Practical Performance: Raga Presentation and Compositions
The practical paper tests a complete, short raga presentation and a composition in tala, with correct intonation and tala placement.
Sequence
- Announce the raga; give aroha, avaroha, jati, vadi, samvadi and time.
- Alap: unmetered, slow, phrase by phrase, dwelling on the vadi; no tabla.
- For instrumental items, jod and jhala; for vocal, vistaar and taan.
- Composition: sthai and antara (bandish) or gat, set in the chosen tala.
- Vilambit first, then drut; close with a tihai that lands on sam.
What earns marks
- Correct swara intonation, especially komal and tivra positions.
- Clear sam: the mukhda begins on matra 1, and every tihai resolves there.
- Audible tali/khali contrast when the tala has khali.
- Steady laya; no rushing in the alap.
- Clean text pronunciation in a vocal bandish.
Worked example
Yaman in Teentaal. The aroha uses tivra Ma: S R G M^ P D N S'. The sthai's first phrase begins on sam (matra 1); the khali at matra 9 is kept lighter; a 5-matra phrase repeated three times takes 15 matras, then one matra of rest lands the next cycle on sam. Reasoning: 16 = 3 × 5 + 1, so the tihai is mathematically placed.
Traps
- Starting the bandish before sam.
- Treating khali as a strong clap.
- Playing tivra Ma as shuddha Ma in Yaman.
- Making the alap fast and metrical.
- Announcing a thaat instead of a raga.