Raag Bhupali

राग भूपाली

Kalyan thaat Also called: Bhoop Also spelled: Bhoopali, Bhup

A pentatonic scale of five notes, known for its grand, stable and devotional sound. This is often the first raga taught for performance.

Swara map of Raag Bhupali: uses Sa, Re, Ga, Pa and Dha, all shuddha; Ma and Ni are omitted; Ga is the vadi and Dha the samvadi; sung in the early evening; Kalyan thaat.
Five notes, no Ma or Ni: the gaps are what make Bhupali.
Thaat (parent scale)
Kalyan
Jati (type)
Audav – Audav · 5 notes up, 5 down
Vadi (king note)
Ga (Gandhar)
Samvadi (minister note)
Dha (Dhaivat)
Varjya swara (omitted)
Ma, Ni
Time of singing
First quarter of the night (early evening)

Scale and structure

Key rule: A pentatonic scale. Ma and Ni are strictly forbidden.

Aaroha (ascent)

सा रे ग प ध सां

Avaroha (descent)

सां ध प ग रे सा

Pakad (catch phrase)

ग रे सा, ध (मंद्र), सा रे ग, प ग, ध प ग, रे सा

Sargam is given in Devanagari, as it is written in practice — a line beneath a note marks it komal (flat), and (मंद्र) marks the lower octave.

Other ragas in Kalyan thaat

Learning this with a teacher

These pages will take you a long way on theory. The singing needs a guru — live online classes, one level at a time, with exam preparation built in.

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