I think it will be wrong to call Shuddha ma as Komal Ma... The Pa, Ma, Ga and Re are points within the harmonic series of the Sa, and are called as their Shuddha versions. We move the Ga and Re down from their natural position to get their Komal versions. In case of the Ma, there is not enough space between the Ma and Ga to move it down. It can be moved up though in the space between Ma and Pa, and then we call it the Teevra Ma.. The more interesting question would be, why cant we call the Teevra Ma as the Komal Pancham?

Nand and Marubihag are quite different actually, though they both share the Kalyan Raganga.. I recently covered both (separately) in the Raga Parichay series....probably will help to make out the differences...

Yes, the credit of suggesting the Raganga Paddhati goes to Narayan Khare, and he did suggest 30 ragangas. Unfortunately, I have not come across any extensive literature explaining or discussing the method of classification. Music enthusiasts are welcome to share if they know any.... as to the number growing to 34, again, I do not find any mentions...obviously, there is no standardisation when it comes to such matters. The number may keep changing with times, what we need to understand is the basic rationale behind the method, which certainly holds substance.....

The literary meaning of the words of a Bandish has always been a subject of discussion and differences. In my opinion, the words are more useful for their phonetic content ( the balance between the swar/ vyanjana, i.e. the vowels and consonants, the aakar, eekar, ookar etc.) rather than their poetic value. If the lyric is very high in poetic value, it could perhaps hamper the objective of the raga presentation in the khayal form! You have Thumris and gazals for that... Bandish and Ciz mean the same thing, Ciz ( pronounced cheez) is used more in a colloquial manner.

Certainly a good idea... lets begin a discussion on Gharanas...

Interesting observation...I have really not given this a thought, but we can certainly get a general feedback here if there are any or no ragas which have all the seven swara in the aaroha, but lesser in the awaroha... In any case, I can answer the second part of your question. The Jatis as you mention is only a method of classification, and at the most denotes the mathematical possibility. Whether a combination becomes a raga, is solely decided by whether it sounds good to the ear....and then stands the test of time to establish itself......

There may not be a definitive answer to this question, as the approach and thoughts vary to a large extent from style to style.. Just trying to share here my thoughts.. The purpose of Hindustani Classical music is primarily to present a Raga, and the Bandish then just becomes a tool in the process. The literary meaning or the expression of the lyric takes a back seat. This naturally reflects in the selection of the Bandishes, which is done purely from a musical perspective.

What you refer to for practicing the swara on any instrument ( or vocal), is the tanpura. The tanpura gives out many of the swaras of the saptak as part of its harmonics, and is hence the best reference for the natural scale... While there are many apps available for tanpura, the itablapro app for IOS is quite popular..