Naman kar chatur shri guru charana

About this composition

| Entry | Beat 9 in both sections | | Sam syllable | shri (sthayi); shu of shubh (antara) |

The web article calls this drut khayal, while its linked score explicitly says Madhya Laya. This version follows the score’s madhya designation, not a silent blend of the two labels.

Lyrics, transliteration and meaning

Word notes

Charana means feet and tarana means deliverance. Bhav means worldly existence here, not merely an emotion.

Notation legend and cycle

Each division contains four beat cells separated by spaces. Dots pad positions outside a pickup or closing fragment; they do not add a rest cycle. The lyric syllables align with the beat cells. Slash pairs divide the beat equally. Repeated vowels such as paa-a or che-e indicate gamak or rearticulation, not extra words. Learn the vocal gesture by listening.

Teental: clap on 1 (sam), 5 and 13; wave on 9.

How to read this notation

Sa is the chosen reference pitch. Note signs used in this score:

S = Sa; D = shuddha Dha; P = Pa; G = shuddha 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.

/ separates successive events within one beat. Where shown, [½], [¼], [⅛] and [1] give durations in beats.

In this composition, a slash-separated pair occupies two equal half-beats.

Within-beat durations are exact only where specified. Learn the execution of glides, graces and inflection by listening.

Section joins and returns

Start the section at beat 9, count through beat 16 and continue into the first full cycle. Sing the full-cycle rows in order, then the closing fragment. Re-enter at beat 9; to return from antara to sthayi, use the sthayi pickup there. Dot-marked padding does not add a rest cycle.

Learning sequence

Begin with the shared closing contour S↑ P D P G R S. Then learn the sthayi entrance from beat 9 and connect it to shri on the following sam. Learn the antara entrance separately: its repeated G notes are not the same opening as the sthayi. Finally join the two sections, paying attention to the two-note cells on antara beats 5 and 16.

First speak the lyric, then count the cycle, then read the melody. Combine them when the separate layers are clear. Learn the composition before adding bol-alap, taans or ornamentation.

Common pitfalls and self-check

The long shri crosses two notes at the beginning of the main cycle, including lower Dha on beat 2. Do not misread that lower-register sign as upper Dha. At the end of the antara cycle, P/D occupies one beat, not two; adding a beat there displaces the next sam.

Check three things on each return: the cycle has sixteen beats, the specified sam syllable arrives on beat 1, and the lyric remains intelligible through long notes. Learn ornaments and pronunciation by listening and with a teacher’s guidance.