Marva (raga)

Marva or Marwa (IAST: Mārvā) is a hexatonic Indian raga; Pa (the fifth tone) is omitted. Marva is the eponymous raga of the Marva thaat.

For the thaat of the same name, see Marva (thaat).
Marva (raga)
ThaatMarva
Time of daySunset
Arohana'Ni Re Ga Ma Dha Ni Re' S'
AvarohanaRe' Ni Dha Ma Ga Re 'Ni 'Dha Sa
Hindustani classical music
Concepts
Genres
Thaats

Aroha and Avaroha

Arohana: 'Ni Re Ga Ma Dha Ni Re' S'

Keeping the key in C, in the Western scale this would roughly translate to: B D-bemol E F-sharp A B D-bemol C

Avarohana: Re' Ni Dha Ma Ga Re 'Ni 'Dha Sa

The Ma is actually Ma Tivratara, which is a perfect fourth above Re komal (which is 112 cents above Sa)[1])

Vadi and Samvadi

The Vadi is komal Re, while the Samvadi is shuddh Dha. Notice that these do not form a perfect interval. So V.N.Paṭvardhan [2] says "It is customary to give Re and Dha as vādi and saṃvādi, but seen from the point of view of the śāstras (treatises) it is not possible for re and Dha to be saṃvādī (i.e. consonant) to each other. For this reason, in our opinion it is proper to accept Dha as vādī and Ga as saṃvādī" [3] On the other hand if Ga receives too much emphasis, it would create the impression of raga Puriya[4]

Pakad or Chalan

Sa is omitted within a taan; it may only be used at the end of a phrase and even then is used infrequently. Bhatkhande gives the pakad as Dha Ma Ga Re, Ga Ma Ga, Re, Sa. Patwardan has shown the mukhya ang as Re Ga Ma Dha, Dha Ma Ga Re, but points out that the raga is also clearly indicated by: 'Ni Re Ga Ma Dha, Dha Ma Ga Re 'Ni Re Sa.[5]

The chalan given by Ruckert is: 'Ni 'Dha Re 'Ni 'Dha 'Ma 'Ni 'Dha 'Ni 'Dha Sa Re Ga Ma Dha Ma Ni Dha Ma Ga Re Sa 'Ni 'Dha Re Sa [6]

Organisation & Relationships

Thaat: Marwa[7]).

Puriya and Sohni have the same tonal material. In Puriya Ni and specially Ga are emphasised.

Komal re of Marwa is slightly higher than komal re of Bhairavi[8]

According to O.Thakur[9] Pūrvā Kalyāṇa is Marwa with Pa and less emphasis on komal Re. R. Jha[10] treats Bhaṭiya as a mixture of Marwa and Maand.[11] There is only one Author (B. Subba Rao) mentioning a raga Māravā Gaurī, thus Moutal does not consider this an own form.[12] Aspects of Marwa are also incorporated in Mali Gaura[13]

For western listeners the tone material may feel strange. As the sixth is emphasised while the tonic is omitted it may feel like playing in A Major, while the base tone is C (not C sharp). If the musician turns back to Sa at the end of a phrase it always comes like a surprise note.

Behaviour

Ni is not a leading note to Sa. Because Sa is omitted Ni leads to re or Dha (and then only to Sa), as in "Ḍ Ṇ r S" or "r Ṇ Ḍ S" .


Samay (Time)

Sunset 5:30 pm

Rasa

Bor characterizes Marwa as "heroic".[14] In ragamala paintings Malav (see history) is often pictured as lovers walking towards the bed-chamber.

Marwa is also characterised as quiet, contemplative, representing gentle love. According to Kaufmann[15] is the overall mood defined by the sunset in India, which approaches fast and this "onrushing darkness awakes in many observers a feeling of anxiety and solemn expectation".

Puṇḍarika Viṭṭhala[16] describes as follows:[17]" The king at war always worship Maravi, whose face shines like the moon and who has long tresses of hair. With moist eyes, faintly smiling, she is adorned skillfully with sweet smelling flowers of different varieties. Her complexion gleams like gold; she is attired in red and her eyes are like those of a fawn. She is the elder sister of Mewar. In Marwa Ni and Ga are sharp, Sa is the graha and amsa and Ri and Dha are the nyasa".

Historical Information

Marwa's forerunners (Maru or Maruva) have different scales in the literature from the 16th century onwards. Pratap Singh (end of 18th century) writes that Marwa is the same as the ancient Mālavā, and its melodic outline is very similar to today's Marwa [18] Also Jairazbhoy reports that Locana's Mālavā "may be the origin of modern Mārvā" [19]

Important Recordings
  • Amir Khan, Ragas Marwa and Darbari, Odeon LP (long-playing record), ODEON-MOAE 103, later reissued by HMV as EMI-EALP1253. This recording redefined Marwa by moving the primary development down to the lower octave compared to the traditionally middle octave.
  • Ravi Shankar, "Ravi Shankar in New York", Angel Records (July 18, 2000). ASIN: B00004U92S. Original Recording 1968.
  • Imrat Khan, "Raga Marwa", Nimbus Records (1992), NI 5356 (recorded July 10, 1990)
  • Ali Akbar Khan, "Raag Marwa" Connoisseur Society US (1968)
  • Ustad Rashid Khan, "Raag Marwa" Masterworks from the NCPA archives (Aug 1984)

References
  1. Gosvami(1957) p. 236 f.
  2. Rāg Vijñān, Vol. II, p.1
  3. Jairazbhoy(1995) p. 44
  4. Bor p. 114
  5. Bagchee p. 318
  6. Bagchee p.318
  7. Jairazbhoy(1995)
  8. Mukherji p. 67
  9. Moutal p.77
  10. Vol 1 p 116
  11. Moutal p. 207
  12. Moutal p. 257
  13. Moutal p.493
  14. Bor (1999) p.114
  15. Kaufmann p. 315
  16. see literature
  17. Kaufmann p.315
  18. Bor (1999)p.114
  19. Jairazbhoy p.94

Literature
  • Bagchee, Sandeep (1998), Nād, Understanding Rāga Music, Mumbai: Eshwar (Business Publication Inc.), ISBN 81-86982-07-8
  • Bor, Joep (c. 1997), The Raga Guide, Charlottesville, Virginia: Nimbus Records, archived from the original on 2009-07-15
  • Gosvami, O. (1957), The Story Of Indian Music, Bombay: Asia Publishing House
  • Jairazbhoy, N.A. (1995), The Rags of North Indian Music: Their Structure & Evolution, Bombay: Popular Prakashan
  • Jha, Ramashraya (1968–78), Ābhinava Gītānjali (2 vols), Allahabad: Sangeet Sadan Prakashan
  • Kaufmann, Walter (1968), The Ragas of North India, Calcutta: Oxford & IBH Publishing
  • Moutal, Patrick (1991), A Comparative Study of Selected Hindustāni Rāga-s, New Dheli: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, ISBN 81-215-0526-7
  • Mukherji, Kumar Prasad (2006), The Lost World Of Hindustani Music, New Dheli: Penguin India, ISBN 0-14-306199-2
  • Viṭṭhala, Puṇḍarika (1576), Rāga-Mālā, (Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona MS No. 1062)
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