Ear for music ???? or ????

History of Raag Hindolam (Tamil Classical or Carnatic)

Warning: Please read the below, only when you are relaxed.

A brief introduction to this Raag Hindolam .....
Aarohananm : S g m D n Sâ
Avarohanam : Sâ n D m g S
Hindolam is an audav raagam (5 tone raaga) under the jhanyam of Natabhairavi. The Hindustani raag Hindol is mostly misunderstood for the Carnatic raagam Hindolam. Malkauns is the Hindustani equivalent for the Carnatic raagam Hindolam.
The above introduction and the following may not seem interesting for people who have a preference for only non classical music. But please keep reading till the end to find out the hidden twist. Classical music lovers; enjoy reading and dig out the concealed twist.
Dating back to the mid 17th century and the 18th century, when the Mughal’s were reigning supreme, this raag Hindolam or Malkauns was discovered. The present day Malkauns or Hindolam has only got a little relevance to the one which was dated centuries ago, due to the transition this raag underwent during these 400 years. This raag is usually sung at medium to slow speeds to make it meditative, as it is meant to be pertaining to sadness.

Nomenclature:

This Raag was initially named Shamboli (Persian Origin). The Mughal emperors were basically the Persians, who brought the Islamic culture to Hindustan.
“Sham” (in Persian) corresponds to deceitfulness + “Boli” corresponds to being spoken as. Hence, the Mughals formed the raag to represent sadness. After a strong establishment of the Indo- Islamic culture, this raag was renamed as Hamboli. ‘H’- for Hindustan.
Sindh, which is now a part of Pakistan has got a connection to further transition of its name. The raag was later named as Sindholam, reason being , this raag was discovered in Sindh. The term ‘Olam’ was used to substitute the term ‘Boli’, when there was a huge protest from the vocalists those days to replace the word ‘Boli’ to render more reverence to music and not to degrade its honour by relating it to a something which means ‘being spoken’ – ‘Boli’. Olam on the other hand meant everlasting or forever. Hence, the name Sindholam. Towards the end of the 18th century, together with the dying Mughal empire, the name underwent a final transition to ‘Hindolam’. The origin of the Hindustani equivalent is still to be explored.

Application in Chinese music:

Chinese music is mostly sung or played in 5 tonal notations. Raag Hindolam and Mohanam are also apparent in Chinese music.
So thats about the History of the raag Malkauns/Hindolam.

Test:

And now, a small piece of work to the readers.

Allotted time: 10 minutes

Shamboli Period ???????
Hamboli Period ???????
Sindholam Period ???????
Hindolam Period ???????


The task here is to perfectly match the names to their appropriate period from mid 17th century to the 18th century. Approximations are acceptable. Can be googled :).
Well, answers are hidden in the story below.


I was running ten, when this incident occurred. Anybody would have come across episodes like this in their lives but this one is very special to me and this is something that will remain etched forever in my memory. Summer holidays were the best period of a year till my high school. My two months of holidays gets divided equally to be spent at Salem and Madras. It’s usually during the final week of my stay at Madras, my parents make a tightly scheduled visit and then take me back to Salem. Most of the time would be spent at paati- thatha’s place and its only during the final week, I stick to my parents plan and go around visiting our kith and kins. The final week usually includes a mandatory stay at athimber’s house for a day or a two and the rest at maama’s and paati’s place.

Episode 1:

Paati’s (Maternal) paatu (music) lessons:


This was the time when I had intense curiosity in learning music. Paati has an excellent quality of spotting out our talents and not only that, she also imparts her varied knowledge to us (Grand Children) in a right technique, with which each of us can grasp easily. “The Hindu”‘s crossword is her life. My paati is a versatile singer. Sadly, she hasnt taken music as her profession. This is the first song she taught me “Thungatha rangae gangae”.

Episode 2:

Athimber (Paternal) Questioning Sessions:

One person on whom Nikhil (Brother) and I have a lot of respect and humility is my venerable Athimber. Fear was another aspect. (Not now though :P). He is a multifaceted artist, being a bharathanaatyam dancer, choreographer, composer and many more. Not forgetting to mention, he is one of the senior most Bharathanaatyam dancers who took his tutelage under Smt.Rukmani Devi in Kalakshetra.

So here it goes. Our two days mandatory stay at Athimber’s house usually goes very quiet and relaxing.

Day 1:

My mum is a big time spoil sport. I used to hate my mum when she says
“Athimber, Avantika pudhusa enna paatu kathindu irukaa, kaelingo?” ((Mum intrigued Athimber to find what new song I have been taught)
Athimber goes “Paadi kaamiyein” (Athimber goes Sing).
My immediate reaction would be to raise an eyebrow at my father. Dad and I always had an understanding.
My dad goes “Avaliku thonda sariya illai”. ( My dad goes, her throat isn’t alright).
Athimber goes “Chumma iru da Mohan”. (Athimber goes Shusssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh).
Then my brother’s face used to lighten up with a bright smile following my mum’s.
After a bit of a fuss, I would sing. So I happened to sing this song which Paati taught me.
Athimber : What Raagam is it?
Me : Hmmmm, (after giving it a thought, as though i even knew it)..I don’t know athimber.
Athimber : You should know. It’s the Raagam called Hindolam.
Me : Hindolam (Repeating what he said)

Day 2:

Morning coffee time............
Athimber : Come, sit next to me.
Me (walking towards him) : Good morning, Athimber.
Athimber : Enna raagam paadinai nee, naethikku? (What was the raag that you sang yesterday)
Me : Hmmmmmmmmmm....
Athimber : Chollu (Say it)
Me : Theriyalai Athimber (don’t know)
Athimber : Yoschu sollu ( think)
Me : Theriyalai ( don’t know)
Athimber : Theriyanum ( you should know)
Me : Ham..... ( The name of the raag did not get registered at all , and when forced)
Me : Hamboli ( mum, dad and athai giggled when athimber gave no reaction)
Athimber : (Dumbstruck!!! – looking at me in deep silence)
Mum : Adhu Hindolam di.... ( when all four of them laughed their head off)
Me : (Bent down in embarrassment).

- Sorry, English translation really sucks.


Well, thank you for your time you spared on reading my blog. I Guess, you would have by now figured out where Hindolam, Hamboli and the rest falls between mid 17th – 18th century. Well, if you haven’t figured it out, keep reading till you get it.
The only twist here is linking raag Hindolam to the Mughal period and the nomenclature that is fully a made up stuff ( made up stuff - Idea stolen from my cousins) .
Apologies, if this blog has kindled your frustration over this unpredictable rollercoaster ride. It is a general tendency for people to believe when linking “Something” to History. Anything that you read can carry a biased opinion. For eg. Newspapers, news channels may be politically biased. It is very important to put your mind at work in all directions to widen your scope of understanding.
So, that is it :) :) :)