Ragas of Kafi काफ़ी

Straight lines are no protection against a wandering Re. In Kafi, komal Ga follows Re ascending and precedes it descending, and Re stays shuddha. Komal Ni is the other lowered note; Pa is vadi. Bhimpalasi has the same notes but omits Re and Dha ascending and names Ma as vadi. Use Re as the checkpoint. Hold it before komal Ga on the climb, and check it again after komal Ga on the return, without the keys.

A small Re can creep in just before the final Sa. It doesn't need a farewell appearance. Dhani omits Re and Dha both ways, with komal Ga as vadi and komal Ni as samvadi. Jog has the same omissions but adds shuddha Ga and a turn in the descent. Sing Dhani's descent in note names, then on aa. Hold the last komal Ga until you hear Sa below it, and check Sa only after crossing the gap.

That Ni key you used on the climb is finished for now. Brindavani Sarang turns shuddha Ni into komal Ni descending, with Ga and Dha absent throughout. Madhmad Sarang has the same omissions and the same vadi and samvadi, Re and Pa, but uses komal Ni ascending too. Record each line separately and listen only to Ni either side of upper Sa. Then sing both without keys and check that the pitch changed, not just the finger.

On the way to Pa, komal Ga can start edging upwards before you have left it. Shivaranjani omits Ma and Ni both ways, with Pa as vadi and Sa as samvadi. Abhogi has Ma instead of Pa over the same other notes. Hold komal Ga with its key for a count, release the key with the voice steady, and only then go on to Pa.

Breathe before the lower komal Ni, not after it, and carry the opening through Sa to Ma without restarting at Sa. Bhimpalasi omits Re and Dha ascending and restores both descending; Dhanashri has identical lines but names Pa as vadi where this card names Ma, with Sa as samvadi in both. On a first pass, hold the first Ma an extra count with the key released, and check that it holds.

One wrong starting key can lend Patdeep a Ni it never asks for. Its lower Ni is shuddha, and so is every later Ni, unlike Bhimpalasi's komal Ni. Both omit Re and Dha ascending and restore them descending; Patdeep names Pa as vadi, not Ma. Check the two ascending Ni on separate passes, the low opening first, then the Ni before upper Sa, so the change of octave brings no change of form.

Pa arrives late, and not by the route your fingers expect. Bageshri climbs from the lower komal Ni without Re or Pa, then brings Pa into an upward bend in the descent. Bhimpalasi shares its notes and Ma vadi but omits Dha, not Pa, ascending. Stop the descent on its first Ma. Hear Pa above it, go through the rise towards Dha, and return to Ma before going lower.

If you have just sung Megh, you already know these two lines. Madhmad Sarang makes Re the vadi where Megh has Sa, with Pa as samvadi in both. Ga and Dha stay out, and Ni is komal throughout. On the first ascent, give Re an extra count before Ma; on the descent, check the same Re without the keys. Listen back for a definite landing, not a note passed through on the way to Sa.

Sa slips out of attention because it is so familiar. Megh names it as vadi, with Pa as samvadi, over the same lines that Madhmad Sarang gives a Re vadi. Both omit Ga and Dha and keep Ni komal. Mute the harmonium for the last part of the descent, end on Sa, hold it two counts, then check the key. Notice whether the ending stayed in place while you waited, before the instrument gives the answer.

Resist the little Ni that wants to appear between Dha and upper Sa. Abhogi omits Ni and Pa both ways, with Sa as vadi and Ma as samvadi; Shivaranjani has Pa instead of Ma over the same other notes. Pause the ascent on Dha and hear upper Sa before going on, with the breath gentle, not pushing at the gap. On playback, listen for an extra step before Sa, then repeat without the pause.

Save the two komal notes for the way back. Sindhura climbs without Ga or Ni, and its full descent restores both as komal notes. Kafi has both ascending too, and swaps Sindhura's vadi and samvadi, Sa and Pa. Play the ascent once, then sing the descent unaccompanied, checking each komal note only after singing it. On the next ascent, leave those two keys alone again, though you have just found them.

Let the keyboard drop out when you reach Pa. Dhanashri names Pa as vadi and Sa as samvadi, where Bhimpalasi names Ma over the same lines. Both start on the lower komal Ni, omit Re and Dha ascending, and restore them descending. Hold the ascending Pa with the voice alone, check it, then go on to komal Ni without Dha. The descent does need Dha; give it a clear syllable of its own.

Lowering every Ga on the way down would be wonderfully simple, and wrong. Jog climbs with shuddha Ga, then uses both forms descending, with Ma as vadi and no Re or Dha anywhere. Dhani keeps komal Ga alone, in straight lines. Mark the last Ga of Jog's descent komal, not the first. Hold the Ma between the two forms until you hear komal Ga below it, then finish on Sa without Re.

Every return to Ma is a chance to jump to the wrong part of the line. Nayaki Kanada omits Dha throughout and names Ma as vadi; Suha Sughrai shares its ascent but restores Dha descending and names Pa. Practise Nayaki's descent only to the second Pa. On the next pass, go on through komal Ga's rise to Ma. The first Ma leads back up to Pa, the second on to Re.

Keep enough air for the climb hiding inside the descent. Shahana Kanada rises from Pa through Dha to komal Ni and back to Pa, then turns again near komal Ga and Ma. Its full ascent and its vadi and samvadi, Pa and Sa, match Kafi's; the descent does not. Breathe at upper Sa and carry it through the second Pa without snatching a breath at the first. Let the returning komal Ni keep its pitch and syllable.

Dha pays a short visit on the way down; don't invite it onto the climb. Suha Sughrai omits Dha ascending, unlike Shahana Kanada, though both share their notes and a Pa vadi. Descending, komal Ni dips to Dha and returns, and another turn comes near komal Ga and Ma. Hold the descending Dha until you hear komal Ni above it, then complete the return instead of sliding to Pa. Shorten the hold gradually.

A confident hand can lose its place here and sound thoroughly pleased with itself. Ramdasi Malhar uses both forms of Ga and Ni in crooked lines, where Gara has the same notes but a straight ascent. Ma is vadi, not Ga. First bracket the ascent from the first Pa back down to Re, and sing that retreat before adding the next Pa and the climb beyond. Keep the two Pa distinct instead of skipping the notes between them.