Raag Gayan: Vilambit and Drut Khayal with Alaap-Taan
What the exam tests
UPMSP Class 12 vocal music asks you to sing and to explain: bada khayal in vilambit laya and chhota khayal in drut laya from the prescribed ragas, each with alaap and taan. Written answers must show how a khayal is built, not only how it sounds.
Anatomy of a khayal
- Bada khayal is set in vilambit laya, usually Ektaal, Tilwada or Jhumra; it has sthayi and antara, and the mukhra (opening phrase) must arrive on sam.
- Alaap begins in mandra-madhya saptak with akar, then moves to bol-alaap on the composition's words, climbs to taar saptak and returns.
- Chhota khayal is drut, usually Teentaal or Dadra: short alaap, bol-taan, sapat taan and a tihai that lands on sam.
Taans to name
Sapat (straight), vakra (zig-zag), alankar (pattern), gamak, meend, khatka, murki, zamzama, bol-taan, and taan in a named gati (dugun, tigun, chaugun).
Worked example
Malkauns: aroha S g m d n S', avaroha S' n d m g S; Re and Pa are varjit. Asked for a taan, S g m d n S' n d m g S is correct because every swar belongs to the raag. A taan using R or P is wrong - neither exists in Malkauns - and the same slip inside an alaap costs marks for raag-bhava.
Traps
- Mixing komal and shuddha forms of one note, e.g. shuddha Ni of Bihag with komal ni of Bhimpalasi.
- Singing a generic Bilawal-like phrase instead of the raag's pakad.
- An alaap that ignores the vadi, so the raag's face never appears.
- Taans that land a matra before or after sam.