Eri aali piya bina
Lyrics, meaning and notation.
About this composition
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Raga | Yaman |
| Form | Chhota khayal |
| Tala | Teental · 16 beats |
| Tempo | Drut |
Complete lyrics, transliteration and meanings
| Section | Original script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sthayi | एरी आली पिय बिन सखि | Eri aali piya bin sakhi | O companion, my friend, without my beloved, |
| Sthayi | कल न परत मोहे घरी पल छिन दिन | Kal na parat mohe ghari pal chhin din | I find no rest through the hours, moments and days. |
| Antara | जब से पिय परदेस गवन कीनो | Jab se piya pardes gavan kino | Ever since my beloved went away to another land, |
| Antara | रतियाँ काटत हैं तारे गिन गिन | Ratiyan kaaTat hain taare gin-gin | the nights pass counting the stars again and again. |
Word notes
Aali and sakhi address a female companion. Kal means ease or repose, not tomorrow. Ghari, pal and chhin evoke passing time. Pardes means away from home, and gavan kino means went or departed. Counting stars conveys sleepless waiting.
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:
N = shuddha Ni; P = Pa; R = shuddha Re; S = Sa; G = shuddha Ga; M^ = tivra Ma; D = shuddha 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 | · · · · |
· · · · |
N — P — |
— R — S |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
e — ri — |
— aa — li |
| Sthayi cycle 1 | G R G G |
— —¦ G M^¦ |
M^N DN — P |
— R — S |
| Syllables | pi yaa bi na |
— —, sa khi¦ |
e-e e-e — ri |
— aa — li |
| Sthayi cycle 2 | G R G G |
— —¦ G M^¦ |
M^N DN P — |
— R — S |
| Syllables | pi yaa bi na |
— —, sa khi¦ |
e-e e-e ri — |
— aa — li |
| Sthayi cycle 3 | G R G G |
— —¦ G G¦ |
G M^ G P |
M^ D P P |
| Syllables | pi yaa bi na |
— —, sa khi¦ |
ka la na pa |
ra ta mo he |
| Sthayi cycle 4 | N N P P |
R R S S¦ |
N — P — |
— R — S |
| Syllables | gha ri pa la |
chhi na di na¦ |
e — ri — |
— aa — li |
| Sthayi close | G R M^ M^ |
G —¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | pi yaa bi na |
a —¦ · · |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Antara pickup | · · · · |
· · · · |
P P S↑ S↑ |
S↑ — S↑ S↑ |
| Syllables | · · · · |
· · · · |
ja ba se pi |
yaa — pa ra |
| Antara cycle | NR↑ S↑S↑ N D |
N D P P¦ |
P G↑ R↑ S↑ |
ND N P — |
| Syllables | de—e e—e sa ga |
va na ki no¦ |
ra ti yaa ka |
Ta-a ta he — |
| Antara close | N — P — |
R R S S |
· · · · |
· · · · |
| Syllables | taa — re — |
gi na gi na |
· · · · |
· · · · |
Pickups, sam and section joins
Both sections enter at beat 9. The first sthayi sam is pi and the antara sam is de of pardes. The sthayi closing fragment lasts six beats; count beats 7–8 before a beat-9 re-entry or the antara. The antara close lasts eight beats, so the sthayi pickup follows immediately at beat 9. The four full sthayi cycles are different written variants and developments, not redundant lines to delete. Do not force the six-beat sthayi close to eight notes or skip its counted gap.
Learning sequence
Speak the complete lyric before singing. Learn the beat-9 entrance and the two different eri-aali returns in sthayi cycles 1 and 2. Keep M^ as tivra Ma throughout. Learn the six-beat close with two counted beats before re-entry. Then learn the antara’s upper Ga and Re, preserving NR↑ as two notes within the first beat rather than two beats.
Common pitfalls
The first two sthayi variants place ri differently, at beat 12 and beat 11 respectively; retain both. Do not translate kal as tomorrow.