Earlier we met alankars as ornaments that decorate a raag. One of the most important and dramatic of these is Gamak.
What is Gamak?
Gamak is a strong, deliberate oscillation between notes or within a note’s neighborhood. It is more forceful than simple vibrato and often covers a wider interval. In Dhrupad and some khayal styles, gamak can sound almost like a series of very fast note-clusters, hitting the ear as a powerful shake.
Gamak is especially prominent in:
- Serious raags from the Bhairav, Marwa, and Poorvi thaats.
- Dhrupad singing and pakhawaj-based music.
- Certain gharanas with a more robust, dramatic style.
Other ornaments: Khatka, Murki, Zamzama
Besides gamak, there are several fast, decorative turns:
- Khatka – a quick, sharp grace cluster leading into a note; like a fast “crushed” group.
- Murki – a tiny, delicate turn around a note, often just a few milliseconds long; very common in light classical music.
- Zamzama – a series of rapidly executed notes, often repeated or patterned, used as a flashy ornament.
In Western music, you might compare these to trills, mordents, grace notes, or turns – but Indian ornaments are more varied and tightly bound to the raag’s grammar.
Why ornamentation matters
Ornamentation is not “extra decoration” on top of the raag. In many cases it is the very thing that defines the raag’s identity. Two raags might share the same notes but differ in:
- Which notes get gamak or andolan.
- Which notes are sung plain and straight.
- Where meend is long vs short.
For example, the difference between Raag Kafi and Raag Bhimpalasi is not just the scale; it is also in where you linger, where you slide, and how you ornament key swars like Ga and Ni.
For a student, mastering gamak and other ornaments is a long journey of voice or instrumental training. For a listener, simply noticing “this singer really shakes that note” or “this raag uses a lot of tiny fast turns” is a great start.