Khayal
Raga improvisation built around a fixed bandish and a rhythmic cycle.
Definition
Khayal is the predominant vocal form of modern Hindustani classical music: the improvisatory elaboration of a raga around a fixed composition (bandish) set to a tala. The word derives from a term for "imagination/thought," and the form's defining feature is the singer's freedom to develop the raga expressively around the composition rather than merely rendering it.
Structure
A khayal presentation is typically in two parts, distinguished by tempo (laya), not by being separate forms:
- Bada khayal — the slow (vilambit) composition, often in Ektal, Tilwada, Jhumra or Ada-Chautal; expansive, exploratory.
- Chhota khayal — the faster (madhya/drut) composition, often in Teental; brighter, rhythmically driven; usually follows the bada khayal in the same raga.
A khayal composition commonly has a sthayi and an antara; transmission and performance may omit an antara.
Improvisation vocabulary
Developed around the bandish, in a roughly cumulative order (varies by artist/gharana):
- Alap / bol-alap — slow melodic exposition of the raga, free or using the composition's words.
- Behlava — gentle melodic elaboration around the sthayi.
- Bol-bant — rhythmic division and manipulation of the composition’s words.
- Bol-banao — expressive melodic development of the words and their meaning.
- Sargam — improvisation using swara names.
- Taan — fast melodic runs.
- Layakari — rhythmic manipulation against the tala.
Order and emphasis are gharana- and artist-specific.
Relationship to raga, tala, tempo
- Raga supplies the melodic grammar (e.g. Yaman).
- Tala supplies the rhythmic cycle (e.g. Teental for chhota khayal; vilambit Ektal for bada khayal).
- Tempo (laya) — vilambit / madhya / drut — describes the speed of the presentation, and is not itself a form.
History
- Popularly linked to Amir Khusrau (13th–14th c.) in traditional accounts of its origins.
- Development associated with the court of Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi of Jaunpur (15th c.).
- Brought to prominence in the 18th-century Mughal court by Niyamat Khan "Sadarang" and Firoz Khan "Adarang," whose compositions remain core repertoire.
- Modern khayal is organised into gharanas (stylistic lineages): Gwalior (often cited as the oldest khayal gharana), Agra, Jaipur-Atrauli, Kirana, Patiala, and others.
Beginner-accessible compositions
- A drut chhota khayal in Yaman/Teental is a standard first khayal — see Eri aali piya bina.