Hamsadhvani (meaning "the cry of the swan"
), is a
rāga in
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
(musical scale of Carnatic tradition of Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale).
It is a ''
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 ...
'' rāga of the
Melakartha
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 ''melaka ...
raga,
Sankarabharanam (29th) but according to Hamsadhvani's
prayoga or the way it is sung it is said to be the janya of
Kalyani (65th).
''Hamsadhvani'' is also extensively used 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, sita ...
and said to be borrowed into it from
Carnatic music
Carnatic music, known as or in the 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, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
.
[''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras] It was created by the Carnatic composer Ramaswami Dikshitar (1735–1817), father of
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 ...
(one of the musical trinity of Carnatic music), and brought into
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, sita ...
by
Aman Ali Khan of the
Bhendibazaar gharana
The Bhendibazaar gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music, which originated in Bhendi Bazaar area of Mumbai in 1890.
History and features
The Bhendibazaar gharana was founded around 1890 by brothers Chhajju Khan, Nazir Kh ...
. It has become popular due to
Amir Khan.
Structure and lakshana
''Hamsadhvani'' does not contain ''madhyamam'' or ''dhaivatham''. It is a pentatonic scale (''audava-audava'' ragam
[''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications] in Carnatic music classification – ''audava'' meaning 'of 5'). Its ' structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see
''swaras'' in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
*
:
*
:
The notes used in this scale are ''shadjam, chatushruti rishabham, antara gandharam, panchamam'' and ''kakali nishadam''. In Hindustani music, it is associated with ''
Bilaval 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 ...
'' (equivalent of ''Shankarabharanam'').
Compositions
''Hamsadhvani'' rāgam lends itself for elaboration and exploration and has many compositions in both classical music and film music. It is usually sung at the beginning of a performance.
There are many ''
kriti
Kriti may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* Kriti (music), a format of musical composition typical to Carnatic music
* ''Kriti'' (film), a 2016 Hindi-language short film
* Kriti TV, Greek TV station
People with the name
* Kriti Bharti, Indi ...
s'' (compositions) in praise of
Lord Ganesha
Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...
set in this musical scale.
* ''Jalajaskhiro'' an
adi Talam Varnam
Varṇam is a type of composition in the Carnatic music system consisting of short metric pieces which encapsulate the main features (patterns of notes) of a ''raga''. Varnams capture the ''raga bhavam'', ''ranjaka prayogas'' ''visesha sancha ...
* ''Gajamukhane Siddhidayakane'' by
Vyasatirtha
Vyāsatīrtha (. 1460 – 1539), also called ''Vyasaraja'' or ''Chandrikacharya'', was a Hindu philosopher, scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's Dvaita order of Vedanta. As the patron saint of the Vija ...
* ''Raghunāyaka'',''Śrī Raghukula'' and ''Abhishta varada'' by
Tyagaraja
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 ...
in Telugu
* ''
Vātāpi Gaṇapatiṃ''and parvathypathim by
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 ...
in Sanskrit
* ''Pāhi Śripatē'' by
Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma
* ''Varanamukha vā'' by
Koteeswara Iyer
* ''Mūlādhāra mūrti'',''Karunai seivai','ullam irangi and parasakthi janani 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 ...
in Sanskrit and Tamil
* ''Gajavadana beduve'' by
Purandaradasa
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 ...
in Kannada
*''Nammamma Sharade'' by
Kanakadasa
Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) was a Haridasa saint and philosopher, popularly called Daasashreshta Kanakadasa (ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕನಕದಾಸ). He was a renowned composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer and musician. He is kn ...
in Kannada
* ''Vināyakā'' by
Veena Kuppayyar
Veena Kuppayyar (1798–1860) was an exponent of Veena and a composer of Carnatic music. He was a student of the famous composer Tyagaraja. Kuppayar composed his songs in Telugu language and has left behind a number of popular '' kritis''.
Earl ...
in Sanskrit
* ''Varavallabha Ramaṇa'' by
G. N. Balasubramaniam
* ''Gaṃ Gaṇapatē'' by
Muthiah Bhagavatar
* ''Pirai Aniyum Peruman'' by Dr
M. Balamuralikrishna
* ''Vinayaka Vighnavishaka'' by
R Ganapati
* ''Sundar Gopālaṃ'' by
Devaki Pandit
Devaki Pandit ( mr, देवकी पंडित; born 6 March 1965) is an Indian classical singer.
With melody in her voice and charm in her persona, Devaki Pandit has developed her own unique style of singing and has won many hearts throu ...
* ''Varuvai Arulvai Shantanayagi'' 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 ...
* ''Tumbikkai Andavane'' 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 ...
* ''Vinayaka Ninnu Vina'' by E.V. Raamakrishna Bhaagavatar
* ''Vande Anishamaham'' by
Mysore Vasudevachar
Mysore Vasudevacharya (28 May 1865 – 17 May 1961) was an Indian musician and composer of Carnatic music compositions who belonged to the direct line of Thyagaraja's disciples. Vasudevachar's compositions (numbering over 200) were mostly in Telu ...
* ''Bhajamahe Sree Vinayakam'' by
Tulaseevanam
* Arul purivai and Karunai seiguvai by Sudhanandha bharathy
Film songs
* ''Lagi Lagan Pathi Sakhi Sangh'' from the movie "
Meghe Dhaka Tara"
In Tamil language
Related rāgas
''Graha bhedham''
''Hamsadhvani's'' notes when shifted using ''
Graha bhedam'', yields another pentatonic rāgam, ''
Nagasvaravali''. ''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 more details and illustration of this concept refer ''
Graha bhedam on Hamsadhvani''.
Scale similarities
* ''
Mohanam
Mohanam is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is usually described as a '' janya'' rāga of Harikamboji (28th Melakartha Raga) ...
'' is a rāgam which has ''chatushruti dhaivatam'' in place of the ''nishadam''. Structures are shown in second table.
* ''
Amritavarshini'' is a rāgam which has ''Prati Madhyamam'' in place of the ''rishabham''. Structures are shown in first table.
* ''
Gambhiranata
Gambhiranata is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music) and Yakshagana where it is called Naati. It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāga (derived sca ...
'' is a rāgam which has ''shuddha madhyamam'' in place of the ''rishabham''. Structures are shown in first table.
* ''
Niroshta
Niroshta is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a pentatonic scale (''audava''/''owdava'' rāgam). It is a derived scale (''janya'' rāgam), as it does not have all the seven ''swaras'' (musical not ...
'' is a rāgam which has ''chatushruti dhaivatam'' in place of the ''panchamam''. Structures are shown in second table.
In Hindustani music
Vadi and samavadi
Vadi: Sa
Samavadi
The Samavadi is the second-most prominent (though not necessarily second-most played) note of a raga in Indian classical music. The primary note of the raga is the '' vadi''; the vadi and samvadi are in most cases a fourth or fifth apart.
A ''s ...
: Pa
Pakad or chalan
ga pa ni Sa ga re ni pa
Sa
The Pakad is the one where one can identify to which raga does the composition belongs.
Organization and relationships
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 ...
:
Bilaval.
Time
Late Evening
[w.w.w.wikipedia]
Important recordings
*
Amir Khan, Ragas Hansadhwani and Malkauns, on
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
LP (long-playing record), EMI-EASD1357
* ''Lagi Lagana'' (Drut – Teental) by A. Kanan in
Meghe Dhaka Tara
* ''Ja Tose Nahin Bolun Kanhaiya'' 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 con ...
in Parivar (1956)
Notes
References
Literature
* Bor, Joep ''(ed).'' Rao, Suvarnalata; der Meer, Wim van; Harvey, Jane ''(co-authors)'' ''The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas''. Zenith Media, London: 1999.
External links
SRA on Samay and RagasRajan Parrikar on Ragas
{{Rāgas as per Performance Time
Janya ragas