Kosalam (pronounced kōsalam) is a
ragam 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 South Indian classical music). It is the 71st ''
Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music and is the ''prati madhyamam'' equivalent of ''
Shoolini
Shulini (pronounced shūlini) is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 35th ''melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is also spelled as ''Sulini'', ''Shoolin ...
'', which is the 35th ''melakarta''. It is called Kusumākaram 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.
[''Sri Muthuswami Dikshitar Keertanaigal'' by Vidwan A Sundaram Iyer, Pub. 1989, Music Book Publishers, Mylapore, Chennai][''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications][''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras]
Structure and Lakshana
''Kosalam'' is the 5th rāgam in the 12th ''chakra Aditya''. The mnemonic name is ''Aditya-Ma''. The mnemonic phrase is ''sa ru gu mi pa dhi nu''.
Its ' structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see
''swaras'' in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms):
*
:
*
:
(the scale's notes are ''shatsruthi rishabham, antara gandharam, prati madhyamam, chathusruthi dhaivatham, kakali nishadham'')
''Kosalam'' is a ''melakarta'' rāgam and hence, by definition, it is a
''sampoorna'' rāgam (it has all seven notes in ascending and descending scale).
''Janya'' rāgams
''Kosalam'' has 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 ...
'' rāgam (derived scale) associated with it. See
List of ''janya'' rāgams for list of rāgams associated with ''Kosalam'' and other ''melakarta'' rāgams.
Compositions
A few compositions set to ''Kosalam'' rāgam are:
*''Sri chakrapura vasini'' by
Muthiah Bhagavatar
*''Idi neeku nyayama'' 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 ...
*''Ubhaya kaveri'' by
Veene Sheshanna
Veene Sheshanna ( kn, ವೀಣೆ ಶೇಷಣ್ಣ) (1852—1926) was an exponent of the Veena, an Indian string instrument, which he played in the classical Carnatic music style. He was a concert musician at the court of the princely state ...
*''Ka Guha Shanmukha'' by
Koteeswara Iyer
*''Ō ManasĀ muktiNi ganumu'' by
Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna
Famous Movie song incorporating Kosalam is Sundari Kannal from Dalapathy movie in addition to Kalyani.
Related rāgams
This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of ''Kosalam''.
''Kosalam's'' notes when shifted using ''
Graha bhedam'', yields 3 other ''melakarta'' rāgams, namely, ''
Keeravani
Keeravani (pronounced ) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 21st ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. The 21st ''melakarta'' rāgam as per Muthuswami ...
'', ''
Hemavati'' and ''
Vakulabharanam
Vakulabharanam (pronounced ) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 14th '' melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called Dhātivasantabhairavi''Ragas in ...
''. ''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 refer ''
Graha bhedam on Keeravani''.
Notes
References
{{Janya, state=collapsed
Melakarta ragas