Miyan ki Todi, often simply referred to as Todi or Darbari Todi (), is a

Hindustani classical 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, sita ...

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

which gave its name to the

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

thaat A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...

, one of the ten types of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

according to the musicologist

Bhatkhande Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande (10 August 1860 – 19 September 1936) was an Indian musicologist who wrote the first modern treatise on Hindustani classical music, an art which had been propagated for centuries mostly through oral traditions. ...

. Ragas from the Todi raganga (class of ragas) include Todi (a.k.a. Miyan ki Todi) itself,

Bilaskhani Todi Bilaskhani Todi is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a blend of the ragas Asavari and Todi, and has a close affinity with Komal Rishabh Asavari. Theory The Hindustani classical raga Bilaskhani Todi is an example of the flaws of the Bhatkhande ...

Gujari Todi Gurjari is an Indian classical music raga. Raga Gurjari is named after Gujarat, India. In south India, the raga is called Shekharachandrika. Origin The present day Gurjari raga owes its origin to the Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transl ...

(also called Gurjari Todi), Desi Todi, Hussaini Todi, Asavari Todi (more commonly known as

Komal Rishabh Asavari Komal Rishabh Asavari (), often simply called Asavari, is a raga in Hindustani classical music. As its name suggests, it differs from the raga Shuddh Rishabh Asavari by using a ''komal'' ("flat") ''re'' () while Asavari uses a shuddha (natural) ...

), and Bahaduri Todi. The equivalent raga in

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 ...

Shubhapantuvarali Shubhapantuvarali (pronounced , meaning ''the auspicious moon'') is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 45th '' melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is ...

. But in Todi, the pancham is omitted in the Arohana, whereas Shubhapanthuvarali uses the panchamam in both the arohana and avarohana. The Carnatic Melakarta

Hanumatodi Hanumatodi, more popularly known as Todi (pronounced hanumatōdi and tōdi), is a rāgam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is the 8th ''melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system. This is sung very often in concer ...

is the equivalent of Bhairavi thaat, but the Hindustani Bhairavi raga is the equivalent of Carnatic Sindhu Bhairavi. Carnatic Todi does not have any similarity with Hindustani Todi (Miyan ki Todi) raga. Though the Swarasthana orders of Carnatic Thodi are similar to Hindustani Bhairavi thaat, but when the Carnatic Todi is sung it has no similarity with Hindustani Todi, Bhairavi, or Carnatic Sindhu Bhairavi.

Aroha & Avaroha

Arohana Arohana, Arohanam or Aroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the ascending scale of notes in a raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The pitch increases as we ...

Avarohana An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avaroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the descending scale of any raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The notes descend in pitch ...

Vadi and Samavadi

Komal Dha and Komal Ga.
Re, ga and dha are intoned slightly low, and ma is very sharp.

Pakad or Chalan

The distinctive phrase is r/g-\r\S, where r may be subtly oscillated. Pa is omitted in ascent, but present and often sustained. Kaufmann mentions that some musicians would call Todi with Pa Miyan Ki Todi, but others would see no difference between Todi and Miyan Ki Todi. Sometimes the ascent is performed without Sa, starting from Ni.

Organization and relationships

Miyan Ki Todi is similar to

and many movements are common, but in

Pa is omitted and there is more emphasis on Re and Dha. Like Miyan Ki Malhar Miyan Ki Todi is said to be composed by

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...

, but this seems unlikely as the Todi scale in Tansen's time was the scale of today's

Bhairavi Bhairavi ( sa, भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava. Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terror" or "awe-inspiring". She is the ...

and the name Miyan Ki Todi appears first in the 19th century literature.

Samay (time)

Todi should be performed in the morning, approximately 8-10AM.Kaufman 1968, pg. 551 In overnight concerts, Todi is performed as early as 4AM.

Raga

Todi is nearly always shown as a gentle, beautiful woman, holding a veena and standing in a lovely green forest, surrounded by deer. Kaufman cites the Sangita-Darpana "With a fair erect body like the white lotus, and delicate like the gleaming dew drop, Todi holds the vina and provides fun and frolic to the deer deep in the forest. Her body is anointed with saffron and camphor". Rasa in Indian classical music is understood as mood of the raga. Miyan Ki Todi is mostly pervaded by a pensive, mournful mood which is then relieved in the drut (faster tempo) part, by a festive piece, possibly to alleviate the heavy pathos in the earlier stages of rendering, though not always. The composition is such as to afford an artist of high calibre to mould it in either the inherent pensive mood or to entirely present a festive mood.

References

Literature

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External links

SRA on Samay and Ragas

Rajan Parrikar on Ragas

{{Rāgas as per Performance Time Hindustani ragas Ragas in the Guru Granth Sahib