Hindustani Kambhoji

[AXM...@psuvm.psu.edu]

I recently bought the Zahiruddin, Wasifuddin Dagar tape released by Music
Today under Maestro's Choice. On this tape there is a dhrupad in a raga called
Kambhoji. At first, I thought it would be Khamaj. However, it seemed quite
different. Could someone knowledgeable post the details of this raga as far
as aaroha, avroha, chalan, pakadh, etc? Before this I had only heard of
Kambhoji in Carnatic music.

Arijit.

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The seven most beautiful sounds O-| O |
in life: | |-O
Sa,Re,Ga,Ma,Pa,Dha,Ni. | O |
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Arijit Mahalanabis |||||
e-mail: AXM...@PSUVM.PSU.EDU |||||
AX...@ENDOR.CS.PSU.EDU |||||
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[Rajan Parrikar]

In article <92023.182...@psuvm.psu.edu> AXM...@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>I recently bought the Zahiruddin, Wasifuddin Dagar tape released by Music
>Today under Maestro's Choice. On this tape there is a dhrupad in a raga called
>Kambhoji. At first, I thought it would be Khamaj. However, it seemed quite

Kambhoji is a sort of parent scale (mode) much like Bilawal or Kalyan. It
is one of the earliest known modes dating back to the Samaveda and its
original name was Harikambhoji. In the south it is now called Kambhoji
while in the north it is also known as Khambaj (Khamaj is different!).
The scale of Kambhoji is not dissimilar to that of Bilawal except that
in the former the Nishad is flattened (komal). Raga Khamaj, on the other
hand, uses both the Nishads and may be said of be a derivative of the
Bilawal and Kambhoji modes.
Renditions of Kambhoji are rare in Hindustani music and I have
not heard any on tape. That reference of yours sounds interesting.

Rajan Parrikar
==============
email: parr...@mimicad.colorado.edu

[Shankar Subramanian]

parr...@csn.org (Rajan Parrikar) writes:

>Bilawal and Kambhoji modes.
> Renditions of Kambhoji are rare in Hindustani music and I have
> not heard any on tape. That reference of yours sounds interesting.

>Rajan Parrikar
>==============
>email: parr...@mimicad.colorado.edu

There are several dhrupads by both sets of the Dagar brothers in Kambhoji.
One (by the elder Dagars) was published in a series by UNESCO (by Alain
Danielou) and the other is a more recent HMV LP by the surviving elder Dagar
brother. The sleeve notes by Alain Danielou point out that dhrupads often
use raagas that are no longer considered serious raagas by khaayal singers,
for example, Bhairavi and Asavari and another Carnatic raaga, Adana.
The bandish in both Kambhojis is (I think) by Raskhan. The elder Dagars
were superb musicians, unfortunately there are few recordings of their
performances. There are more recordings of the younger Dagar brothers as
well as several tapes of their performances in this country. Now with the
demise of another Dagar, the younger pair is also incomplete. There was
an article in India Today some years ago about the Dagars and about the
resurgence of dhrupad in India. I wonder how much longer this tradition will
survive. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar is no more, are there any other serious beenkars
in the dhrupad tradition left?

An excellent introduction to dhrupad is Mani Kaul's documentary Dhrupad.
Many of his other films stink, but this one is moving and magnificent. He
interviews the Dagars and they perform on a platform in Gwalior fort with
the sun rising behind them. One of the brothers elaborates on the differences
between taans in Hindustani (khayal and dhrupad) and Carnatic music and
proceeds to toss off a few taans in each style to illustrate his point.

If anyone out there would like to exchange dhrupad tapes ...

Shankar Subramanian sha...@are.berkeley.edu

[Todd McComb]

There is an excellent CD recording of N. Zahiruddin and N. Faiyazuddin
Dagar singing a 63 minute Rag Kambhoji on the 'Music of the World' label.

--
Todd McComb mcc...@turing.cs.rpi.edu [128.213.1.1]

[P. J. Narayanan]

-Kambhoji is a sort of parent scale (mode) much like Bilawal or Kalyan. It
-is one of the earliest known modes dating back to the Samaveda and its
-original name was Harikambhoji. In the south it is now called Kambhoji
-while in the north it is also known as Khambaj (Khamaj is different!).
-The scale of Kambhoji is not dissimilar to that of Bilawal except that
-in the former the Nishad is flattened (komal). Raga Khamaj, on the other
-hand, uses both the Nishads and may be said of be a derivative of the
-Bilawal and Kambhoji modes.
- Renditions of Kambhoji are rare in Hindustani music and I have
- not heard any on tape. That reference of yours sounds interesting.
-
-Rajan Parrikar

Harikambhoji is the 28th melakarta raga or generative scale in
Carnatic music, corresponding to the Khamaj that of Hindustani music.
The notes are all sudh except ni, which is flat. Kambhoji is a very
popular raga in Carnatic music and is a derivative of Harikambhoji.
The raga is supposed to have originated in the Kambhoja region of
ancient India (where is it today?); hence its name. The arohanam and
avarohanam of Kambhoji in the Carnatic style are:
. .
s r g m p d s s n d p m g r s

Kambhoji is a bhashanga raga and takes the foreign note (to
the parent scale of Harikambhoji) sudh-ni is some descending passages.

The sleeve notes of the Dagar brothers' Kambhoji rendition
gives the same arohanam and avarohanam for it as I remember it now.
Their rendition didn't sound much like the Carnatic Kambhoji I had
learned to love, but majestic nevertheless.

I have seen Kambhoji used in pallavis in Odissi dance
performances. The scale was similar, if not the same, as above too
though not to my ears. Odissi dance uses many other Carnatic sounding
names for the ragas, such as Sankarabharanam and Bilahari. Does
anyone know of the influence (due to geographical or other reasons)
Carnatic music has had on the Odissi style?

PJN

[Srini Pichumani]

In Carnatic music, Harikaamboji is a parent scale, the 28th melakarta.
However, its child Kaambhoji is much more popular among
performers and composers alike.

Kaambhoji's murchana or arohana/avarohana are
sa ri ga ma pa dha saa
saa ni(k) dha pa ma ga ri sa
However, in the one sanchaara or pakad, saa-ni-pa-dha-saa, mostly
rendered in the mandra staayi, the kaakali nishaadam (or shuddha nishaad
of Hindustaani music) is used.

Harikaamboji, the parent scale, on the other hand is complete in both
the aarohana and avarohana & it has all 7 svaras in the right order --
sa ri ga ma pa da ni saa
saa ni da pa ma ga ri sa
and is never rendered with 'bhaashaanga' or 'foreign' svaras.

Tyaagaraaja is the great composer who revived this scale and projected the
melodic beauties in it through his >10 compositions. Some of these are
"Chanitodi ThEvE", "Raama Nannu Brovaraa", "Entharaa Neethanaa..",
"Enthuku Nirdaya" (not to be confused with the Todi kriti "enthuku dayaraadu")

DKPattammal/DKJayaraaman, amongst the popular musicians of this century,
are to be commended for the frequent rendition of raaga aalaapana and
compositions in this raaga.
It is quite difficult to project this raaga as a distinct entity. You
have to walk a razor's edge, literally; with Khamaas, Kaambhoji, and
Shankarabharanam rearing their heads at every turn, Harikaambhoji's
identity can get swallowed up very easily.

On the South Indian flute, the 7 or 8 holed variety, using the fingering
system that the famous Maali and others employed, the scale that emerges
without having to half-close or half-open any hole, is Harikaambodhi.
Hence, a few flute gurus have used Harikambhoji for initial lessons,
while teaching their students.
There are exact equivalents of the modern Harikaambhoji scale mentioned
in the ancient Tamil text, the Silappadigaaram. It has been used for Tevaaram
and other devotional music through the medieval centuries.

--Srini.

[imayamar...@gmail.com]

Hi friends my name is A.T.SHANKAR RAMAN am doing my M.A vocal Final year . Basically am from THANJAVUR . My project is about KAMBOJI raaga , If u have any details about than raaga please send it to me , i collect all details from net , Especially i want the details about this raaga used in Kathakali , mohiniyattam etc ... can u send any special features about this raaga where not in net .... THANK YOU

[prashanti...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 11:58:10 AM UTC-5, imayamar...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, January 24, 1992 at 4:57:55 AM UTC+5:30, AXM...@psuvm.psu.edu wrote:
> > I recently bought the Zahiruddin, Wasifuddin Dagar tape released by Music
> > Today under Maestro's Choice. On this tape there is a dhrupad in a raga called
> > Kambhoji. At first, I thought it would be Khamaj. However, it seemed quite
> > different. Could someone knowledgeable post the details of this raga as far
> > as aaroha, avroha, chalan, pakadh, etc? Before this I had only heard of
> > Kambhoji in Carnatic music.
> >
> > Arijit.

Arijit,
I still cant find the aaroh and avaroh or information about kambhoji in dhrupad, in its treatment by dhrupad masters it doesnt sound like the carnatic kambhoji to me, can you please write about the raga? Kambhoji in both systems is very majestic and yet softly appealing at the same time
Prashanti

[Lakshman Ragde]

According to Raganidhi by B.Subba Rao, the ArOha/avarOha for hindustani kAmbhOj is as follows:
S R G P D S / S N D P M G R S (khamAj thAT)
pakaD: g p d s* -*n d p -(m_ g r s. vAdi is g. samvAdi is d. Sung during the second prahArA of the night.
composition: AyE bahAr nOrE (tritAl-madhyalaya)

[pattap...@gmail.com]

On Saturday, January 25, 1992 at 1:29:22 AM UTC+5:30, P. J. Narayanan wrote:
> I have seen Kambhoji used in pallavis in Odissi dance
> performances. The scale was similar, if not the same, as above too
> though not to my ears. Odissi dance uses many other Carnatic sounding
> names for the ragas, such as Sankarabharanam and Bilahari. Does
> anyone know of the influence (due to geographical or other reasons)
> Carnatic music has had on the Odissi style?
>
> PJN

Hello. I am a vocalist and researcher of Odissi music. The raga is never called 'Kambhoji' in Odissi music ; it is called 'Kamodi' in our tradition. The scale is SRGMPDS/SnDPMGRS - same, but of course there is a world of difference in rendition based on traditional Odissi compositions in the Raga. (much like the Hindustani interpretation of the scale is vastly different to the Karnatik idiom)

There are several dozens of sub-ragas of Kamodi in Odissi : some of them being Khandakamodi, Kumbhakamodi, Lalita Kamodi, Asa Kamodi, Bichitra Kamodi, etc. They're all unique to Odissi. We Odias love Kamodi, and it is one of the most prominent ragas of our paddhati.

The names Sankarabharana, Kamodi etc do exist in Odissi - but it isn't Karnatik influence. These are all Sanskrit names. Odisha has always had a Sanskrit culture, much like South India. No wonder the Sanskrit name has been preserved. Hindustani music due to external influence has renamed certain scales, but Odissi & Karnatik, due to their limited exposure to external music & also a certain puritanical preservationist approach, have retained these earlier names. This is the shared heritage of a pan-Indian music that preceded all three streams.

You call them 'Karnatik-sounding' - well, that is just because you've been exposed to these names only in your exposure to Karnatik, and even more limited exposure to Odissi music. 'Todi' is another such name - it is found in all three streams of music, indicating a point in time when it must have been a prominent thing across India. Doesn't mean Hindustani derived Todi from Karnatik or vice versa. If one looks at deep enough, then they each turn out to be special and unique. Hindustani Todi isn't Odissi Todi isn't Karnatik Thodi.

Hope that helps. :)