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Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
ka – A tabla bol of the left hand.
kaal – 1) Time 2) See “kal”.
kabir – A great saint who composed many bhajans.
kacchhi ghodhi – A folk dance of Rajasthan that is performed with a dummy horse.
kacheri – A south Indian musical performance.
kafi – A common night time rag.
kafi that – A mode corresponding to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Så.
kaherava tal – A common eight-beat tal.
kaida – A highly formalized approach to a tabla solo.
kaida peshkar – In tabla, a peshkar whose variations adhere strictly to the kaida format.
kaida rela – In tabla, a rela performed to a strict kaida format.
kaidafarodast tal – An obscure tal in 19 beats.
kajari – A form of Hindi folk music.
kakapad – An archaic unit of time equal to four laghu. (more info.)
kakubh – A rare rag.
kal – 1) The entire concept of time and musical timing. 2) One of the 10 vital airs of tal (Das Pran), which deals with absolute time. (more info.)
kala – 1) Art. 2) An archaic unit of time roughly comparable to a minute. (more info.)
kalakantha – One who possesses a sweet voice.
kalanidhi tal – An obscure tal in 25 beats.
kalavati – a common pentatonic rag.
kalavati tal – An unusual tal of 9 1/2 beats.
kali char – The fourth black key in an octave of a harmonium (i.e., “G#”)
kali do – The second black key in an octave of a harmonium (i.e., “B#”)
kali ek – The first black key in an octave of a harmonium (i.e., “C#”)
kali panch – The fifth black key in an octave of a harmonium (i.e., “A#”)
kali teen – The third black key in an octave of a harmonium (i.e., “F#”)
kalingada – A common nightime rag in Bhairav that.
kalyan – A common rag.
kalyan that – A mode corresponding to the Western Lydian mode of Sa Re Ga Má Pa Dha Ni Så.
kamakshi vina – A rare bowed folk instrument of S. India.
kamalranjani – A rare rag.
kamali paran – In tabla and pakhawaj, a paran which is constructed in a highly unusual yet fascinating manner.
kamancha – A bowed folk instrument of N. India and Pakistan.
kamod – A common rag.
kan – 1) See “kshan”. 2) In instrumental music, a technique for ornamenting the main not with a grace note
kan swar – A grace note. It is one which may be slightly used before or after a note as a kind of ornamant. But it does not alter the identity or importance of the main note.
kandarp tal – A rare tal of 24 beats.
kandhei – See “Sakhi Nata”
kanjira – A small south Indian tambourine.
kannada – A language of southern India.
kanthe maharaj – (1880-1970) A noted tabla player of the Benares gharana.
kapalbhrat tal – A very rare tal of 10 beats.
karakhat – A harsh quality of the voice.
karagam – A folk dance of Tamil Nadu. It is played with a pot balanced on the head.
karaj – See “shadaj”.
karalmanch tal – An old and obscure tal of five or 10 beats.
karnatic sangeet – See “Carnatic sangeet”.
kartal – Wooden frames in which small jingles are placed. A simple clapper.
karuna – The emotion of sadness or grief, one of the Navaras (nine emotions) behind all art forms.
kashalkar vishnu anaji – (1884-1968) Noted vocalist and student of Vishnu Digambar Paluskar.
kashth – (lit. “wood”) An archaic unit of time = to eight lav. (more info.)
kashttarang – A wooden xylophone, or marimba.
kat – A tabla bol.
kathak – A north Indian style of classical dance.
kathakali – A dance form of the south Indian state of Kerala.
katho – A one stringed folk instrument of India. Similar to the khamak.
kaushi bharav – A rare rag.
kaushi kanada – A rag.
kaushik tal – A rare tal in 18 beats.
kavadi – A folk dance of Tamil Nadu.
kawali – A style of Islamic devotional song.
kawali tal – A tal of eight beats similar to kaherava.
kdan or – A powerful bol of both pakhawaj and tabla.
ke – A tabla bol of the left hand.
kedar – A popular rag.
keherava – See “kaherava”.
kela keluni – A dance performed by the Kelas of Odissa.
kenda – A folk instrument of eastern India.
kerva tal – See “kaherava”, a common eight beat tal.
khali – (lit. “empty”) Waved, opposite of bhari or tali. (more info.)
khalifa – The oldest and most respected representative of a gharana.
khamak – A one stringed folk instrument found in the Bengal region.
khambhavati – A rare rag.
khammaj – A very common late night rag.
khammaj that – A mode that is characterised by Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Så.
khamsa – A poetic form based upon five stanzas
khamsa tal – A rare tal in eight beats.
khan – Originally a chieftain of Afghanistan, today a name which is often appended to one’s given name among Muslims.
khan saheb – A term of respect extended to Muslims.
khand – See “vibhag”.
khand jati – Any rhythm based upon 2 1/2, 5, 10, etc. beats. (more info.)
khandaharbani – A style of Dhrupad.
khandapurna tal – A rare tal in 16 beats.
khat – 1) A rare rag. 2) A straight unornamented note.
khatka – 1) To sing the notes in an unornamented fashion. 2) A semi-ornamental form where a note is surrounded by adjacent notes, but each of the adjacent notes is distinct and without any appreciable meend.
khayal – See “kheyal”.
khemta tal – A fairly common yet amorphous tal variously described as six or 12 beats.
kheyal – 1) The most prominent style of classical vocal today. 2) The thought behind a ghazal.
kheyal tal – See “chang tal”.
khokar – A rare rag.
khol – A folk drum of northeast India.
khomok – See “khamak”.
khula – (lit. “open”) Resonant tabla strokes such as Ga, Thun, etc.
khula baj – (lit. “open style”) A style of tabla playing where the hands do not remain in contact with the drums, characteristic of the Lucknowi style.
khuli – See “bhari”.
khyal – See “kheyal”.
khz (kHz) – See “kilohertz”.
ki or – A tabla bol of the left hand.
kikli – A women’s folk dance of the Punjab.
kilohertz – 1000 cycles-per-second.
kinar – (lit. “edge”) The chat or outer rim of the tabla or pakhawaj.
kinnara – In Hindu mythology, they are a group of celestial musicians.
kirana gharana – A gharana of vocalists, its representatives included such stalwarts as Abdul Karim Khan and Bhimsen Joshi.
kirtan – A Hindu religious song or recitation.
kirvani – A common rag, once popular only in the South, but today found throughout S. Asia.
kisma – A term used by Benares tabla players to indicate a rearrangement of the bols of theka (i.e., prakar).
kisme – Plural of kisma.
kokil tal – An obscure seven-beat tal similar to tivra tal.
kokila tal – A obscure pakhawaj tal variously described as seven or 17 beats.
komal – (lit. “soft” or “tender”) A note which is flattened.
komal asavari – A rag.
komal deshi – A rare rag.
komal dha – Minor 6th.
komal ga – Minor 3rd.
komal ni– Minor 7th.
komal pa – Diminished 5th. According to contemporary theory, this note does not exist. However the concept arises repeatedly in both historical and theoretical discussions.
komal re – Minor 2nd.
konkani – An Indo-European language found in the South Indian state of Goa.
korka – A folk drum.
krantan – An ornament of sitar or sarod produced by hammering with the left hand against the fret or fingerboard. According to many it specifically involves a main note with both adjacent notes.
krishna – One of the incarnations of Vishnu and a common subject for Indian music.
krishna tal – An obscure pakhawaj tal in 20 beats.
kriya – An old and obsolete term describing the manner of keeping time with the hands. (more info.)
krushya – (Archaic) A style of silent timekeeping (deshi nishabd kriya).
kshan – An archaic unit of time, an instant, a tiny fraction of a second. (more info.)
kuadi lay – In a four unit time, one plays five units. See also “sawai”. (more info.)
kuchipudi – A classical dance form of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
kumbh tal – An obscure tal in 11 beats.
kundal – The small ring at the bottom side of the tabla used for the lacing.
kuri – The shell of the bayan.
kushan – A folk theatre of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
kusumaker tal – An obscure tal in 27 beats.
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