It was 6:30 pm on a Sunday evening, and I was awaiting the arrival of a new student. Although generally at ease teaching, I was a little apprehensive that day, because this student was an absolute beginner of Karṇāṭak music. I had never taught someone the basics before, and was looking forward to what the experience would teach me. Teaching a class always throws up at least one insight... a new way of splitting a phrase, another dimension to a song lyric etc. That day, I was thinking about the convention of teaching mālavagauḷa to beginners. The following is an account of the thoughts and conjectures that came to my mind.

I taught her the traditional Sa Pa Sa, and then moved on to teach her both the Śaṅkarābharaṇam and Mālavagauḷa scales. It was an ambitious move for the first class, but the student was able to grasp both. It is essential to teach both to a beginner, as exemplified by the many Gīta-s in Rāga Malahari (which takes the notes of Mālavagauḷa scale except the Ni) on the one hand, as well as the Nōṭṭu̱svara-s of Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkṣita (Śaṅkarābharaṇam scale) on the other. But, there is a vital difference between the two scales.

The equi tempered scale used in Indian music divides an octave into 12 semitones. The notes of Mālavagauḷa are placed such that there are intervals of various lengths between consecutive svara-s. The interval lengths (no. of semitones) between consecutive notes S—> R, R—> G...N—>S’ are thus 2, 4, 2, 3, 2,4,2. Practising using notes of this scale may thus develop the vocal felicity required for navigating notes which are close together, as well as far apart. Moreover, it develops clarity of Svarasthāna-s, especially for those Svara-s which are close together. The corresponding interval lengths in Śaṅkarābharaṇam are 3,3,2,3,3,3,2,1 and as a result, Śaṅkarābharaṇam may be less challenging to sing than Mālavagauḷa for a beginner.

In the Hindusthāni tradition, Rāg Bhairav, which takes the notes of Mālavagauḷa, is known to be an early morning Rāg. Dawn is the time generally recommended for Riyāz or Sādhana, maybe because of the silence. As Śrī Tyāgarāja beautifully expressed,

Vēguva Jāmuna velayucu Tambūrā cēkoni guṇamulanu celuvonta pāḍucu

At this hour, the mind is uncluttered; one can hear oneself think—and, by extension, truly listen to one’s own voice. It may be for this reason that Śrī Purandara Dāsa composed so many gitams in Malahari, which is more challenging than even Mālavagauḷa, as it also contains an interval length of 5, apart from the 2,3,4 found in the latter.