Raag Marwa and Sohini

Many ragas sound similar to the layman, how does one distinguish one from the other? Let's take the case of two Hindustani ragas - Marwa and Sohini.

The first time I came across Marwa was when I was learning a vachana of  the Shaivite mystic, Basavanna.My teacher was a disciple of Pandit Basvaraj Rajguru. "Emphasize on the phrase, n-r-g-m-d", my teacher exhorted. Raag Marwa is traditionally presented at sunset.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw1sK_iLIFU Here is a beautiful rendition of raag Marwa by Ustad Amir Khan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm6bdl28lIw

Sohini which sounds similar to Marwa corresponds to raga Hamsanandi in the Carnatic scale. In Sohini, the emphasis is on the phrase, g-m-d-n.  In Carnatic music, gamakas are an essential feature in the presentation.  The beauty of rendering similar melodic phrases in a different style (Hindustani) presents its own distinctive challenge. Here is a beautiful rendition of raag Sohini by Ustad Rashid Khan. Sohini is traditionally presented at sunrise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kifCIG8kcc