History and Theory: Nad, Shruti, Swara, Gram, Murcchana, Raga-Ragini and Gharana
History and theory
This domain tests foundational concepts and historical lineages. Define terms precisely and link them to practice.
- Nad: sound; ahata is struck sound, anahata is unstruck. Shruti: microtonal unit; Bharata's Natyashastra names 22 shrutis.
- Swara: seven shuddha; vikrit forms produce twelve swarasthanas. Gram: three gramas-shadja, madhyama, gandhara; gandhara became obsolete. Murcchana: modal shift of a scale, used to derive ragas.
- Raga-ragini: historical classification of ragas as male and raginis as female, with putra and putri; one common scheme has six ragas and 36 raginis. It is classificatory, not a performance rule.
- Gharana: stylistic lineage, e.g. Gwalior for khayal bandish, Kirana for sustained slow khayal, Agra, Jaipur-Atrauli, Patiala.
- Figures: Tansen (c. 1500–1586) and Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) are associated with court repertoire; Bhatkhande (1860–1936) systematised notation and wrote Hindustani Sangeet Paddhati; Paluskar (1872–1931) founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya; Omkarnath Thakur (1897–1967) was a khayal singer and theorist.
Worked example
Take a shadja grama scale S R G M P D N. Starting on Ma gives M P D N S R G, a murcchana; starting on Ga gives G M P D N S R. Such shifts explain modal relationships, but a raga also needs pakad, vadi and chalan.
Traps
Calling every altered note a shruti; saying there are 12 shrutis; treating raga-ragini as a fixed scientific system; listing gharanas without traits; giving musician dates without contribution.