Mukha mor mor muskaat jaat
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Malkauns |
| Form | Chhota khayal |
| Tala | Teental · 16 beats |
| Tempo | Madhya–drut |
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | मुख मोर मोर मुसकात जात | Mukha mor mor muskaat jaat | Turning their faces back again and again, they go smiling. |
| Sthayi | अत छबीली नार कर सिंगार | At chhabili naar kar singaar | Lovely women, dressed and adorned. |
| Antara | कहू की अखियाँ रसीली मन भायी | Kahu ki akhiyan rasili man bhaayi | Someone’s expressive eyes delight the heart. |
| Antara | या विध सुन्दरवा अकुलाई | Yaa vidh sundaravaa akulaayi | In this way the beautiful one is stirred and restless. |
| Antara | चली जात सब सखियाँ साथ | Chali jaat sab sakhiyan saath | All the companions go together. |
Word notes
Mor mor means repeatedly turning the face, not peacock. Singaar is adornment and rasili describes expressive or appealing eyes. Sundaravaa akulaayi evokes a beautiful, restless person.
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:
M = shuddha Ma; g = komal Ga; S = Sa; n = komal Ni; d = komal Dha.
↑ 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.
¦ 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 | · · · · |
· · M M |
g M g S |
n↓ gS d↓ n↓ |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · mu kha |
mo o ra mo |
o ra-a mu sa |
| Sthayi cycle | S g gS g |
M M¦ M g |
g M d n |
S↑ S↑¦ ng↑ S↑S↑ |
| Syllables | kaa aa ta-a jaa |
aa ta¦ a ta |
Cha bi li naa |
aa ra, cha-a li-i |
| Sthayi close | d n d M |
— M¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | ka ra sin gaa |
— ra¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Antara pickup | · · · · |
· · · · |
· M gM M |
n —d — n |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
· ka huki a |
khi —yaa — ra |
| Antara cycle 1 | S↑ S↑ —S↑ S↑ |
g↑g↑ S↑n S↑ — |
—¦ n —n n |
S↑ — S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | si li —ma na |
bhaa-a a-a yi — |
—¦ yaa —vi dha |
sun — da ra |
| Antara cycle 2 | S↑ n ng↑ S↑ |
d n d M¦ |
S↑ S↑g↑ M↑ g↑ |
— S↑n g↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | vaa aa a-a ku |
laa aa yi i¦ |
cha li-i i jaa |
— ta-a sa ba |
| Antara close | d n d M |
— M¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | sa khi yaa saa |
— tha¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
Pickups, sam and section joins
The sthayi begins at beat 7 and first reaches sam on kaa in muskaat. Its six-beat close allows its own pickup to return at beat 7. The antara instead begins at beat 10 and reaches sam on si of rasili. To enter the antara after the sthayi close, count beats 7–9 before its pickup; this is an explicit teaching transition. The antara also ends at beat 6, so the sthayi can resume at beat 7. Do not impose identical pickups on the two sections.
Learning sequence
Locate the lower komal Ni and Dha in the pickup. Learn the six-beat close and its direct sthayi return first. Then count the later beat-10 antara entry. Keep upper g↑ and M↑ explicit in the second antara cycle, and all adjacent note pairs within their cells. Finally rehearse the counted gap needed when moving from sthayi to antara.