Yaman Kalyan is Yaman with one swara more: shuddh Ma, touched on the way down, usually in the turn Ga Ma Ga before Re. Tivra Ma stays for the climb. That one borrowed swara softens Yaman's brightness and gives the raag a different warmth. It belongs to Kalyan thaat and to the first prahar of the night.
Hear it
How it moves
Ga is its vadi and Ni its samvadi, as in Yaman.
Shuddh Ma is a touch, not a resting place: brief, between two Gas, on the way down.
Its hour
Yaman Kalyan belongs to the first prahar of the night, 6 to 9 in the evening, with Yaman.
On the bansuri
- S
- R
- G
- M
- M
- P
- D
- N
- S
- Keep the two Mas apart: tivra rising, shuddh only in the descent's turn.
- Too much shuddh Ma, and the raag drifts from the Kalyan family towards Bilawal's.
Look-alikes
Practise it
- Long notes on Ga and Ni.
- The aaroh and avaroh, with the turn by shuddh Ma.
- The pakad and the phrases.
Meend starts it with Aaroh–Avaroh, Pakad, Aalap and Bandish, 27 minutes a day, and listens as you play: each swara of the notation lit as it is played, the time kept, a lotus grown petal by petal.
Questions
What is the difference between Yaman and Yaman Kalyan?
Yaman Kalyan adds shuddh Ma, touched on the way down (Ga Ma Ga); Yaman uses only tivra Ma.
When is Yaman Kalyan sung?
In the first prahar of the night, from 6 to 9 in the evening.