Charukesi (pronounced chārukēś‌i) is a

rāga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...

Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the Dravidian languages, South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an ...

(musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 26th ''

Melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be generated. A ''melak ...

'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Tarangini in

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar)(, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer and veena player, and a legendary composer of Indian classical music, who is considered one of the musical ...

school of Carnatic music. ''Charukesi'' is known to incite feelings of pathos and devotion in the listener.

Structure and Lakshana

It is the 2nd rāgam in the 5th ''chakra Bana''. The mnemonic name is ''Bana-Sri''. The mnemonic phrase is ''sa ri gu ma pa dha ni''.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications Its structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see '' swaras in Carnatic music'' for details on below notation and terms): * : * : (''chathusruthi rishabham, anthara gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatham, kaisiki nishadham'') It is a ''sampoorna'' rāgam - a rāgam that has all seven ''

swara Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...

s'' (notes). It is the ''shuddha madhyamam'' equivalent of ''

Rishabhapriya Rishabhapriya is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 62nd '' melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is the ''prati madhyamam'' equivalent o ...

'', which is the 62nd ''melakarta''.

''Janya'' rāgams

There are only a few minor ''

janya ''Janya'' is a term meaning "derive". In Carnatic (South Indian) music a ''janya raga'' is one derived from one of the 72 ''melakarta'' ragas (fundamental melodic structures). ''Janya'' ragas are classified into various types based on a varie ...

'' rāgams (derived scales) associated with ''Charukesi''. See full list of ''janya'' rāgams associated with it.

Popular compositions

*''Adamodi Galade'' by

Thyagaraja Thyagaraja (Telugu: త్యాగరాజ) (4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Thyāgayya and in full as Kakarla Thyagabrahmam, was a composer and vocalist of Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music. Tyagaraja and his ...

*''Karunai Varuumo'' by

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema ...

*''Kripaya pālaya saure'' by

Swati Tirunal ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 40 ...

*''Innum En manam'' By

Lalgudi Jayaraman Lalgudi Gopala Iyer Jayaraman (17 September 1930 – 22 April 2013) was an Indian Carnatic violinist, vocalist and composer. He is commonly grouped with M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.N.Krishnan as part of the violin-trinity of Carnatic Mu ...

*''Palayamam Parameswari'', ''Maye tvam yahi'' By Muthuswami Dikshadar *''Samanyavalla Srihariya Seve'' By

Purandara Dasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara dāsa) ( 1470 – 1565) was a Haridasa philosopher and a follower of Madhwacharya 's Dwaitha philosophy -saint from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a composer, singer and one of the chief founding-prop ...

*''Neere Torele'' by

Vadiraja Tirtha Sri Vadiraja Teertharu (1480 – 1600) was a Dvaita philosopher, poet, traveller and mystic. A polymath of his time, he authored many works, often polemical, on Madhva theology and metaphysics. Additionally, he composed numerous poems and as ...

*''Karunanidhan'' By

Many compositions exist amongst modern adaptations of ''Charukesi'', especially in Indian movies, in ''

film songs A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

''. Examples are the songs ''Ammamma kelladi thozhi'' from

Karuppu panam ''Karuppu Panam'' () is a 1964 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language crime film directed and photographed by G. R. Nathan. The screenplay was written by Valampuri Somanathan from a story by Kannadasan. Music was by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy. It ...

M.S.Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...

''Dhaandiya Aattam'' from the movie

Kadhalar Dhinam ''Kadhalar Dhinam'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romance film written and directed by Kathir. It is based on a love relationship which begins through an internet chatroom and takes a turn after the protagonist has second thoughts about th ...

, ''Vasanta mullai poalae'' from the movie ''Sarangadara'', ''Edho Edho Ondru'' from the movie ''Enakku Iruvathu, Unakku Padhinettu'', 'Aadal Kalaye' from

Sri Raghavendra ''Sri Raghavendrar'' is a 1985 Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and was produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, portraying the title character, in his 100th film. Lakshmi, Vishnuvardh ...

and ''Udaya Udaya'' from another ''

Udhaya ''Udhaya'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film which was directed by Azhagam Perumal which released on 26 March 2004. The film stars Vijay and Simran, while Vivek, Nassar and Rajesh play supporting roles. The soundtrack for the f ...

''. In Hindi movies ''Ahista Ahista'' from the movie

Swades ''Swades: We, the People'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language drama film co-written, directed and produced by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi and Kishori Ballal while Daya Shankar Pandey, Rajesh Vivek, Lekh Tand ...

, ''Teri Umeed Tera Intezar'' from the movie Deewana, ''Aye Kash Kavi Aisa Hota'' from the movie ''

Mohra ''Mohra'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written, edited and directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by his father Gulshan Rai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon in the lead roles, along with Naseeruddin ...

'', are in Charukesi. Another composition in this raaga is the song ''Bombe Aatavaiyya'' from the Rajkumar starrer Kannada movie

Shruthi Seridaaga ''Shruthi Seridaaga'' is a 1987 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Chi Dattaraj. The film was produced by Raghavendra Rajkumar. The film starred Rajkumar, Madhavi and Geetha. The music for the film was scored by T. G. Lingappa and the c ...

. Arguably the best rendition of Charukesi in a Hindi movie is ''Baiyya Na Dharo'' sung by

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

and composed by

Madan Mohan Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna. Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...

from the movie Dastak. ''Charukesi'' is also popular in

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

. Bhavgeet ''He Surano Chandra Vha'' composed by Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki and ghazal ''Main Hosh Mein Tha'' performed by

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

are other well known examples of Charukesi. In

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

, one of the all-time greatest songs is in Charukesi: 'Akale akale neelaakaasam' (from the movie 'Midumidukki', 1968). This was composed by Baburaj and sung by Yesudas and S. Janaki. There are claims that this raga is actually a very rare janya raga of Charukesi, Ushaabharanam (s g m d p m d n s / s n d p m g r g m r s). There are other great Charukesi compositions in Malayalam Films like Krishna Kripa Saagaram from Sargam sung by Yesudas and Chitra. Yaathrayai from Aayiram Para by Yesudas, Pooja Bimbam Mizhi from Harikrishnans by Yesudas and Chitra and Swapnam Thejichal from Rakshasa Raajavau by Yesudas to mention a few. In the 2012 release of his devotional album on Lord

Ayyappan Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion t ...

''Sabarimalai Va Charanam Solli Va'', ace singer

P. Unni Krishnan Parakkal Unnikrishnan (born 9 July 1966) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist and playback singer. Early life and background Unnikrishnan was born to K. Radhakrishnan and Dr. Harini Radhakrishnan in Palakkad, Kerala. The family home, Kesari Kutee ...

renders a song on Raga Charukesi, Uthirathil Udhithavane Sol, signifying the Lord's birth star UTHIRAM.Devotional song on Charukesi by P. Unni Krishnan
/ref> This album was composed and released by

Manachanallur Giridharan Manachanallur Giridharan (born 15 April 1964) is a South Indian music director, lyricist, singer, and also an educationist. He is also the founder of '' EdServ Softsystems Limited''. He has founded his own music production house called ''Gaanan ...

, a noted music director from Tamil Nadu. In western music, charukesi like structures are encountered in

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's famous Impromptu C Minor Allegro molto moderato and also in Russian Composer

Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Ипполи́тов-Ива́нов; 28 January 1935) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and teacher. His music ranged from the late-Romantic era ...

's 'Procession of the Sardar' from his Orchestral Suite, ''

Caucasian Sketches ''Caucasian Sketches'' (russian: Кавказские эскизы) is a pair of orchestral suites written in 1894 and 1896 by the Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov. The ''Caucasian Sketches'' is the most often performed of his compositions ...

''.

Film Songs

Language:
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Non Film Songs

Related rāgams

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam. Charukesi's notes when shifted using ''

Graha bhedam ''Graha Bhedam'' in Carnatic music is the process (or result of the process) of shifting the Tonic note (''śruti'') to another note in the rāgam and arriving at a different rāgam. Its equivalent in Hindustani classical music is called a ''mur ...

'', yields 3 other major ''melakarta'' rāgams, namely, '' Vachaspati'', ''

Natakapriya Natakapriya, (pronounced nāţakapriya, meaning ''the one dear to theatre'') is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 10th ''melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system. A ...

'' and ''

Gourimanohari Gourimanohari or Gaurimanohari is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 23rd ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. The 23rd ''melakarta'' rāgam as per Muthu ...

''. ''Graha bhedam'' is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the ''shadjam'' to the next note in the rāgam. For further details and an illustration, see '' Graha bhedam on Vachaspati''.

Notes

References

External links

Film Songs (Hindi) in Charukesi
{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Melakarta ragas