Correcting a Swaralipi Draft in Jhaaptal
Sameer has drafted the swaralipi of a natya sangeet pada in Jhaaptal for his written paper. His draft has four lines. Three errors are visible on the page: in line 1 he writes the komal Ga as a plain 'Ga'; in line 2 he puts the taar-saptak dot underneath the letters; in line 3 he marks khaali above the second vibhag. In line 4 he counts nine matras where the recording has ten. His teacher also says the draft flattens the recording: the phrase the singer takes as a single glide from Pa down to Ga is written as two separate notes of equal length, and a small grace note on the word 're' is missing entirely. The paper instructs candidates to use the notation conventions printed in the Maharashtra textbook, but Sameer's private teacher trained in the Paluskar system and has taught him different signs for komal and for the octave marks.
1. Correct each error and state the convention you are applying. Then say which errors would actually cost marks and why.
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Line 1: a komal swara must carry its distinguishing mark; in the Bhatkhande-derived convention used in the Maharashtra textbooks this is a stroke or underline beneath the letter. A plain 'Ga' denotes shuddha Ga, which changes the raga, so this is not a cosmetic slip.
Line 2: octave marks run the other way. A dot above the letter is taar saptak, a dot below is mandra. Putting the taar dot below turns a taar Sa into a mandra Sa, an octave error, and octave errors distort the ambitus of the raga more severely than a wrong note.
Line 3: Jhaaptal has ten matras in 2+3+2+3. Sam is matra 1, tali falls on matra 3 and matra 8, and khaali falls on matra 6, the start of the third vibhag. Marking khaali on the second vibhag puts it on matra 3, which is a tali, so the whole tal-marking is inverted.
Line 4: recount with the theka, not with the syllables of the lyric. Nine matras usually means a held vowel or a missing dash.
Which cost marks: the omitted komal mark and the octave error, because both alter the musical content; then the wrong khaali, because it is a factual error about the tala; then the matra count. The flattened glide and the missing kan cost least, but they are what separates a correct answer from a good one.
2. His private teacher uses Paluskar-system signs; the paper says to use the textbook's. What should Sameer do, and what should he write if he is unsure of a sign?
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The two systems differ in the signs used for komal and teevra swaras, in the placement of octave marks, and in how the tala is laid out across the line. The paper is marked against the textbook, so the answer must be written in the textbook's convention.
What he should do:
- Follow the textbook in the answer itself, even though his fingers have been trained otherwise. In the last month he should do all written practice in the textbook convention.
- Add one short line at the top: 'Notation conventions: [name the system used]'. This is not padding; it tells the examiner that the candidate knows there is more than one system and has chosen deliberately.
- Never mix the two within one paper. A consistently non-standard paper is easier to mark generously than an inconsistent one, because the examiner can see that a system is being followed.
If he is unsure of a sign: write the sign he is confident about and add the word in brackets, for example 'Ga (komal)' or 'Sa (taar)'. A word in brackets removes ambiguity without pretending to a precision he does not have. What he must not do is invent a sign, because an invented sign is unreadable and will be marked as an error rather than as an alternative convention.
3. Which ornaments in this pada should be notated and which should be left to the performer? Argue the principle, not just the list.
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The principle: notate what is stable and what defines the musical identity; annotate or leave open what varies between performances. A notation that tries to fix everything becomes unreadable and, worse, inaccurate.
Notate:
- The Pa-to-Ga glide, because the teacher is right that two equal notes falsify the phrase. A glide is shown by a curved line joining the two notes, or by a single note with the glide marked; the two notes do not carry equal weight or equal duration.
- The kan on 're', if it recurs in every recording he has. A kan is written as a small letter before the main note, quickly touched, and is not given a matra of its own; the matra belongs to the main note.
Leave to the performer, with a footnote if needed:
- The exact number of turns in a murki, and its speed.
- Any andolan on a komal note, whose width and rate differ from singer to singer.
- The precise timing of the kan, which is a matter of breath and word, not of arithmetic.
A working test: if the ornament is identical in every recording he can find, notate it; if it changes, footnote it. For a natya sangeet pada there is a further constraint: the notation should also show where the lyric syllables fall against the matras, because in this form the text-setting is part of the composition.