Meet the Raga Varamu | Pratibha Sarathy

[00:00:16][singing] [snorts] >> Meet the raga varam a very interesting pentatonic raga which is just one note different from raga hindolam. I've learned some very beautiful compositions in this raga and I often use it for my alankara practice as well. So in today's video we are going to go into the notes of this raga, the important gamakas of the raga and if you stay till the end I will give you a challenging vocal exercise to master the notes of this raga. So stay with me till the end of this video. I'm Pratibha Sarathy and you're watching Vox Gurus YouTube series. If you enjoy our videos, please hit that subscribe button right away and it will greatly motivate me to keep coming up with great content for you.

[00:01:09]>> [music and singing] >> So let's first learn the notes of this ragam. So as usual we will take a 12 note scale and we'll visualize where each note lies, okay?

[00:01:24]>> [singing] >> So what do you notice about this scale?

[00:01:37]It is just one note different from raga hindolam.

[00:01:40]Hindolam uses the lower variant of da.

[00:01:42]Okay?

[00:01:43]Which is >> [singing] >> Whereas varam is You have to lift up the da more than hindolam, okay? so Varamu uses the higher da, whereas Hindolam uses the lower da. All the other notes are the same.

[00:02:03]So, let's go again with Varamu. Sa ga ma [singing] da ni sa sa ni da ma ga sa.

[00:02:15]So, let's break down the gamakas of the arohanam first. So, we start with sa, which is plain.

[00:02:20]Sa then ga That is sa ma ga [singing] ga then ma That is also plain.

[00:02:33]da plain ni plain sa plain. Okay, so in the arohanam, there is not much gamakam. The only note we give a push to is the ga. Now, coming to the avarohanam sa ni So, the ni has a glide.

[00:02:53]sa ni ni da That is plain.

[00:02:59]ma That is also plain. ga That is sa ma ga [singing] ga sa Now, let's sing arohanam and avarohanam together. Sa ga ma da ni sa sa ni da ma ga sa. [singing] Now, moving to the vocal exercise.

[00:03:27]When it comes to pentatonic ragas, my favorite exercise to practice is the datu varisai.

[00:03:32]You know, the same datu varisai that you practice in your Mayamalavagowla can be applied to pentatonic ragas.

[00:03:39]So, today in Varamu, we are going to sing the datu varisai.

[00:03:43]So, the original datu varisai was in Mayamalavagowla.

[00:03:47]Sa ma ga ma ri ga sa ri sa ga ri ga sa ri ga ma. Remember? So, now the same exercise we're going to apply it to varamu. So how did it go?

[00:03:57]Sa Da Ma [singing] Da Ga Ma Sa Ga Sa Ma [singing] Ga Ma Sa Ga Ma Da Are you able to visualize the pattern?

[00:04:12]So it is the same movement but with the notes of this raga. Then the next line.

[00:04:16]Ga Ni Da Ni Ma Da Ga Ma Ga Da Ma Da Ga Ma Da Ni And then Ma Sa Ni Sa Da Ni Ma Da Ma Ni Da [singing] Ni Ma Da Ni Sa Now let's try this a bit faster. Sa Da Ma Da Ga Ma Sa Ga Sa Ma Ga Ma Sa Ga [singing] Ma Da Ga Ni Da Ni Ma Da Ga Ma Ga Da Ma Da Ga Ma Da Ni Ma Sa Ni Sa Da Ni Ma Da Ma Ni Da [singing] Ni Ma Da Ni Sa And now let us look at the descending part.

[00:05:00]Sa Ma Da Ma Ni Da Sa Ni Sa Da Ni [singing] Da Sa Ni Da Ma Ni Ga Ma Ga Da Ma Ni Da Ni Ma Da Ma Ni Da Ma Ga Da Sa Ga Sa Ma Ga Da Ma Da Ga Ma Ga Da Ma [singing] Ga Sa Now let's try this faster. Sa Ma Da Ma Ni Da [singing] Sa Ni Sa Da Ni Da Sa Ni Da Ma Ni Ga Ma Ga Da Ma Ni Da Ni Ma Da Ma Ni Da Ma Ga Da Sa Ga Sa Ma Ga Da >> [singing] >> So, make sure you are very comfortable with the slow speeds and your pitch of each note is perfect before you make it faster because this can be quite a challenging ragam, especially because the gaps between the notes is quite steep. Hope you enjoyed this exercise and found it challenging. Please keep practicing and if you want to learn many more such fun and challenging exercises systematically, then come join my live Carnatic curriculum. We have a beautiful friendly curriculum that is open to any type of singer and by practicing multiple ragas like this, you will definitely strengthen your control over the notes and over your ear.

[00:06:30]So, if you want to join us, just drop us a WhatsApp message. I've shared the link in the description. So, just say hi and we'll get back to you with all the details. And also, if you want to do some self-learning through video-based courses, I have plenty of those too for you on the VoxGuru app. So, the link of the app is also in the description. So, check that out if you want to learn at a more flexible time and pace. There are plenty of courses for you there. So, I'll be eagerly waiting for that WhatsApp message from you. See you soon.

[00:06:57]Take care.

[00:07:02]>> [music]