Khamaj

Khamaj (Devanagari:खमाज,Urdu: کھماج‎, Bengali: খাম্বাজ ) is one of the ten Thaats (parent scales) of Hindustani music. It is also a specific raga within the Khamaj thaat.

Many ghazals and thumris are based on Khamaj. It utilizes the shuddha (pure) form of Ni on the ascent, and the komala (flat) form of Ni on the descent, creating a key asymmetry in compositional and improvisational performance.

The parent-scale or Thaat of Khamaj, notated in sargam notation, has the following structure: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. In Western terms, assuming the tonic (Sa) to be at C, the scale would be: C D E F G A B-flat C. Khamaj thaat is thus equivalent to the mixolydian mode in Western classical music.

The Carnatic music equivalent of the Khamaj Thaat is Harikambhoji, the 28th Melakarta raga.

According to Prem Jialal Vasant, Raga Khamaj, the specific improvisational scale based on this mode, has the following structure:

Aroha (ascending structure)-S G M P D N S' Avroha-S'n D P M G R S

If Sa is tuned to C, then this would translate as C B-flat A G F G A E F D C.

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