Kafi () is one of the ten basic

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 ...

s of

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 ...

from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It is also the name of a raga ( Kharaharapriya) within this

Description

Kafi thaat makes use of the Komal Gandhara and Komal Nishad. So basically it adds Komal Gandhara to the

Khamaj thaat Khamaj () is one of the ten thaats (parent scales) of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga within this thaat. The Khamaj thaat can be obtained by replacing the Shuddha Nishad of Bilaval by Komal Nishad. T ...

. The

Kafi raga Kafi () is a ''raga'' in Hindustani classical music. It corresponds to Kharaharapriya in Carnatic music and Dorian mode in Western music Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande classified most ''ragas'' into ten '' Thaats''. Kafi ''Thaat'' is one of them. ...

is one of the oldest ragas and its intervals are described as the basic scale of the

Natyashastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates va ...

. Thus in ancient and medieval times, Kafi was considered as natural scale. Kafi is a late evening raga and said to convey the mood of springtime.

Ragas

Ragas in Kafi thaat include: *

Abhogi Abhogi () is a raga in Carnatic music and has been adapted to Hindustani music. It is a pentatonic scale, an ''audava'' raga. It is a derived scale ('' janya'' raga), as it does not have all the seven '' swaras'' (musical notes). ''Ābhōgi'' ...

Bageshri Raga Bageshri or Bageshree () is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a popular night raga, which is meant to depict the emotion of a woman waiting for reunion with her lover. It is said to have been first sung by Miyan Tansen, the celebrated ...

* Bageshri-Ang Chandrakauns * Bahar * Barwa *

Bhimpalasi Bhimpalasi or Bheempalasi (also known as Bhimpalas or Bheempalas) is a Hindustani classical raga. Raga Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi Thaat. Theory * Aarohana: * Avaroha: The raag has komal Ni and Ga. It is an Audava-Sampoorna jati raga, imp ...

Brindavani Sarang Brindavani Sarang or Brindabani Sarang, also known as raga Sarang, is a Hindustani classical raga. It is also called Vridavani Sarang. This raga falls under the category of Sarang ragas. Theory Brindabani Sarang is a Kafi thaat raga. It ...

* Dhani * Hanskinkini * Jog *

Kafi Kafi ( pa, ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh re ...

* Megh *

Malhar "Malhar" is a Hindustani classical raga. Malhar is associated with torrential rains. Besides the basic Shuddha Malhar, which was the original Malhar, several Malhar-related ragas use the Malhar signature phrase m (m)R (m)R P, including "Miyan ...

* Nayaki Kanada * Patdeep * Pilu *

Jaijaiwanti Jaijaivanti or Jaijaiwanti is a Hindustani classical '' raga'' belonging to Khamaj Thaat. According to the Guru Granth Sahib, this ''raga'' is a mixture of two others: Bilaval and Sorath. The ''raga'' appears in the latter section in Gurbani, ...

* Ramdasi Malhar * Sahana * Surdasi Malhar

References

{{reflist Hindustani music theory