Raga Jaunpuri - A Royal Raga?

Posted on 12 April, 2020 • 3 min read

There was a tradition among the Royal families of the erstwhile princely states of India to train the royal children in 64 arts, known as Chatushashthi Kala. Along with the art of warfare, archery, etc, they were also trained in performing arts such as music, dance and drama. Many of these princes and princesses went on to become connoisseurs and patrons of the Arts. Some of them continued to pursue art even as rulers. A few famous examples include the King of Travancore - Swathi Tirunal, the Ruler of Thanjavur - Ragunatha Naik, the Mughal ruler - Wajid Ali Shah, and the Ruler of Bijapur - Adil Shah. One among these was Sultan Hussain Sharqi - the Sultan of Jaunpur. A great connoisseur of music, and a musician himself, some scholars believe Raga Jaunpuri was created by him. He has also been often credited with the evolution of Khyal style of Indian Classical Music.

Here I present a short Alap in Raga Jaunpuri followed by a Pallavi in Chautala. This Raga is also called Jeevanpuri in some parts of India.

Program Notes

Short Alap in Raga Jaunpuri

Raga Alapana is an improvisation and a systematic presentation of a Raga. This part has no rhythmic accompaniment. Usually, it has three parts - Alap, Jod and Jhala. This format is also known as Ragam and Tanam. But here just a short Alap is played to introduce the Raga before performing the Pallavi.

Pallavi (composition) in Raga Jaunpuri set to Chautala

Pallavi is a melodic phrase or lyrics set to a fixed set of beats in a rhythmic cycle. The improvisation here is creating interesting rhythm based melodic patterns while maintaining the framework of the Raga. This part of the performance is accompanied by Pakhawaj.

Here are some notes about the Raga and the Tala.

Raga - Jaunpuri (also called Jounpuri or Jeevanpuri)

Scale - Sa Re ga ma Pa dha ni

Family - Asavari

Melakarta - Natabhairavi (Sa Re ga ma Pa dha ni)

Prahar - 2nd and 3rd prahar (equivalent to 9 AM - 3 PM)

Reading the scale

In Indian Classical Music, the seven notes in an octave are called Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni and then Sa comes again. Notes with a capitalised first letter are called Tivra (or sharp) notes. E.g., Re above. Notes written fully in lower case are called Komal (or flat) notes. E.g., ma and ni above. Sa and Pa are always written with a capitalized first letter.

Prahar

In Indian Classical Music, Ragas are classified into Prahars (time periods of a day or night) which are said to represent the most appropriate time to perform the Raga.

About the Tala

Chautala has 12 beats split as 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 denoted by solfas or syllables representing various rhythmic patterns. The basic solfas of Chautala are given below.

Tala - Chautala

Beats - 12 (4+4+2+2)

Solfas - Dha Dha Dhin Ta | ThiTa Dha Dhin Ta | ThiTa KatTa | GaDhi GaNa |