Niraval


In Carnatic music, Neraval also known as Niraval or Sahitya Vinyasa is the elaboration and improvisation of melody for a particular line. Usually, just one or two lines of text from the song are sung repeatedly, but with improvised elaborations. This elaboration remains within the framework of the original patters of duration, and each word in the lines of text stay set within their original place in the tala cycle. The lines are then also played at different levels of speed which can include double speed, triple speed, quadruple speed and even sextuple speed. The neraval is one of the features in the extempore improvisation aspect of Carnatic music, and is intended to highlight the Raga bhava effectively. It is usually performed by the more advanced performers.

Examples

Examples of Krithis containing lines best suited for neraval: