Dekho sakhi Kanhaiya roke
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Bihag |
| Form | Bandish-ki-thumri |
| Tala | Teental · 16 beats |
| Tempo | Drut |
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | देखो सखि कन्हैया रोके ठाढ़ो हैं गैल | Dekho sakhi Kanhaiyaa roke ThaaDo hain gail | Look, friend: Kanhaiya stands barring the path. |
| Sthayi | पनिया भरन मैं कैसे जाऊँ मोरी आली | Paniyaa bharan main kaise jaaun mori aali | How can I go to fetch water, my companion? |
| Antara | हूँ जल जमुना भरन घर से जाती | Hun jal Jamunaa bharan ghar se jaati | I was leaving home to fetch water from the Yamuna. |
| Antara | बीच में मिल गयो ये नंद के लाल | Beech mein mil gayo ye Nand ke laal | On the way I met this son of Nand. |
Word notes
ThaaDo means standing; gail means path. Paniyaa and jal mean water; Jamunaa is the Yamuna. Aali is a companion. The woman complains of her path being blocked.
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 = shuddha Ni; P = Pa; G = shuddha Ga; M = shuddha Ma; D = shuddha Dha; M^ = tivra Ma; 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.
In lyric rows, · inside a syllable string separates sung syllable fragments; a standalone · is an unsung position. In headings it is only a text separator.
[PNS↑G↑]{3beats} is one phrase spanning three beats; the following ↔ cells continue that same span, not new rests or held-note signs. Internal timing needs demonstration.
| 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↓ P↓ N↓ |
S G M(G) PD |
PP G — M |
| Syllables | · · · · |
—de kho sa khi |
ka nai yaa ro-o |
ke-e Thaa — Do |
| Sthayi cycle | G S — S¦ |
—S M G M |
P P¦ P S↑ |
— N —D P |
| Syllables | he ge — la¦ |
—pa ni yaa bha |
ra na ke se |
— jaa —a u |
| Sthayi close | PD M^P GM RG |
R¦— · · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | mo-o ri-i aa-a li-i |
i¦— · · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Antara pickup | · · · · |
· · · · |
P —N N S↑ |
S↑ S↑ — —¦ |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
hu —ja la ja |
mu naa — —, |
| Antara cycle 1 | [PNS↑G↑]{3beats} ↔ ↔ R↑ |
S↑ NS↑ —N —D |
P¦S↑ NS↑ R↑S↑ N |
ND P P¦ PS↑ |
| Syllables | [bha·ra·na·gha]{3beats} ↔ ↔ ra |
se jaa-a —ti —i |
i¦bi i·cha a·me mi |
la-a ga yo ye-e |
| Antara cycle 2 | — P¦ P D |
M G — G¦ |
S G M(G) PD |
PP G — M |
| Syllables | — e, nan da |
ko Che — la¦ |
ka nai yaa ro-o |
ke-e Thaa — Do |
| Antara close | G S — S¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | he ge — la¦ |
· · · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
Pickups, sam and section joins
The sthayi pickup begins at beat 5; first sam is he of the phrase ThaaDo hain. Its final fragment extends through beat 5, so a direct beat-5 repeat would overlap that ending. Choose and count the return with a teacher rather than superimposing a new pickup. The antara begins at beat 9, reaching sam on the four-note group carrying bha-ra-na-gha across beats 1–3. To enter it after the sthayi close, count beats 6–8 before its pickup. The antara close ends at beat 4 and therefore allows the full sthayi pickup on beat 5. These are asymmetrical section joins.
Learning sequence
Count the beat-5 sthayi pickup and its lower Pa and Ni. Learn the five-beat close and beat-9 antara pickup. P N S↑ G↑ spans beats 1–3; the bracket and continuation arrows mark this span, not rests or held pitches. Beat 4 is R↑. At beat 9, P¦S↑ marks a phrase boundary within the cell. After the four-beat antara close, re-enter the sthayi at beat 5.
Common pitfalls
This is bandish-ki-thumri. The four-note opening group spans three beats. The sthayi and antara closes have different lengths.