About Gat-Kayda

The gat-kayda is a theme-and-variation form played in Benares and other gharanas. However, gat-kaydas are far less common than kaydas and relas, and may not be played at all in some lineages.

As the name suggests, a gat-kayda has characteristics of both forms: it has the structure of a kayda and allows for variations, but with phrases which are more typical of the gat. As played in Benares, however, the number of variations created is usually small.

The reason for this, according to Chhotelal Misra, is that the phrases in a gat-kayda are usually very different from each other. Like some gats, the character and “effect” of a gat-kayda relies on its particular contrast (juxtaposition) of different phrases. And so it is difficult to make many variations which sound balanced and keep the nature of the original theme.

See the sections on kayda, kayda variations, and gat for more information on these forms.

And see the Benares Gat-Kayda compositions for more examples of this form.