Prescribed Ragas: Notation, Vilambit and Drut Compositions
What the exam tests
Prescribed Ragas: Notation, Vilambit and Drut Compositions asks for controlled written and sung knowledge of the ragas named in your syllabus. For each one, prepare aroha, avaroha, pakad, vadi and samvadi, time, one vilambit bandish and one drut bandish, with sthayi and antara correctly placed.
Core rules
- A bandish is a composed song: sthayi establishes the raga and sam; antara usually moves into tar saptak and completes the text. Vilambit khayal expands the sthayi slowly; drut khayal uses shorter phrases and faster taans.
- Notation must show matra, vibhag, sam, khali and the swara text. In Bhatkhande-style writing, mark komal, tivra and octave dots; in Vishnu Digambar-style writing, keep the prescribed sign set consistent.
- Do not invent a composition. If you use an original sargam exercise, label it as an exercise.
Worked example
A four-vibhag Teental sargam exercise in Yaman: | S R G M^ | P M^ G R | S - - - | - - - - |. Matras 1-4 are S R G M^; 5-8 are P M^ G R; 9-12 return to S; 13-16 are held. Sam is matra 1; khali is matra 9, so the phrase on 9-12 must not be marked with a clap. The tivra Ma must be visible in both ascent and descent.
Traps
Do not write a drut bandish in a slow tala without saying so. Do not put antara in mandra saptak. Do not ignore khali. Do not mix Yaman with Bhopali by dropping tivra Ma or adding komal Dha. Check every matra adds to the tala total.