Writing

The system, explained once properly

Four pieces: where the hours come from, how raags are filed, how to read what is printed on every raag page here, and what to do with an hour.

• The eight prahars, and why they are not hoursThe day divides into eight watches measured from sunrise, not from midnight. They are unequal, they move through the year, and that inequality is the point.6 minutes
• The ten thaats, and what they do not tell youBhatkhande's classification sorts raags by their parent scale. It is the most useful filing system in the music, and the most routinely misread.7 minutes
• Reading the notation on this siteAroha, avaroha, pakad, vadi, samvadi — what the five lines on every raag page actually mean, and how the swaras are written here.5 minutes
• An hour of practice, in orderKharaj first, then alankars, then the raag of the hour. Why that order, and roughly how long to give each.6 minutes