Raag Yaman – Easy Beginner’s Guide

Raag Yaman was the first lesson I learnt when I started my Hindustani singing journey 15+ years back. Yaman (also known as Kalyan, Iman, Aiman, “Eman”, “Kalyani” in Carnatic Classical music) is regarded as one of the grandest, most fundamental ragas in Hindustani music. Also this is one of the first ragas taught to students. The original name of Raag Yaman is Raag Kalyan and only during the Mughal’s rule the name Yaman was introduced and used thereafter. Raga Yaman emerged from the parent musical scale of Kalyan and is rendered at the time when lights are put on.

If you are new to hindustani music, this is the first raag you can learn and this raga is considered one of the most important in all of Hindustani Sangeet. It is the primary raga in Kalyan which in itself is a primary thaat. The importance of Yaman can easily be seen in the fact that it is one of the first ragas to be taught. Indeed many traditions teach it before Bilawal thaat. In this blogs we will look into raag yaman songs and notes with tips to practice.

Technical Details

The structure of Yaman is quite simple. It has all shuddha swaras except for the tivra Ma which gives this raga its distinctive quality of peace and tranquility. The raag yaman notes are considered analogous to the western Lydian mode. Yaman’s jati is sampurna-sampurna as both ascending (Arohana) and descending (Avrohana) of this raga includes all seven yaman raag notes in an octave.

Sometimes, this raga is also considered as audav-sampoorna because of its other singing style, the structure of which includes Ni, Re Ga ma Dha Ni Re’ Sa’, Ni Dha Pa ma Ga Re Sa. The fifth note (Pancham) is omitted in this style but the avroh is the same complete octave.

There are many rules that one must follow to showcase the true form of Raag Yaman. The Vadi Swar is Gandhar and Samvadi is Nishad. Therefore, if Gandhar is not given the utmost importance, another raga may be portrayed instead. Similarly, without giving the second most prominence to Nishad, Yaman may not come into view completely.

Tonal movements of the raag yaman notes mostly reflect zigzag motion with gaps of one or several yaman raag notes usually that prefer reverse order very often like Dha Ni Sa, ma Dha Ni, Ga ma Dha, Re Ga ma,etc. Ideally, Yaman should not use Pa-Re combination but can use Pa-Re showing color of ma or Ga while gliding from Pa to Re, for Pa Re is one of the specific identification of Raga Kalyan.

Ragas in the Kalyan thaat are supposed to be sung during the first quarter of the night which is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. , so as Yaman. 

Swara Notations

*Throughout the discussion, ma = tivra madhyam*

Swaras	Madhyam Teevra, rest all Shuddha Swaras.
Jaati	Sampurna-Sampurna
Thaat	Kalyan
Vadi	Ga
Samvadi	Ni
Ideal time to sing	6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ( 1st quarter of the night)
Vishranti Sthan	Sa, Ga, Ni. Sa’, Ni, Pa, Ga
Aroh	.Ni Re Sa – Ni Re Ga ma Pa Dha Ni Sa’
Avroh	Sa’ Ni Dha Pa ma Ga Re Sa ,.Ni Re Sa
Pakad	.Ni Re Ga Re Sa, Pa ma Ga Re Sa

Bandish For Practice

For a better understanding about the raga, you can watch the following tutorial videos in order to learn Raag Yaman. The tutorial includes Aroh, Avroh and Pakad of the raga with a chota khayal in teen taal madhya laya along with a few taans. The tutorial is made in such a way that it becomes easier for beginners to learn the raga, the links of which are as follows:

You can also refer to the following bandishes in order to know more pieces in Raga Yaman.

Bandish 1: Tori re baasuriya

Check below the Arohana an Avarohana of Raag Yaman & Tori Re Baasuriya Bandish by one of our star hindustani teacher Ms. Prakriti Sharma.

Tori re baasuriya jaadu bhari

Moh liyo man prem bhari

Bisar gayi sudh sun

Murli ko

Naahi parkey maika

Chain ek ghari

Tori re baasuriya jaadu bhari

moh liyo man prem bhari

Bandish 2 – Ae Ri Aali Piya Binu

Ae ri aali piya binu

Sakhi ae ri aali piya binu

Sakhi kal na parat mohe is ghare palchin

Ae ri aali piya binu

Sakhi ae ri aali piya binu

Jabse piya pardes gaye more

Ratiyan katat mori taare gin gin

Tips to Practise

1. Take it slow, set the tempo at a comfortable speed where you can sing the raag yaman notes comfortably. Also make sure you are comfortable with the pitch. You can sing in a pitch in which you are comfortable.
2. Listen to the audio file as many times as possible and sing along with it. Make sure to stay on the pitch or Shruti. Use shrutibox to make sure you on right shruti. Staying in the pitch is the most important. Practise (Riyaz) the Arohana and Avarohana multiple number of times. Note these are the fundamental building blocks for your singing skills.
3. Try to sing the bandish, at first it may not be as sweet as you want, but with practise over time please be assured that it will come out. Remember there is only one short cut – Practise, Practise & More Practise.

Mood of Raag Yaman

Raga Yaman expresses ultimate humility and has an untainted appeal or urge of shaking off ego, haughtiness and arrogance. One can completely surrender one’s soul to the ultimate, through immersing in the ecstatic melody of Yaman.

Prayer and love are complementarily expressed through the rendition of the raga just like the inseparable connection between the moon and moonbeam, or between fish and water. Both the artists  and the audiences can reach absolute nothingness through meditating the raga.

If the swar ‘re’ in Yaman turns komal, the raga then converts to Puriya Kalyan, of which Purbanga is ‘Purya’ and Uttaranga is ‘Yaman’; if the note ‘dha’ is made komal along with it, then the raga formed is called Puriya Dhanashree.

Yaman is called the King of the entire raga, while “Puriya Dhanashree” is termed as the King of the entire evening ragas. Yaman means the full moon. Hazrat Amir Khusrau composed the raga at the time of Khilji dynasty. Hazrat Amir Khusrau (real name Abul Hasan) is the only one termed ‘Hazrat’ in the realm of Music; as he is the creator of Khayal, Ghazal, Raga Yaman, Gulnux (a genre of music), sitar, tabla and baya.

Raga Yaman is performed at a time when nature or the universe creates an ambience of complete surrender to the ultimate, after a hectic day. The raga of Yaman emits when nature takes all the living beings in her lap with kindness and generosity. Yaman is a raga through which one can purify oneself with the holy hum of evening prayer at a mosque, temple, pagoda or church. Raga Yaman is an evening raga which is romantic in nature.

Raga Yaman generates bhakti, gambhir, shringar, serene and suggestive rasa. Yaman is the defining raga of its own thaat Kalyan, meaning the full moon. Similar ragas are Yaman Kalyan and Maru Behag.

There are virtually limitless variations in this raga and each of them is so different that one thinks the canvas of this raga is as colossal as the horizon. The deeper you go, you find it fathomless; the higher you see, it remains dashingly over and above the rest of the world of music.

Beyond its aesthetic appeal, Raga Yaman holds deeper wisdom. It invites the listener to experience a state of profound inner reflection, connecting with their own emotions and the essence of the raga. The repetitive and intricate melodic patterns of Yaman allow for introspection and a meditative state of mind.

Moreover, the performance and improvisation of Raga Yaman require a high level of skill, knowledge, and discipline. Musicians must master the intricacies of the raga while bringing their own creativity and individual expression. This process fosters discipline, focus, and a deep understanding of the musical form, reflecting the wisdom of dedication, practice, and self-mastery.

In addition to its musical aspects, Raga Yaman has been a source of inspiration for poets, writers, and philosophers as well. Its emotive qualities and ability to evoke a range of feelings have influenced various art forms and cultural expressions, amplifying its wisdom beyond the realm of music. It is also said that Raga Yaman has a certain influence on the human brain waves and hence is used in music therapy as well. 

Origin of Raag Yaman

Its origins are obscure and there is a tendency to as­cribe it to Persian origins, however this is doubtful for several reasons. The first evidence is to be found in its ancient and very secure position in carnatic sangeet. It is known as ‘Kalyani’ in this system. The second and most important piece of evidence is the fact that it appears to be modally identical to one of the old Jatis. Thus, when one realizes that this modal form existed in Greek music (Hypolydian mode), and music of the Middle east, it would be easy to as­cribe this mode to proto-Indo-European origins. If this is the case, we are talking of a scale which antedates the concept of raga by several thousand years.

Hindustani vocalist, scholar and researcher Ramkrishna Das Nadrang states that by name of the Raga Yaman, some musicians think its origin is from Yemen, a country in the Middle East at the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula due to phonetic similarities or linguistic coincidences but there is no direct historical link between them. The etymology of the word “Yaman” is believed to have originated from the sanskrit word “Yama”, which refers to the Hindu god of death. 

By traditional restrictions of Gwalior gharana, some olden schools of Hindustani music, the masters of music think that a learner has to bring faith (IMAAN) to the words of a teacher-mentor to progress in music, thus they cherish “imaan laao (submit to the aphorism)” on the part of the students, thus music teaching is started with Yaman; as a result the name of Yaman was popular as imaan too, that is closer to term imaan.

Ramkrishna Das says that by another hypothesis, the word Yaman is close to Sanskrit Yavan (Muslim) that gave rise to raga Yaman from Kalyan as puritan Hindu musicians preferred calling the melody as Yavanon ka Kalyan i.e. Kalyan of the Muslim artistes which got shortened to become Yavan Kalyan > Yaman Kalyan > Yaman. South Indian Carnatic music named Yaman like melody as yamuna Kalyani whereas Gwalior Paluskar tradition invented raga Jaimini Kalyan perhaps to match with the Carnatic name.

In a sense, it was a derogatory term for melody of Yaman with mutilated the sanctity of Kalyan due to excessive zigzag tonal movements which projected downward intricate tonal movements with internal skips/gaps of raag yaman notes, for instance, ni re sa, ma re ga, ma dha pa, ga pa ma, re ma ga, ni sa ni, ga re ni, ni dha ma, ma dha ni, ni re ga, re pa ma, ni dha sa ni re sa ga re ma ga pa ma, ma dha ni ma re ni ma dha ni re sa, etc. Yaman emphasizes ni, ga, ma along with quite a limited use of sa and pa in the ascent whereas Kalyan emphasizes sa, pa, re, ga with highly limited use of ma and ni. raga Kalyan too, has frequent downward movements in the model of raga shuddha Kalyan.

There are votaries of calling Yaman as the invention of Ameer Khusro (1253-1325), a Sufi saint poet, singer and courtier of several Indian rulers. raga Vyakaran by Bimalakaanta Roychoudhury comprises four varieties of Yaman, of which Khusro’s Yaman has no ni, no tivra ma in ascent except ma ga ma. This melody is penta-hexatonic (Sa Re Ga Pa Dha Sa ‘| Sa’ Dha Pa Ga ma Ga Re Sa) with vadi ga and samvadi dha which shows that the present popular Yaman is much more different from the 14th century Yaman. According to Ramkrishna Das, contemporary Yaman is derivative of olden raga Yamani that evolved by the bank of river Yamuna near Mathura – Vrindavan or Chaiti dhun (melody) of Varanasi. Most precisely Yaman seems to be part of Yamani due to the name of river Yamuna.

Hence, the precise origins of Raga Yaman are difficult to trace as many ragas have evolved and transformed over centuries through the oral tradition of transmission. However, it is believed to have been developed and refined by various musicians and composers throughout history. 

Organization and Relationship

There is some discussion whether Yaman and Kalyan really just are different names for the same raga, or that these are actually 2 ragas. Joep Bor says “Kalyan (today usually referred to as Yaman)”, Kaufmann says that Yaman and Kalyan are just different names, but insists that rāga Yaman-Kalyan is different as natural Ma is occasionally inserted between two Ga, like Ga Ma Ga Re Sa, while in all other instances tivra Ma (Ma is used as in Kalyan). S. Bagchee agrees with Kaufmann.

As Bor, Kaufmann and Bagchee are not practicing, professional and traditional musicians or artists with training from qualified musicians for several hundred (+practicing) hours and knowing a few dozens of bandishes/ compositions of North Indian Hindustani classical music in raga Yaman, thus their opinions and observations needs to be accepted with a pinch of salt.

A sensible analysis of large data of the raga, honesty and truthful introspection lead any sane musicians to think, that the name of the ragas Yaman and Kalyan are different so their tonal movements shall be different for Kalyan is more akin to Shuddha Kalyan not Yaman in any case.

The influence of Kalyani of Carnatic and almost blind following of Pt. Bhatkhande as well as unquestionable trust and faith to guru (music teachers) caused this confusion. People erratically believe that if natural Ma is occasionally added in a concluding figure leading to Sa, the raga is known as Yaman-Kalyan. Practically, Yaman has a rag-anga very much different from Kalyan rag-anga resembling colors of Shuddha Kalyan.

The use of shuddha ma must be restricted as a Vivadi swara (limited use) or grace note for Yaman Kalyan otherwise there is a chance of it becoming Yamani, Yamani Bilawal, Jaimini Kalyan. Moreover, neither Kalyan or Yaman has Shuddha Ma in its main body thus use of shuddha Ma does not create Yaman Kalyan. Ideally there is no raga at all in Indian music that is recognized as any type of Kalyan because of shuddha Ma, thus raga Yaman Kalyan becomes a misnomer or pure lie because of Shuddha Ma in the tonal structure of raga Yaman.

Kalyan is mixed with several ragas that has either of Kalyan ang or Yaman ang:

• Adbhut Kalyan
• Anandi Kalyan
• Bhog Kalyan
• Bhoop Kalyan
• Bilas khani Kalyan
• Chandra Kalyan
• Chhaya Kalyan
• Deepak Kalyan
• Gaud Kalyan
• Gorakh Kalyan
• Hameer Kalyan
• Hem Kalyan
• Hindol Kalyan
• Husseini Kalyan
• Jaimini Kalyan
• Jait Kalyan
• Kamod Kalyan
• Kedar Kalyan
• Kesari Kalyan
• Khem Kalyan
• Kohri Kalyan
• Laxmi Kalyan
• Maru Kalyan
• Miyaan ki Kalyan
• Nand Kalyan
• Nat Kalyan
• Panch Kalyan
• Poorva Kalyan
• Puriya Kalyan
• Pyaar Kalyan
• Raam Kalyan
• Raini Kalyan
• Ravi Kalyan
• Saraswati Kalyan
• Shankar Kalyan
• Shankaraa Kalyan
• Shiv Kalyan
• Shree Kalyan
• Shuddha Kalyan
• Shyam Kalyan
• Sohni Kalyan
• Yaman Kalyan

Yaman raga mixing in other ragas:

• Kalavati Yaman
• Yaman Bhopali
• Yamani
• Yamani Basant
• Yamani Bilawal
• Yamani Hindol
• Yaman Chhaya

Concludingly, there is a considerable debate as to the very nature of the existence of this raga. On one hand, we have a large and growing number of modernists who consider Yaman, Yaman-Kalyan and Kalyan to be one raga. On the other hand, we have a shrinking number of traditionalists who view them as three distinct ragas. Bhatkhande himself appears to have taken a middle view of Yaman being the main raga with only Yaman-Kalyan being distinguished by the addition of a weak Shuddha Madhyam. Regardless of our views on these theoretical arguments, it is apparent that this raga is going to be here for a long to come.

Popular Bollywood Raag Yaman songs & related compositions

Raga Yaman has been frequently used in film songs including a duet  Re Man Sur Mein Ga , recorded by Asha Bhosle and Manna Dey and  Kuch Na Kaho, Kuch Bhi Na Kaho recorded by Kumar Sanu. Some other songs in Raga Yaman are Aaye ho meri zindagi mein tum bahar banke , Abhi na jao chorh kar , Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein , Yun Shabnami , Aaj Ibadat (from the movie Bajirao Mastani) and Naam Gum Jayega . 

Eminent artist Manna Dey’s record of the songs Sundori Go and Deep Chhilo Shikha Chhilo are also set on Raga Yaman.

A Tagore composition Dariye Achho Tumi Amar is set on raga Yaman while our National Poet’s compositions Bulbuli Nirob Nargis Bone and Mone Porey Aj Se Kon Janome are evocative of this raga.

Master vocalists including Bade Ghulam Ali Khan , Ustad Amir Khan ,  Pt. Bhimsen Joshi , Ustad Rashid Khan , Vidushi Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande , Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty , Pandit Tushar Dutta have showcased their musical prayers by performing Raga Yaman, alongside eminent instrumentalists including Ustad Vilayat Khan on Sitar , Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia on Flute , Pandit Nikhil Banerjee on Sitar , Pandit Ravi Shankar on Sitar and Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on Mohan Veena.  

The ghazals Aa Gayi Sham Dhalte Hi recorded by Ghulam Ali Ranjish Hi Sahi recorded by Mehdi Hassan and Chaand Angraiyan Le Raha Hai recorded by Anup Jalota are also based on Raga Yaman.

These are just a few examples, as Raga Yaman has been explored and interpreted by numerous composers and musicians in different styles and genres. Its versatility allows for a wide range of musical expressions, making it a favorite raga for both classical and contemporary compositions. It’s worth noting that the combinations and songs in Raga Yaman can vary and different artists may interpret the raga with their unique melodic explorations and improvisations, adding their creative touch to the compositions.

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Related blog: Raag Bhairavi