Gorakh Kalyan
गोरख कल्याण
S R M D n D S' | S' n D P M R S, .n .D S
Origins & Context
Raag Gorakh Kalyan is a Khamaj thaat raga of Hindustani music, performed at night, that leaves out Ga and uses komal Ni, with Pa only lightly touched. Komal means lowered, and a thaat is a parent scale. It is also called Gorakha Kalyan, or simply Gorakh.
In this notation, lowercase is a komal note, a dot the lower octave and an apostrophe the upper. Darbar gives the aroha, or ascent, as S R M D n D S'. Its avaroha, or descent, is S' n D P M R S, .n .D S, so it counts five notes up and six down. One teaching outline drops Pa from the descent and counts five each way. The vadi, the most prominent note, is Ma, and the samvadi, its partner, is Sa. Lower komal Ni is also a resting note.
The AUTRIM project of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the University of Amsterdam calls the name a misnomer, since the raga lacks the features of Kalyan. It hears shades of Durga and Bageshri. Komal Ni and a sparing Pa keep them apart. Darbar adds that the lower octave strongly resembles Bageshri, while the phrase R M D brings in Durga.
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 M D n D S'
Avroh (Descent)
S' n D P M R S, .n .D S
Pakad (Catch Phrase)
S R M, R M R S .n, .n D S, R M D n D S', S' n D M R, M R S .n, .n .D R S
Additional Notes
Phraseologies
Key for these phrases: lowercase letters are komal notes, a dot puts a note in the lower octave, and an apostrophe in the upper.
Ma is strong, both vadi and a resting note, and lower komal Ni rests too, as in M R S .n. One teaching outline leaves Ni out of the ascent, which it says sets the raga apart from Bageshri; Darbar's ascent touches komal Ni in the turn D n D. The AUTRIM project calls Pa weak and notes that some musicians avoid it completely; one teaching outline allows a passing touch of Pa between Dha and Ma.
Common Phrases
Around the World
Global connections and equivalent scales
With Sa on C, Gorakh Kalyan uses C, D, F, G, A and B flat. George Howlett gives the Mixolydian mode without its third as its jazz translation, the same six notes.