Sargam Returns

Hmm… so you’re done with the beginner level? Nice
Good for you. The intermediate lessons are going to feel a bit tougher, but chill scene, I’ll break them down so they still feel manageable, just like before.

We’re going to revisit the basics again, but this time with a slightly more advanced lens.

Music, in the Indian tradition, is seen as a blend of three fine arts: singing, instrumental music, and dance. Among these, singing is considered the highest form. Why? Because the human voice is the original instrument. Everything else is basically an extension of it.

Swaras

Experts in Indian classical music have identified 22 srutis (we’ll get into those in the next lesson). From these srutis emerge the 7 main swaras that we actually use in practice.

Now here’s something interesting—each swara is traditionally believed to have originated from natural sounds. Sounds wild, but kind of beautiful too.

Sa – Peacock
Re – Cow and Ox
Ga – Goat and Frog
Ma – Crow and Heron
Pa – Koyal (Cuckoo) and Nightingale
Dha – Frog and Horse
Ni – Elephant

Yep… it is what it is 👍
Indian music has always been deeply connected to nature.

Not all swaras behave the same way:

Sa and Pa are achal swaras — they are fixed and never change.
Re, Ga, Ma, Dha, and Ni are chal swaras — they can take different forms (komal or tivra), depending on the raga.

Also, swaras aren’t just “notes”—each swara has a specific emotional colour (rasa) and a role within a raga. Some swaras become more important than others:

Vadi swara – the most dominant swara of a raga
Samvadi swara – the second most important one

Now here’s a really important concept that sets Indian music apart
In Indian music, any note can be chosen as Sa. Once Sa is fixed, all other swaras are placed relative to it. This is why singers and instrumentalists can perform comfortably in different pitch ranges.

In Western music, however, notes have fixed absolute positions (like C, D, E, etc.). You can transpose keys, yes—but the reference system itself remains fixed.

So yeah, same seven notes… but a completely different way of thinking about them.

PEACE !  🎻  There is no Hindustani Music Emoji btw...