Khatka & murki
Two quick clusters around one swara. A murki (मुरकी) is a light turn. A khatka (खटका) is the same idea with a sharper stroke. These alankars walk each shape up Bilawal and back down.
Come here after the straight alankars feel even. Set Sa and the drone in the bar at the bottom. ▶ plays the harmonium at that Sa, one cluster per beat — the note that is sounding lights up. Start near 60 so you can name every swara, then raise it until the cluster is one flick.
The difference
Teachers do not all draw the line in the same place. Two descriptions both show up in the classroom, and they agree on the feel even when they disagree on the count.
| Murki | Khatka | |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | Light, even, a small curl. Less force than a khatka. In a slow thumri it softens; in a faster light piece it stays bright. | One crisp stroke. The note you are decorating is the one the line would still have if the cluster disappeared. |
| Usual shape | Two or three neighbours. A common teaching counts a semicircle of three: touch above, touch below, land. Re Ni Sa on Sa, Dha Ma Pa on Pa. | A round of four that ends on the note itself. Re Sa Ni Sa and Ni Sa Re Sa on Sa. |
| Same notes | A figure such as Re Re Sa Sa can be either, depending on the force. Note-count is a practice handle. The stroke is the ornament. | |
How to run a line
- Sargam, slow. Name each swara. The landing note of the cluster is the one that matters.
- Same pitches on आ. The first syllable can stay the swara name; the rest of the cluster is “aa”.
- Murki: keep every note in the cluster equally light. No jab on the first one.
- Khatka: the same shape, but the opening note flicks and the last note is the one you arrive on.
- One line a day is enough. The four-note palta under Khatka is the single drill most harkat lessons mean by “just one alankar.”
Murki — light three-note turns
Sing these evenly. ▶ is the harmonium at the Sa in the bar — the lightness is still yours. Each box is the same shape twice: the first line goes up from Sa to Sa', and the second comes back down.
1 · The note above, then home
Re Sa, then Ga Re.
2 · The note below, then home
Ni Sa, then Sa Re. Ni under Sa is mandra.
3 · Neighbour turn
Sa Re Sa, then the same fold on every degree. Two steps and home. This is also Practice → neighbour turn when you want the longer five-note arch.
4 · Lower neighbour
Sa Ni Sa, then the same fold on every degree. Ni under Sa is mandra.
5 · Hold, then the note above
Sa held, then Re Sa. Next, Re held, then Ga Re. The dash is the hold.
6 · Hold, then the note below
Sa held, then Ni Sa. Next, Re held, then Sa Re. Ni under Sa is mandra.
7 · Semicircle
Above, below, land. On Sa that is Re Ni Sa. On Pa it is Dha Ma Pa — the pair usually given as the murki model.
8 · Semicircle, the other way
Below, then above, then land. On Sa that is Ni Re Sa. Ni under Sa is mandra.
9 · Skip a third above
Sa Ga Sa, then Re Ma Re.
10 · Skip a third below
Sa Dha Sa, then Re Ni Re. Dha and Ni under Sa are mandra.
11 · Hold, then a third above
Sa held, then Ga Sa. The dash is the hold.
12 · Hold, then a third below
Sa held, then Dha Sa. Dha under Sa is mandra.
Khatka — a four-note round that lands
Each cell ends on the swara it decorates. Give the first note a small accent; let the last note be the arrival. Use it sparingly in a bandish — the drill is where you repeat it. Each box is the same shape twice: the first line goes up from Sa to Sa', and the second comes back down.
1 · The note above, twice
Re Sa Re Sa. Four notes, and the second and fourth are the same swara — the usual way a khatka on Sa is counted.
2 · The note below, twice
Ni Sa Ni Sa. The same count, touching below. Ni under Sa is mandra.
3 · Round from above
Re Sa Ni Sa on Sa, then the same round on each degree: the note above, the note itself, the note below, and home.
4 · The daily palta
Ni Sa Re Sa on Sa. This is the one alankar to keep: below, the note, above, the note, walked up the scale and down. Hear a voice take this kind of harkat on Sur Sarita — गले की हरकत के लिए अलंकार.
5 · Above, then below
Sa Re Sa Ni Sa, then Re Ga Re Sa Re. Ni under the first Sa is mandra.
6 · Below, then above
Sa Ni Sa Re Sa, then Re Sa Re Ga Re. Ni under Sa is mandra.
7 · Above and below, then home
Sa Re Ni Sa, then Re Ga Sa Re. Ni under Sa is mandra.
8 · Below and above, then home
Sa Ni Re Sa, then Re Sa Ga Re. Ni under Sa is mandra.
9 · Up two and back
Sa Re Ga Re Sa, then the same arch on every degree.
10 · Down two and back
Sa Ni Dha Ni Sa, then the same arch on every degree. Ni and Dha under Sa are mandra.
11 · Up two, then back through the same notes
Sa Re Ga Re, Ga Re Sa Re. The second and fourth notes match, then the group turns back and lands on Re. Eight notes, so start well under 60.
12 · Down two, then back through the same notes
Sa Ni Dha Ni, Dha Ni Sa Ni. The same turn as 11, opening downward. Ni and Dha under Sa are mandra. Eight notes, so start well under 60.
13 · Up two, then down two
Sa Re Ga Re Sa Ni Dha Ni Sa, then Re Ga Ma Ga Re Sa Ni Sa Re. Ni and Dha under the first Sa are mandra. Nine notes, so start well under 60.
14 · Down two, then up two
Sa Ni Dha Ni Sa Re Ga Re Sa, then Re Sa Ni Sa Re Ga Ma Ga Re. Ni and Dha under Sa are mandra. Nine notes, so start well under 60.
15 · Up three and back
Sa Re Ga Ma Ga Re Sa. Seven notes, so start under 60.
16 · Down three and back
Sa Ni Dha Pa Dha Ni Sa. Ni, Dha, and Pa under Sa are mandra.
Where this comes from
The feel — murki lighter, khatka more forceful, and the same notes able to be either — is the usual Hindustani account (Raag Hindustani, and the ITC Sangeet Research Academy note behind the murki summary). The three-note semicircle and the four-note round (Re Ni Sa, Dha Ma Pa, Re Sa Ni Sa, Ni Sa Re Sa) are the cells vocal classes write out and transpose. Raag Shashtra also sets the murki as Sa Re Sa walked up and down, and a khatka palta Sa Re Ga Re, Ga Re Sa Re. A scanned booklet of the same drills sits on Scribd; these lines are the standard shapes, not a copy of that file.
Pitches are just ratios from your Sa (Re 9/8, Ga 5/4, Pa 3/2), the same seats as Practice.