Kapi (raga)
Kāpi is a popular rāga in Carnatic music, the classical music of South India.[1] Kāpi is a janya rāgam of Kharaharapriya with a meandering vakra scale. Typically performed at slow and medium speeds, it is capable of inducing moods of devotion, pathos and sadness in the listeners. Kāpi is different from the Hindustani raag and thaat Kafi. The equivalent raag in Hindustani is Pilu
| Arohanam | S R₂ M₁ P N₃ Ṡ |
|---|---|
| Avarohanam | Ṡ N₂ D₂ N₂ P M₁ G₂ R₂ S |
| Carnatic music |
|---|
 Tanjavur-style Tambura |
| Concepts |
| Compositions |
| Instruments |
|
Structure and Lakshana
Kāpi is an audava-vakra sampoorna rāgam with an ascending pentatonic scale and a descending scale with seven notes, but not in a descending order. Use of Kakali Nishadam and Anthara Gandharam make it a Bhashanga Raagam.
- ārohaṇa : S R₂ M₁ P N₃ Ṡ[lower-alpha 1]
- avarohaṇa : Ṡ N₂ D₂ N₂ P M₁ G₂ R₂ S[lower-alpha 2]
The presence of different nishāda swarās (N2 and N3) lends a distinctive quality to Kāpi, along with the fact that it uses a set of vakra swarās (N2 D2 N2).
There is also a mild presence of shuddha daivatham (D1) that renders an invaluable feeling of devotion to the raagam. This, and the presence of Anthara Gandharam (G3) makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact nature of the avarohana of the raagam.
Compositions
Some of the popular compositions in Kāpi are:
- Jagadoddhārana Adisidaleshodaa' - Purandaradasa
- Mee Valla Gunadosha mEmi - Thyagaraja
- Intha Sowkhya - Thyagaraja
- Viharamanasa Rame, Smarasi Pura, Sree Madhavamanu - Swathi Thirunal
- Enna thavam seydanai Yashoda - Papanasam Sivan
- Bhaja maadhavam anisham - Mysore Vasudevacharya
- Maya Gopabala - K C Kesava Pillai
- Jaanaki ramana dasaratha nandana - Vanamaamalia Jiyar Swami
- Javo Mat Thum (Upaakhyanam) - Swathi Thirunal
- Chinnanchiru Kiliye - Subramanya Bharathi - (Beginning-two stanzas)
- Kurai Ondrum Illai (in two charanam verses) - Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
- Karthikeyanai - Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri
- ‘’ aravinda padamalar” - Ambujam Krishna
- Charanamule Nammiti - Bhadrachala Ramadasu
- Kanaka Simham - Kalyani Varadarajan
- Kanna Vaa Manivanna Vaa (First two verses)- Ambujam Krishna
- 'Nee mattume en nenjil nirkirai'-by Perumal Murugan and Vid. Arunprakash.
Film Songs
Language:Tamil
Notes
- Alternate notations:
- Hindustani: S R M P N Ṡ
- Western: C D F G B C
- Alternate notations:
- Hindustani: Ṡ Ṉ D Ṉ P M G̱ R S
- Western: C B♭ A B♭ G F E♭ D C
References
- Viswanathan, T.; Matthew Harp Allen (2004). Music in South India. Oxford University Press US. pp. 44–51. ISBN 978-0-19-514591-5.