Darbari Kanada
दरबारी कानड़ा
S R g M P d n S' | S' d n P M P g M R S
Origins & Context
Raag Darbari Kanada is an Asavari thaat raga of Hindustani music, performed around midnight, that uses komal Ga, komal Dha and komal Ni with shuddha Re, Ma and Pa. Komal means lowered, shuddha means natural, and a thaat is a parent scale. It is also written Raag Darbari, Raga Darbari Kanada or Darbari Kanhada. The name Darbari comes from the darbar, the royal court.
In the notation here, lowercase marks a komal note, a dot the lower octave and an apostrophe the upper. The aroha, or ascent, is S R g M P d n S'. The avaroha, or descent, is S' d n P M P g M R S, turning back on itself. Darbar gives Re as the vadi, the most prominent note, and Pa as the samvadi, its partner. David Courtney calls the pair disputed. Some accounts, he writes, give Re and Dha, and others Ga and Dha.
The mark of Darbari is a slow andolan, or oscillation, on komal Ga and komal Dha. The AUTRIM project of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the University of Amsterdam hears that oscillation as slow and subtle. Courtney writes that both notes sit lower than usual, so that Ga lies just above Re and Dha just above Pa. Its movement is slow, and it develops mainly in the lower and middle registers. Adana shares its notes but centres on upper Sa, and AUTRIM calls it Darbari's sprightly counterpart.
KalaSudha presents Hindustani musicians in concert and releases their recordings. Its academy teaches ragas online and in local workshops, and each course is built by its instructor with KalaSudha.
Technical Details
Melodic structure and movement patterns
Aroha (Ascent)
S R g M P d n S'
Avroh (Descent)
S' d n P M P g M R S
Pakad (Catch Phrase)
S R g (R)g, M P d (P)d n P, n M P S', S' (n)d n P M P (M)g M R S, .d .n S
Tanpura Tuning
P - S - S - .S
Additional Notes
Phraseologies
Key for these phrases: lowercase letters are komal notes, a note in brackets is a grace note, and a dot puts a note in the lower octave.
The catch phrase opens S R g (R)g, reaching komal Ga from Re and returning to it. M P d (P)d n P treats komal Dha the same way from Pa. AUTRIM hears Ga approached through gradual movements between Re and Ga. It also names the shake on komal Dha in the opening phrase as typical.
The ascent can be direct and the descent oblique, as in S' (n)d n P M P (M)g M R S. AUTRIM also notes the descending turn n P that skips Dha. Courtney stresses the lower register and the lower half of the scale, which keep Darbari apart from Adana.
Around the World
Global connections and equivalent scales
With Sa on C, Darbari's notes are C D E flat F G A flat B flat. Courtney writes that its komal Ga and komal Dha sit lower than the usual flat third and flat sixth, which a fixed Western scale does not show.