Kaun karat tori binati
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Bageshri |
| Form | Chhota khayal |
| Tala | Teental · 16 beats |
| Tempo | Madhya |
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | कौन करत तोरी बिनती पिहरवा | Kaun karat tori binati piharavaa | Who else would plead with you like this, beloved? |
| Sthayi | मानो ना मानो हमरी बात | Maano naa maano hamri baat | Whether or not you heed what I say. |
| Antara | जब से गये मोरी सुधहूँ न लीनी | Jab se gaye mori sudhahun na lini | Since you went away, you have not even asked after me. |
| Antara | काहे सौतन के घर जात | Kaahe sautan ke ghar jaat | Why do you go to the other woman’s home? |
Word notes
Piharavaa addresses the beloved, not the natal home. Binati is a plea. Sudhahun means “even a thought or enquiry”. Sautan is a rival woman or co-wife. The first two lines combine a questioning appeal with the possibility of being ignored.
Complete beat-aligned score
Teental has claps at 1, 5 and 13 and a wave at 9. Every row below retains sixteen beat positions. The separate syllable row shows where the words fit; it is not an additional melodic row.
How to read this notation
Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:
S = Sa; n = komal Ni; D = shuddha Dha; M = shuddha Ma; P = Pa; g = komal Ga; R = shuddha Re.
↑ marks the upper octave and ↓ the lower octave; an unmarked note is in the middle octave.
Each separate beat position is one matra. Joined notes fall within that beat. — continues the previous sound; · is an unsung position. Padding before an entry or after a close does not add another cycle.
Within a grouped column, spaces separate beats; letters joined without spaces share a beat. The column heading states the beat numbers.
Parentheses mark a grace leading into the next principal note, without adding a beat.
¦ marks a phrase separation, not an octave change or extra beat.
Within-beat durations are exact only where specified. Learn the execution of glides, graces and inflection by listening.
| Section / layer | 1 2 3 4 · sam | 5 6 7 8 · clap | 9 10 11 12 · wave | 13 14 15 16 · clap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi pickup | · · · · |
· · · · |
S↑ — n n |
D M P D |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
ko — na ka |
ra ta to ri |
| Sthayi cycle | g g R S |
R R S —¦ |
S — D↓ n↓ |
S M M —¦ |
| Syllables | bi na ti pi |
ha ra vaa —¦ |
maa — no na |
maa aa no —, |
| Sthayi close | M D PD n |
DP (M)g — RS¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | ha ma ri-i i |
i-i baa — ta-a¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Antara pickup | · · · · |
· · · · |
g M D n |
S↑ — S↑ S↑¦ |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
ja ba se ga |
ye — mo ri |
| Antara cycle 1 | n S↑ R↑ S↑ |
n nR↑S↑ n D¦ |
· D — D |
n — D M |
| Syllables | su dha hu na |
li i-i-i ni i¦ |
· kaa — he |
so — ta na |
| Antara cycle 2 | M D PD nn |
DP (M)g — RS¦ |
D — D — |
n — D M |
| Syllables | ke e e-e gha-a |
ra-a jaa — ta-a¦ |
kaa — he — |
so — ta na |
| Antara close | M D PD nn |
DP (M)g — RS¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | ke e e-e gha-a |
ra-a jaa — ta-a¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
Pickups, sam and section joins
Both sections enter at beat 9 and close at beat 8. The first sthayi sam is bi of binati; the first antara sam is su of sudhahun. After either eight-beat close, a return or the other section can begin on beat 9. The second antara cycle repeats the question with a different entry from the preceding cycle: it starts at beat 9 rather than after a beat-9 rest. Preserve both written forms. Repetition count is not fixed by the score.
Learning sequence
Speak the four lines and the beat-9 entries first. Learn the descent from upper Sa in the sthayi, then the lower Dha–Ni movement in its main cycle. Practise the grace M into g and the closing RS within their single beats. In the antara, keep nR↑S↑ together inside beat 6; do not add two beats. Finally retain the initial rest before the first kaahe and the no-rest repeated variant.