Hindōḷaṃ is a

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

m in

Carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

(musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (5 notes in arohana and avarohana) as it does not have all the seven ''

swara Swara () or svara is an Indian classical music term that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, a note, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave, or ''saptanka''. More comprehensively ...

s'' (musical notes). Hindolam is not the same as the Hindustani Hindol. The equivalent of ''Hindolam'' in

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

is ''

Malkauns Malkauns, known also as rag Malkosh, is a raga in Indian classical music. It is one of the oldest ragas of Indian classical music. The equivalent raga in Carnatic music is called Hindolam, not to be confused with the Hindustani Hindol. Accor ...

''''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications (or Malkosh''Raganidhi'' by P. Subba Rao, Pub. 1964, The Music Academy of Madras). It is known to be a rāgam that is generally beautiful and soothing to listen to. Being symmetrical in its ascending and descending scales, it lends itself very well to improvisation and is therefore popular at concerts.

Structure and Lakshana

''Hindōḷaṃ'' is a symmetric rāgam that does not contain ''rishabham'' and ''panchamam''. It is a pentatonic scale (''audava-audava'' rāgam in Carnatic music classification—''audava'' means 'of 5'). Since pentatonic scales can be found in other world music such as Chinese music, shades of ''

Mohanam Mohanam is a raga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale). It is usually described as a ''janya'' rāga of Harikamboji (28th Melakartha Raga). ...

'' and ''Hindōḷaṃ'' can sometimes be traced in Chinese and east Asian music. Its ' structure (ascending and descending scale) is as follows (see ''swaras'' in Carnatic music for details on below notation and terms): * : * : This rāgam uses the ''

s'' sadharana gandharam, shuddha madhyamam, shuddha dhaivatam and kaisiki nishadam. ''Hindolam'' is not a ''

melakarta Mēḷakartā is a collection of fundamental musical scales ( ragas) in Carnatic music (South Indian classical music). ''Mēḷakartā'' ragas are parent ragas (hence known as ''janaka'' ragas) from which other ragas may be derived. A ''melaka ...

'' rāgam, since it does not contain all the seven swaras. Experts in Carnatic music hold differences of opinion on the ''janaka'' rāgams (rāgams of origin) that should be attributed to ''Hindolam''. It is widely accepted that the 20th melakarta, ''

Natabhairavi Naṭabhairavi is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 20th ''melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system. It corresponds to the Natural minor scale (alias Aeolian mode) of western mus ...

'', is the parent rāgam of ''Hindolam'', but some would like to associate it with the 8th melakarta, ''

Hanumatodi Hanumatodi, more popularly known as Todi (pronounced hanumatōdi and tōdi), is a rāgam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is the 8th ''melakarta'' rāgam (parent scale) in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system. This is sung very often in conce ...

''. It can be derived from both, by dropping the ''rishabham'' and ''panchamam''.

Popular compositions

Here are some ''kritis'' composed in Hindolam: *''Sāmajavaragamanā'', ''Manasulōni Marmamulu'' and ''Gōvardhana Giridhāri'' by

Tyagaraja Sadguru Tyagaraja Swami ( Telugu: సద్గురు త్యాగరాజ స్వామి; 4 May 1767 – 6 January 1847), also known as Tyagayya, and in full as Kakarla Tyagabrahmam ( Telugu: కాకర్ల త్యాగబ ...

*''Kaanada Raja Pandaricha'' by

Namdev Namdev (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Vaishnava saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, Medieval India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He was as a devo ...

*''Madhukara Vritti'', ''Yaare Rangana'', ''Avanavana Kayva'', by

Purandaradasa Purandara Dasa (IAST: Purandara Dāsa; (1470 – 1564) was a composer, singer and a Haridasa philosopher from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He was one of the chief founding proponents ...

*''Dasa Dasara Maneya'' By

Kanakadasa Kanaka Dasa (1509–1606) also known as Daasashreshta Kanakadasa (ದಾಸಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಕನಕದಾಸ), was a Haridasa saint and philosopher of Dvaita Vedanta, from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhvacharya' ...

*'' Guru Purandara Dasare'', ''Uma Kathyayani'' By

Vijaya Dasa Vijaya Dasa () (c. 1682– c. 1755) was a prominent saint from the Haridasa tradition of Karnataka, India in the 18th century, and a scholar of the Dvaita philosophical tradition. Along with contemporary haridasa saints such as Gopala Dasa, ...

*''Hari Sarvothama Vayu Jeevothama'' By Kamalesha Vittala Dasu *''Gōvardhana Girīśam Smarāmi'', ''Neerajakshi Kamakshi'' and ''Saraswathi Vidhiyuvathi'' by

Muthuswami Dikshitar Muthuswami Dikshitar (Mudduswamy Dikshitar) (, 24 March 1776 – 21 October 1835), mononymously Dikshitar, was a South Indian poet, singer, veena player, and a prolific composer of Indian classical music. He was the youngest member of what is re ...

*''Padmanābha Pāhi'' by

Swathi Thirunal Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma III (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a great musician and composer who has to his credit over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani st ...

*''Mā Ramanan'', ''Sāmagāna Lōlane'', ''Kalpaka Mātā Kanindharul'', ''Thirupparam Kundra Velā'' and ''Nambikettavar Evarayyā'' by

Papanasam Sivan Paapanaasam Raamayya Sivan (26 September 1890 – 1 October 1973) was an Indian composer of Carnatic music and a singer. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1971. He was also a film score composer in Kannada cinema a ...

*''Sadanandamayi Chinmayi'' by Oothukadu Venkata Kavi *''Mamavatu Sri Saraswati'' by

Mysore Vasudevacharya Mysore Vasudevacharya (28 May 1865 – 17 May 1961) was an Indian musician and composer of Carnatic music compositions who belonged to the direct line of Thyagaraja's disciples. Vasudevachar's compositions (numbering over 200) were mostly in Telu ...

*''Chintayami Jagadamba'' by Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar *''Dēva Dēvaṃ Bhajē'', ''Konḍalalō Nelakonna'', ''Garuda Gamana'', ''Narayana Ni Namame'', ''Antayu Neeve Haripundarikaksha'', ''Nigama Nigama Nigamandha'' by

Annamacharya Tallapaka Annamacharya () (09 May 1408 – 23 February 1503), also popularly known as Annamayya, was a Telugu musician, composer, and a Hindu saint. He is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called '' samkirtanas.'' His devoti ...

*''Ramanakku Mannan Mudi'' by

Arunachala Kavi Arunachala Kavi () (1711–1779) was a Tamil poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He was born in Tillaiyadi in Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu and . The three Tamil composers Arunachala Kavi, Muthu Thandavar and Marimutthu Pillai are cons ...

*''Mal Marugan (varnam)'' by Thanjavur Shankara Iyer *''Tillana (Dhim na naa tha dhirana) '' by

Balamuralikrishna Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (né Muralikrishna; 6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sang ...

*''Kalaimagae'', a

Geetam Geetam, (Sanskrit: गीतम्; gītaṃ) the simplest music form in Carnatic music, was created by Purandara Dasa in order to introduce '' talas'' with '' sāhityaṃ'' (lyrics). Gītaṃ literally means "song" in Sanskrit. Structure A g ...

by ''Chitravina N. Ravikiran'' Numerous ''

bhajan Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root w ...

stotra ''Stotra'' (Sanskrit: स्तोत्र) is a Sanskrit word that means "ode, eulogy or a hymn of praise."Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'Stotra'' It is a literary genre of In ...

kritis A ''kriti'' () is a form of musical composition in the Carnatic music literature. The Sanskrit common noun ''Kriti'' means 'creation' or 'work'. A kriti forms the mental backbone of any typical Carnatic music concert and is the longer format o ...

'' and film music numbers also have been composed in the ''Hindolam''

Raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

Tamil film songs

Non Film Songs

Kannada Film Songs

Related rāgams

This section covers the theoretical and scientific aspect of this rāgam. ''Hindolam's'' notes when shifted using ''

Graha bhedam ''Graha Bhedam'' in Carnatic music is the process (or result of the process) of shifting the Tonic (music), Tonic note (''Śruti (music), śruti'') to another note in the rāgam and arriving at a different rāgam. Its equivalent in Hindustani cl ...

'', yields 4 other major pentatonic rāgams, namely, ''

'', ''

Shuddha Saveri Shuddha Saveri or śuddha sāveri is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music) and Yakshagana music. It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāgam, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāgam (derive ...

'', ''

Udayaravichandrika Udayaravichandrika, or Shuddha Dhanyasi, is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāgam (or ''owdava'' rāgam, meaning pentatonic scale). It is a ''janya'' rāgam (derived scale), as it ...

'' (also known as ''Shuddha Dhanyasi'') and ''

Madhyamavati Madhyamavati (madhyamāvati) is a raga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale), as it does not have all the seven musical notes (''swaras''). ...

''. ''Graha bhedam'' is the step taken in keeping the relative note frequencies same, while shifting the ''shadjam'' to the next note in the rāgam. For more details and illustration of this concept refer '' Graha bhedam on Mohanam''.

Scale similarities

*''Saramati'' has an asymmetric scale, with the ascending scale of ''

'', while the descending scale is same as ''Hindolam''. Its ' structure is S R2 G2 M1 P D1 N2 S : S N2 D1 M1 G2 S

Notes

References

{{Janya Janya ragas