Thumri - semi-classical, romantic and bhakti-shringar texts in Braj/Awadhi. Bandish ki thumri (bol-baant, fast, Punjab ang) and bol-banao thumri (slow, word-painting, Purab ang of Lucknow and Banaras). Talas: Deepchandi (14), Jat (16), Addha/Punjabi (16); sung in light ragas - Khamaj, Desh, Bhairavi, Kafi, Tilak Kamod, Mishra Pilu.
Tappa - Punjabi folk origin, shaped by Shori Miyan (Ghulam Nabi); rapid khatka-zamzama clusters, usually in Punjabi tala.
Tarana - mnemonic syllables (ta, na, dir, dim, tom), credited by tradition to Amir Khusrau, sung in drut laya. Trivat (drum bols), Chaturang (four elements - words, sargam, tarana syllables, drum bols), Ragamala, Lakshan geet, Sargam geet.
Light-classical and devotional: Dadra, Hori, Kajri, Chaiti, Sawani, Ghazal, Bhajan, Sufi qawwali.

Instrumental forms and the order of a presentation

Alap - free, unmetred unfolding of the raga, swara by swara, usually from the mandra saptak; jor - a pulse appears without tala; jhala - fast rhythmic strumming on the chikari strings.
Gat - the composed instrumental piece with tala: Masitkhani gat (vilambit, after Masit Khan, usually Teentaal, begins on matra 12) and Razakhani gat (drut, after Raza Khan). Developed with todas, tans, bol-baant, jhala; jod-raga and ragamala as display pieces.
Instruments: *tat* (plucked - sitar, sarod, surbahar, santoor is struck), *vitat* (bowed - sarangi, violin, esraj), *sushir* (wind - bansuri, shehnai), *avanaddha* (percussion - tabla, pakhawaj), *ghan* (solid - manjira). Tanpura gives the drone; harmonium and sarangi accompany vocal music.
Concert order (typical khayal recital): tuning and sur-milana → vilambit bada khayal → chhota khayal → a tarana or a thumri/dadra → Bhairavi or a bhajan to close.
Jugalbandi - duet of two soloists; sawal-jawab - question-answer exchange with the tabla; ladi/ladant in fast passages.

Key points

Raga - a melodic framework with at least five swaras, Sa compulsory, fixed aroha-avaroha, vadi-samvadi and pakad; a scale alone is not a raga.
Thaat - parent scale for classification only; Bhatkhande's 10 out of 32 possible seven-swara scales.
Achal swaras - Sa and Pa, which have no variant; 7 shuddha + 4 komal + 1 tivra = 12 swaras.
22 shrutis - unequal microtonal steps in an octave; Sa at the 4th, Pa at the 17th in Bhatkhande's allotment.
Vadi-samvadi - most and second-most prominent swaras, usually 9 or 13 shrutis apart (4:3 or 3:2).
Jati - swara count of ascent and descent, giving nine combinations from audav-audav to sampoorna-sampoorna.
Sandhi-prakash ragas - dawn/dusk ragas marked by komal Re and komal Dha (Bhairav, Marwa, Purvi).
Matra, vibhag, avartan - beat, section and one full cycle of a tala; sam is matra 1, khali the empty vibhag.
Theka - the identifying bol pattern of a tala; Teentaal 16 (4+4+4+4), Jhaptaal 10 (2+3+2+3), Ektaal 12 (2×6), Rupak 7 (3+2+2, which begins on khali).
Layakari - dugun, tigun, chaugun and aad (1½) multiplications of the syllable density against a constant tala.
Tihai - threefold repetition resolving on sam; chakradar repeats the tihai three times.
Dhrupad - four sections (sthayi, antara, sanchari, abhog), nom-tom alap, pakhawaj, Chautaal/Sultaal/Dhamar.
Khayal - sthayi and antara with a mukhda; bada khayal vilambit (Ektaal, Tilwada, Jhumra), chhota khayal drut (Teentaal).
Thumri - bol-banao (Purab ang) and bol-baant (Punjab ang) types, in Deepchandi, Jat or Addha.
Tarana and tappa - syllabic drut form, and the khatka-zamzama form attributed to Shori Miyan.
Instrumental sequence - alap → jor → jhala → Masitkhani (vilambit) gat → Razakhani (drut) gat → jhala.
Notation - Bhatkhande (line below for komal, vertical line above for tivra, X for sam, 0 for khali) and Paluskar systems.

Formulas and examples

Interval in cents I = 1200 × log₂(f₂ / f₁); f = frequency in Hz. One equal-tempered semitone = 100 cents, one octave = 1200 cents.
Just ratios from Sa: Re 9/8, Ga 5/4, Ma 4/3, Pa 3/2, Dha 5/3, Ni 15/8; komal Ga 6/5, komal Ni 16/9, tivra Ma 45/32.
Avartan duration T = M × 60 / L seconds; M = matras in the tala, L = laya in matras per minute (MM).
Number of avartans in a piece N = total seconds / T.
Matras occupied by a phrase = (number of syllables) ÷ (layakari factor).
Damdar tihai total positions P = 3p + 2g; p = matras per phrase, g = gap in matras. For the last stroke to fall on sam of a tala of M matras, start matra = (M + 2) − P (add M if negative, i.e. begin in the previous cycle).

Example 1 - cents and tempered pitch. For Pa, I = 1200 × log₂(1.5) = 1200 × 0.58496 = 702 cents (tempered Pa = 700, so the difference is only 2 cents). For shuddha Ga (5/4), I = 1200 × 0.32193 = 386 cents against a tempered major third of 400 - the harmonium is 14 cents sharp on Ga, which is why vocalists tune to the tanpura, not the harmonium. For komal Ga (6/5), I = 1200 × 0.26303 = 316 cents. Average shruti size = 1200 ÷ 22 = 54.5 cents, but real shrutis range roughly 22-90 cents, so they are not equal.

Example 2 - avartan and cycle count. A bada khayal in vilambit Teentaal at MM 36: T = 16 × 60 / 36 = 26.67 s. In a 25-minute presentation (1,500 s), N = 1500 / 26.67 = 56 avartans. The same raga's chhota khayal in drut Teentaal at MM 240: T = 16 × 60 / 240 = 4 s, so 56 avartans would take only 224 s - the reason the drut section covers far more cycles in far less time.

Example 3 - layakari. A bandish line of 12 syllables set in thaah fills 12 matras. In dugun it occupies 12 / 2 = 6 matras, tigun 12 / 3 = 4, chaugun 12 / 4 = 3, and aad (1½) 12 / 1.5 = 8 matras. A 16-syllable line in tigun would need 16 / 3 = 5.33 matras - not a whole number, so it will not align with sam and must be recast or sung in chaugun (4 matras).

Example 4 - tihai in Teentaal. Phrase "Dha Ti Ta Dha Ge" = 5 matras, damdar with a 1-matra gap: P = 3(5) + 2(1) = 17 positions. Start matra = (16 + 2) − 17 = 1, so this tihai begins on sam and its last stroke lands exactly on the next sam - matras 1-5, gap 6, 7-11, gap 12, 13-17 (17 = sam of the next cycle). For a bedam tihai of the same phrase, P = 15, start matra = 18 − 15 = 3.

Example 5 - identifying a raga. Raga Bhimpalasi: aroha Sa ga Ma Pa ni Sa' (Re and Dha omitted, 5 swaras), avaroha Sa' ni Dha Pa Ma ga Re Sa (7 swaras) → jati audav-sampoorna; thaat Kafi; vadi Ma, samvadi Sa. Check the samvad: Sa is the 4th shruti, Ma the 13th → 13 − 4 = 9 shrutis apart, i.e. shadja-madhyam bhav (4:3) - a valid vadi-samvadi pair. Time: third prahar of the day (afternoon).

Thaat	Swaras (komal in lower case, tivra Ma')	Representative ragas
Bilawal	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni	Alhaiya Bilawal, Deshkar
Kalyan	Sa Re Ga Ma' Pa Dha Ni	Yaman, Shuddha Kalyan, Hameer
Khamaj	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha ni	Khamaj, Desh, Tilak Kamod
Kafi	Sa Re ga Ma Pa Dha ni	Kafi, Bhimpalasi, Bageshri
Asavari	Sa Re ga Ma Pa dha ni	Asavari, Jaunpuri, Darbari
Bhairavi	Sa re ga Ma Pa dha ni	Bhairavi, Malkauns, Bilaskhani Todi
Bhairav	Sa re Ga Ma Pa dha Ni	Bhairav, Kalingada, Jogiya
Marwa	Sa re Ga Ma' Pa Dha Ni	Marwa, Puriya, Sohini
Purvi	Sa re Ga Ma' Pa dha Ni	Purvi, Puriya Dhanashri, Shree
Todi	Sa re ga Ma' Pa dha Ni	Miyan ki Todi, Multani, Gujari Todi

Tala	Matras	Vibhag	Tali / khali	Chief use
Teentaal	16	4+4+4+4	X 2 0 3	Khayal, gat, tarana
Ektaal	12	2×6	X 0 2 0 3 4	Vilambit khayal
Jhaptaal	10	2+3+2+3	X 2 0 3	Sadra, instrumental
Rupak	7	3+2+2	0 (on sam) 1 2	Khayal, bhajan
Keherwa	8	4+4	X 0	Dadra, bhajan, film songs
Dadra	6	3+3	X 0	Dadra, light forms
Deepchandi	14	3+4+3+4	X 2 0 3	Bol-banao thumri
Chautaal	12	2×6 (pakhawaj)	X 0 2 0 3 4	Dhrupad
Dhamar	14	5+2+3+4	X 2 0 3	Dhamar (Holi)
Sultaal	10	2+2+2+2+2	X 0 2 3 0	Dhrupad

Feature	Dhrupad	Khayal	Thumri
Mood	Grave, devotional, veer	Elaborative, romantic to devotional	Shringar, viraha
Sections	4 (sthayi, antara, sanchari, abhog)	2 (sthayi, antara)	Sthayi and antara, short
Pre-composition	Nom-tom alap	Aochar / bol-alap	Brief lagav
Tala	Chautaal, Sultaal, Dhamar, Teevra	Ektaal, Tilwada, Jhumra, Teentaal	Deepchandi, Jat, Addha, Keherwa
Percussion	Pakhawaj	Tabla	Tabla
Elaboration	Layakari, bol-baant	Taan, bol-taan, sargam	Bol-banao, word repetition

Where it is used

Concert and festival circuit: Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen Mahotsav (Pune), Dover Lane (Kolkata), Tansen Samaroh (Gwalior), ITC Sangeet Sammelan; Sangeet Natak Akademi and state akademi programmes.
Broadcast and recording: Prasar Bharati / All India Radio and Doordarshan artist auditions and grading (B, B-High, A, Top), studio session work, OTT and label releases; royalty collection through IPRS and ISRA.
Teaching: university and college music departments (BPA/BA/MA, PhD) with UGC NET as the eligibility test; Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (Lucknow), Banaras Hindu University, Delhi University's Faculty of Music, Khairagarh (IKSVV); school music teacher posts in KVS, NVS and CBSE/ICSE schools; Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal and Prayag Sangit Samiti certification for private teaching.
Film, advertising and media music: raga-based composition and background scores, riyaz and tanpura apps, music-direction assistance, archival cataloguing of ragas and talas.
Accompaniment and craft: tabla, harmonium and sarangi accompanists (a working knowledge of theka, mukhda and tihai is the hiring test); instrument making and tuning in Miraj, Kolkata and Delhi.
Research and scholarships: CCRT and Ministry of Culture scholarships and fellowships, SPIC MACAY school outreach, ICCR empanelment for performing abroad, music therapy and ethnomusicology projects.

Interview questions

Q: What is the difference between a raga and a thaat? A: A thaat is only an ascending seven-swara scale used to classify; a raga additionally has aroha-avaroha, vadi-samvadi, a pakad, a time of performance and an aesthetic identity, and is what is actually performed.
Q: What are the minimum requirements for a melodic structure to be called a raga? A: At least five swaras, Sa present, not both Ma and Pa omitted, clear ascent, descent and pakad, and the capacity to please - without which it is only a scale.
Q: Which swaras are achal and why does it matter? A: Sa and Pa, because they have no komal or tivra form; they anchor tuning and give the shadja-pancham consonance of the tanpura.
Q: Name the jati of Raga Bhoopali and of Raga Bhimpalasi. A: Bhoopali is audav-audav (five swaras each way); Bhimpalasi is audav-sampoorna (five in ascent, seven in descent).
Q: What marks a sandhi-prakash raga? A: Komal Re with komal Dha (as in Bhairav, Marwa, Purvi) - the ragas of the junction hours of sunrise and sunset.
Q: Which tala begins on khali, and how is it counted? A: Rupak (7 matras, 3+2+2) - its sam is khali, with the first clap falling on matra 4.
Q: What is a mukhda and why does a khayal singer need it? A: The short opening phrase of the sthayi that is timed so its accent lands on sam, giving the singer a reliable way back to the cycle after free elaboration.
Q: Explain aad layakari with an example. A: Three syllables are sung in the span of two matras (a 1½ ratio), so a 12-syllable phrase occupies 8 matras instead of 12.
Q: How do you construct a tihai that ends on sam in Teentaal? A: Fix the phrase length p and the gap g, compute the total positions 3p + 2g, and begin (16 + 2) − that total matras into the cycle so the third repetition's last stroke coincides with sam.
Q: What are the four sections of a dhrupad and how many are usually sung today? A: Sthayi, antara, sanchari and abhog; in current practice usually only sthayi and antara are sung in full.
Q: Distinguish bol-baant from bol-banao thumri. A: Bol-baant (Punjab ang) breaks the words rhythmically against the tala at a brisker pace; bol-banao (Purab ang) dwells on a few words in slow Deepchandi, drawing out their emotional shades.
Q: Why do vocalists often object to the harmonium as an accompanying instrument? A: It is tuned in twelve equal semitones, so its Ga and Dha are about 14 cents away from just intonation and it cannot produce shrutis, meends or andolan.

Common mistakes

Treating thaat and raga as the same thing, or naming a thaat as a raga's identity while omitting vadi, samvadi and pakad in the answer.
Writing Bhairavi thaat with shuddha Re - it has komal Re, Ga, Dha, Ni; Asavari has shuddha Re with komal Ga, Dha, Ni.
Claiming the 22 shrutis are equal microtones of about 54.5 cents each - the average is 54.5, the actual sizes are unequal.
Getting tali-khali positions wrong: Ektaal is X 0 2 0 3 4, Teentaal is X 2 0 3, and Rupak's sam is khali.
Counting a tihai so that it ends *after* sam, or forgetting the two gaps in a damdar tihai.
Changing the tala's tempo while demonstrating layakari - in dugun or tigun the matra stays constant and only the syllable density changes.
Mixing up forms and their talas - Dhamar (14) with Chautaal (12), or assigning Deepchandi to a bada khayal instead of a bol-banao thumri.
Asserting the time theory as a rule of physics; it is a performance convention of the Bhatkhande school and is routinely set aside in modern concerts and recordings.