Notation Systems and Writing Notation (Bhatkhande and Vishnu Digambar)
What this domain tests
You must read and write Hindustani notation in the Bhatkhande and Vishnu Digambar Paluskar systems, and keep tala marks aligned with the swaras.
Core rules
- Both systems notate the seven shuddha swaras and the five vikrit forms. Bhatkhande texts commonly use capitals for shuddha and lowercase for komal: S r g M P d n. Tivra Ma is marked with a vertical stroke or an apostrophe, e.g. M'.
- Register dots: below for mandra, above for taar. A horizontal dash (avagraha) lengthens the previous swara; a curved line shows meend; small notes show kan swar.
- Tala marks: a single vertical bar separates vibhag, a double bar marks sam, and numbers 1, 2, 3 mark tali. Khali is marked 0.
- Paluskar's system also uses Devanagari swara letters and line marks for komal/tivra; the principle is the same even when the printed symbols differ.
Worked example
Notate the Bhairavi ascent S r g M P d n S' in Teentaal, one swara per matra. Bhatkhande-style: | S r g M | P d n S' | S' n d P | M g r S || The first S is sam (matra 1). The bar after M closes vibhag 1; matra 9 begins the khali vibhag in Teentaal, so the third vibhag should be understood as khali. Lowercase r, g, d and n show komal; M is shuddha Ma; S' is taar Sa.
Traps
Mixing cases so komal and shuddha look identical; placing the octave dot on the wrong side; using 0 for tali and a number for khali; putting a double bar at every vibhag; and writing a phrase without its matra count.