Nadanamakriya

Nadanamakriya is a Janya Raga derived from Mayamalavagowla (Melakarta 15) in Carnatic music. Its swaras are drawn from the parent scale Mayamalavagowla, and the way it selects, omits or bends those swaras is what gives it a character of its own. Use the arohanam and avarohanam above as your starting point: play the scale slowly on the harmonium, hold each swara until the pitch settles, and only then sing it back.

Rasa: karuna — plain sorrow. Nadanamakriya uses the flat rishabham and dhaivatam of Mayamalavagowla and is often sung across a restricted range. It carries little ornamentation by comparison with other karuna ragas, and that plainness is the point.

It belongs as much to folk song and street music as to the concert platform, and is used for laments and for songs of separation. It states its feeling without decorating it.

Start with the plain arohanam and avarohanam in slow speed, holding each swara until it is steady. Once the scale is secure, practise it against a shruti drone and only then move to gamaka-laden phrases. Whenever a phrase feels uncertain, go back to the scale and check yourself swara by swara before building speed.