Raga

The word originally derives from the Sanskrit root ranj – a coloring of the soul. According to Indian tradition, every hour of the day has its own appropriate Raga, and every season of the year has its own Raga as well. They say that Miyan Tansen the legendary musician, was asked by the king to perform Raga Deepak, a Raga symbolizing the fire element. He refused at first, being afraid of the consequences, but later consented. While he was singing, the candles around Tansen begun lighting up of themselves, and several parts of the temple caught fire. Another Raga – Megh, symbolizes the element of water, and good musicians are said to be able to bring down rain when performing it.
Musically, each Raga consists of a certain ascending scale (called Arohi), and an identical or somewhat different descending scale (called Awarohi). Some notes are dominant (called Wadi), while others are less prominent (Samawadi). In addition, a Raga has certain musical movements characterizing it (Pakard), these tend to change for each Raga. Some Ragas share the same scale, but have different musical movements. Sometimes, the whole difference between two Ragas boils down to the different ways a single note is utilized in each of them. Such subtleties are part and parcel of Indian classical music tradition and practice – and are transmitted from master to disciple (Guru Shishya Parampara). Along with all the technicalities, the master also teaches the disciple how to express the emotional essence of each Raga (its inner taste called Rasa).
A musical performance usually starts with an Alap; free a-rhythmic improvisation, establishing the shape of the Raga by advancing slowly from one note to the other. The Alap is followed by a Jor; rhythmic improvisation, and a Jhala; faster rhythmic improvisation.
Once the Raga has been established and introduced, the drum comes in (traditionally, the Pakhawaj is used for Dhrupad and the Tabla for Khyal) and a composition is performed. These compositions are based on special rhythm cycles (called Tala). Apart from singing with the human voice, Dhrupad also utilizes the Rudra-Veena, a stringed instrument, while Khyal uses the Sitar, the flute (Bansuri), the Sarangi and various other instruments.

Dhrupad

A Dhrupad performance is made up of four parts – Alap, Jor, Jhala and a composition (Gat). Each of these parts is made up of four stages – Sthayi, Antara, Abhoga and Sanchari. These stages systematically introduce and establish the Raga and reveal its hidden essence. In addition to the usual thirteen notes, great attention is paid to micro-tonal intervals (Shruti). The compositions, mostly devotional songs to the Indian gods Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha and Saraswati, are based on the same Raga and are usually written in Braj-Bhasha (an early literary language and a predecessor of modern Hindi).
The Dhrupad style is divided into four different branches (Gharanas), each transmitted traditionally from master to disciple, preserving the style but also encouraging each new generation to provide it with new interpretations of its own. Thus, the ancient Dhrupad tradition keeps on living and thriving even today.

Khyal

A style more prominent and popular nowadays, Khyal (which literally means ‘imagination’ or ‘fantasy’) has been developed by courtly musicians as a lighter substitute to Dhrupad during the 17th century. Khyal performances usually start with a brief Alap followed by a slow composition (called Bara Khyal), followed by a faster one (called Chhota Khyal). Just as in Dhrupad, Khyal written compositions are rather concise, allowing great scope for improvisation. The compositions are accompanied by the Tabla, a set of two hand drums, and are usually based on rhythm cycles of 10, 12 or 16 beats.

Todi

Sarang

Vasant