Kirwani
किरवानी
S R g M P d N S' | S' N d P M g R S
Origins & Context
Raag Kirwani is a Hindustani raga outside the ten thaats, performed late at night, that uses komal Ga and komal Dha with shuddha Re, Ma, Pa and Ni. Komal means lowered and shuddha means natural, so Re stays natural in Kirwani. A thaat is a parent scale. It is also written Raag Kirvani or Keerwani.
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', and the avaroha, or descent, is S' N d P M g R S. The vadi, the most prominent note, is Pa, and the samvadi, its partner, is Sa. With Sa on C, its notes are C D E flat F G A flat B: the Western harmonic minor, as George Howlett notes.
Kirwani came into Hindustani music from Carnatic music. There Kiravani, the 21st melakarta, uses the same seven notes. Peerzada Salman reported in Dawn in 2014 that Slawek, a student of Ravi Shankar, credited his teacher with making the raga popular.
KalaSudha regards Kirwani as a raga of pure emotion, carried by its minor intervals more than by complex movement. KalaSudha releases Kirwani recordings, such as a solo studio piece in Kirwani. Its academy teaches ragas online and in local workshops.
Technical Details
Melodic structure and movement patterns
Aroha (Ascent)
S R g M P d N S'
Avroh (Descent)
S' N d P M g R S
Pakad (Catch Phrase)
P d S', S' N S' R' g' R' S' N d P, d P M P, P M g R, g M, g R S .N .d .N R S
Tanpura Tuning
P - S - S - .S
Additional Notes
Recordings & Performances
Listen to master musicians perform this raga
Videos
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.
The catch phrase opens in the upper octave, P d S', then circles upper Sa through S' N S' R' g' R' S' before it falls to Pa. In the middle octave, d P M P and P M g R step down by turns. The close g R S .N .d .N R S dips to lower Dha and Ni before it settles.
Common Phrases
Classifiers
Swara geometries, relationships, and classifications
Swara Geometries
Around the World
Global connections and equivalent scales
Berklee PULSE gives the C harmonic minor scale as C D Eb F G Ab B, note for note Kirwani with Sa on C. Between komal Dha and shuddha Ni the scale leaves a gap of three semitones.
Harmonic minor
C D Eb F G Ab B
Berklee PULSE gives C harmonic minor as C D Eb F G Ab B. With Sa on C, it matches Kirwani note for note.