Raga Marwa

Marwa is an hexatonic indian raga, Pa (the fifth tone) is omitted. Marwa is also the name of the thaat.

Aroha & Avaroha

Arohana S r G M D N S'
Thus: C D-flat E F-sharp A B c

Avarohana S' N D M G r S

Because Sa is omitted ascending and descending lines are sometimes given as Ṇ r G M D N r' S' and r' N D M G r Ṇ Ḍ S

Vadi & Samavadi

Vadi is (komal)Re, Samvadi (śuddh)Dha. Notice that these do not form a perfect interval. So V.N.Paṭvardhan [Rāg Vijñān, Vol.II, p.1] says "It is customary to give Re and Gha as vādi and saṃvādi, but seen from the point of view of the śāstras (treatises) it is not possible for re and Gha 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" [Jairazbhoy(1995) p. 44] On the other hand if Ga receives too much emphasis, it would create the impression of raga Puriya [Bor p. 114]

Pakad or Chalan

Sa is omitted within a tana, it may only be used at the end of a phrase. Bhatkhande gives the pakad as Dha Mâ Ga re, Ga Mâ Ga, re, Sa. Patwardan has shown the mukhya ang as re Ga Mâ Dha, Dha Mâ Ga re, but points out that the raga is also clearly indicated by: Ṇi re Ga Mâ Dha, Dha Mâ Ga re Ṇi re Sa. [Bagchee p. 318]
The chalan given by Ruckert is: Ṇi Ḍha re__ Ṇi Ḍha Ṃâ Ṇi Ḍha Ṇi Ḍha Sa__ re' Ga Mâ Dha__ Mâ Ni Dha Mâ Ga re__ Sa Ṇi Ḍha re Sa__ [Bagchee p.318]

Organization & Relationships

Thaat: Marwa [Jairazbhoy(1995)] ).
Puriya and Sohini have the same tonal material. In Puriya Ma and specially Ga are emphasised.
Komal re of Marwa (like Shri) is slightly higher than komal re of Bhairavi [Mukherji p. 67]
According to O.Thakur [Moutal p.77] Pūrvā Kalyāṇa is Marwa with Pa and less emphasis on komal Re. R. Jha [Vol 1 p 116] treats Bhaṭiya as a mixture of Marva and Maand [Moutal p. 207] .There is only one Author (B. Subba Rao) mentioning a raga Māravā Gaurī, thus Moutal does not consider this a own form [Moutal p. 257] . Aspects of Marwa are also incorporated in Mali Gaura [Moutal p.493]
For western listeners the tone material is feeling strange. As the sixth is emphasised while the tonica is omitted it may feel like playing in A Mayor, 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.
Other Raga's in thaat Marwa [Kaufmann p 315ff] :
*Puriya
*Sohini
*Lalit (although it is sometimes placed in Bhairav thaat)
*Bibhas (two other types of Bibhas (Vibhasa) are placed in Bhairav thaat or Purvi thaat)
*Pancham (Hindol Pancham)
*Maligaura
*Purba (Purbya)
*Purvakalyan
*Jait (Jayat) (not to be confused with Jait Kalyan
*Varati
*Bhatiyar (Bhatyar, Bhatihar)
*Bhankar (Bhakhar, Bhikhar)
*Lalita-gauri (sometimes placed in Purvi-thaat)
*Sazgiri

Behavior

Ni is not an 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" .
Because Pa is forbidden in Marwa the drone strings of the sitar are tuned in Gha and Ga (even Ga is not an important note, but it is an important harmonic of Sa (and Dha)) [Jairazbhoy p.188]

Samay (Time)

Sunset

Rasa

Marwa has a powerfull character, hence there is less meend as in e.g. Kirwani. Bor characterizes Marwa as "heroic" [Bor (1999) p.114] . In ragamala paintings Malav (see history) is often pictured as lovers walking towards the bed-chamber.
Marva is also characterized as quiet, contemplative, representing gentle love. According to Kaufmann [Kaufmann p. 315] is the overall mood defined by the sunset in India, which approaches fast and this "unrushhing darkness awakes in many observers a feeling of anxiety and solemn expectation".
Puṇḍarika Viṭṭhala [see literature] describes as follows [Kaufmann p.315] :" 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 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

Marva'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 it's melodic outline is very similar to today's Marva [Bor (1999)p.114] Also Jairazbhoy reports that Locana's Mālavā "may be the origin of modern Mārvā" [ Jairazbhoy p.94]

Origins

Probably originated in Marwar

Important Recordings

* Amir Khan, Ragas Marwa and Darbari, Odeon LP (long-playing record), ODEON-MOAE 103, later reissued by HMV as EMI-EALP1253
* Ravi Shankar, "Ravi Shankar in New York", Angel Records (July 18, 2000). ASIN: B00004U92S. Original Recording 1968

External links

Examples
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijiOpI9HcTA (youtube)Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - Raag Marwa - Bangari Mori (part 1)] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC35uWZFW3g part 2]
*On [http://homepage.mac.com/patrickmoutal/macmoutal/rag.html P. Moutal's website] are samples of D.V. Paluskar, Hirabai Barodekar, Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan, Ramkrishna Vaze and Vinayak Rao Patwardhan

References

Literature

* Citation
last=Bagchee
first=Sandeep
title=Nād, Understanding Rāga Music
publisher=Eshwar (Business Publication Inc.)
place=Mumbai
year=1998
ISBN=81-86982-07-8
* Citation
last=Bor
first=Joep
title=The Raga Guide
publisher=Nimbus Records
place=Charlottesville,Virginia
year=1997?
url=http://www.wyastone.co.uk/nrl/world/5536a.html
* Citation
last=Jairazbhoy
first=N.A.
title=The Rags of North Indian Music. There Structure & Evolution
publisher=Popular Prakashan
place=Bombay
year=1995
* Citation
last=Jha
first=Ramashraya
title=Ābhinava Gītānjali (2 vols)
publisher=Sangeet Sadan Prakashan
place=Allahabad
year=1968-78
* Citation
last=Kaufmann
first=Walter
title=The Ragas of North India
publisher=Oxford & IBH Publishing
place=Calcutta
year=1968
* Citation
last=Moutal
first=Patrick
title=A Comparative Study of Selected Hindustāni Rāga-s
publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd
place=New Dheli
year=1991
ISBN=81-215-0526-7
* Citation
last=Mukherji
first=Kumar Prasad
title=The Lost World Of Hindustani Music
publisher=Penguin India
place=New Dheli
year=2006
ISBN=01-43061-99-2
* Citation
last=Viṭṭhala
first=Puṇḍarika
title=Rāga-Mālā
year=1576
publisher=(Bhandarkar Oriental Institute, Poona MS No. 1062)