Tejaswini Digamber Vernekar
Tejaswini Vernekar ist eine angesehene Interpretin des klassischen hindustanischen Gesangs, Goldmedaillen-Trägerin der BHU und 'Graded Artist' von All India Radio.
Spezifische Kunstform
Khayal
ख़याल
Hindustani classical singing named for imagination, improvised on a short composition
Major vocal form
Imagination
Khayal (khyal) is a major vocal form of Hindustani classical music: a singer improvises on a short composition in a raga and tala, accompanied by tabla.
History & Evolution
Khayal took shape at the Mughal courts of North India, and its origin is disputed. Popular accounts credit Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur in the fifteenth century, or Niyamat Khan "Sadarang" at the court of Muhammad Shah; the scholar Katherine Butler Schofield questions all three. A Persian treatise of about 1675 classes khayal as a speciality of the qawwals, singers of Sufi devotional song, while dhrupad belonged to the court kalawants. In the eighteenth century khayal took on features of dhrupad.
A gharana is a lineage, or school, of hereditary musicians and their pupils with a recognisable style, usually named after a place. Bonnie Wade's study of khayal treats six: Gwalior, Agra, Rampur-Sahaswan, Jaipur-Atrauli, Kirana and Patiala. Gwalior singers favour straight (sapat) taans and bol-bant, rhythmic play on the words of the song. Kirana singers build the raga note by note at slow tempi. Jaipur-Atrauli singers favour rare and compound ragas and intricate rhythmic play. The gharanas emerged in the mid-nineteenth century, and Mukund Lath argues that the received story of their descent from Sadarang's pupils is largely a later myth.
- 17th - 18th Century
-
At the Mughal courts
Chronicles of Shah Jahan's reign (1628-1658) name khayal singers among the court performers. Under Muhammad Shah (r. 1719-1748), Niyamat Khan "Sadarang", a dhrupad singer and bin player, composed khayals that became highly fashionable. - Mid-19th century onwards
-
Rise of the Gharanas
As court patronage shrank, hereditary families guarded their knowledge, and their teaching hardened into recognisable styles named after places such as Gwalior, Agra and Kirana. From the late 19th century they began teaching pupils from outside the family. - Early 20th century
-
Recording Era
Khayal singers were among the first Indian musicians recorded, between 1899 and 1908. Magriel and du Perron name Gauhar Jan's Sur Malhar of 1902 as the first khayal recording. Radio carried recorded music into urban homes from the 1930s. - After 1947
-
Institutions and Broadcast
The Sangeet Natak Akademi, inaugurated in 1953, All India Radio and later Doordarshan supported khayal. Cassettes from the 1970s, then digital media and online teaching, widened access, and singers now move more freely between gharana styles.
Technical Aspects
The Bandish (Composition)
A bandish, also called cheez, is the fixed khayal composition, a short text set to a raga and tala. Its sthayi sits in the lower and middle register and returns as a refrain; the antara rises towards the upper octave and carries more text. In bada khayal the singer may sing only its mukhda (opening phrase); chhota khayal presents it more fully. Texts, mostly in Braj Bhasha, treat love and devotion.
Taans: Fast Melodic Runs
A taan is a fast melodic run and the main focus of khayal improvisation. Akar taans use only the vowel "aa", bol taans the words of the song, and gamak taans a heavy shake of the voice. Jaipur-Atrauli singers favour spiralling gamak taans; Kirana singers favour sargam taans. Wade notes that dhrupad alap uses nom-tom, rhythmic syllables such as "nom" and "tom", but no taans.
Tala, Sam and Layakari
The sam is the first beat of the tala cycle, where every variation aims to land. Specific tabla strokes mark each beat, which lets the singer keep their place. Common talas are tintal (16 beats), ektal (12) and jhumra (14). In bol-bant the singer uses the words of the composition for layakari, rhythmic play against the tala.
Der Weg zur Meisterschaft
Folgen Sie diesem strukturierten Weg, um diese Kunstform zu meistern
-
Swara, raga and tala basics
Begin with the theory of swara (note), raga and tala, the rhythmic cycle. Recite the theka of each tala, its fixed pattern of tabla strokes, at single, double and quadruple speed, keeping time with hand beats. The tabla plays the theka under the voice, so knowing it by heart keeps you in the cycle. Learn how a tanpura is built and tuned, since its drone sounds beneath the singer.
-
Drut khayal bandishes
Learn drut (fast) khayal compositions in a few ragas, for example Bihag or Bhimpalasi. For each, learn its two sections, the sthayi and the antara, and the mukhda, the opening phrase that leads to the sam. Then add simple elaboration and a few taans. One national school syllabus sets a single vilambit khayal beside these in its first year but gives the drut pieces almost three times the class time.
-
Vilambit khayal and vistar
Take up a vilambit (slow) bada khayal. It often opens with aochar, a short alap in free time. Then expand the raga gradually inside the slow cycle, following the outline of the composition and singing on vowels or on its words (bol-alap). The pulse may be so slow that each beat splits, turning a 12-beat cycle into 48. This slow section gives the singer the rhythmic freedom that alap gives in dhrupad.
-
Taans and Sargam
Add taans to the compositions you already sing: akar, bol and gamak taans, each aimed back at the mukhda and the sam. Practise sargam too, passages sung to the note names sa, re, ga, ma, pa, dha and ni. In performance these figures carry the fast chhota khayal, where the singer's focus turns to quick runs and difficult rhythmic play.
-
Performance and Layakari
Work with a tabla player. Practise layakari, rhythmic play against the tala, reciting and singing at single, double and quadruple speed, and time each phrase to land on the sam. Then shape a full performance from bada khayal to chhota khayal in one raga. Khayal singers are expected to find an individual style within the tradition, and pure imitation of a teacher draws criticism.
Ausgewählte Künstler
Renommierte Interpreten dieser Disziplin
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I learn khayal singing online with a live teacher?
Online khayal lessons at KalaSudha are live and one-to-one, with a vetted teacher. In khayal, a word meaning imagination, the singer expands a short composition, the bandish, through improvisation within a raga, the melodic framework, and a tala, the rhythmic cycle.
At Foundation you recite each tala's theka, its fixed pattern of tabla strokes, at single, double and quadruple speed, keeping time with hand beats. Teachers teach live in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Urdu, Malayalam, French and German, and our online academy takes you on level by level. Workshops and summer camps run in person where enough learners sign up.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!