S-R-g-m-P-d-n-S

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Though prakriti with Darbari, Adana favours a ‘lighter, flittering’ treatment: often summoned via skipping ga in aroha, limiting ornaments on komal dha, and focusing more on madhya and taar saptak (exemplified in Budhaditya Mukherjee‘s concise rendition: gat transcribed below). Komal ga is reintroduced via the gmRS Kanada signature in avroh – and some artists may assign a subtly higher sruti to the komal ni, especially in taans and faster passages (see ‘sakari‘). The raga is depicted in numerous ragmalas, often with imagery of ascetics lost in meditative pose – and Joep Bor’s Raga Guide discusses the “Sahasarasa: an anthology of 1004 Dhrupad song-texts attributed to the early 16th-century poet-composer Nayak Bakshu, compiled at the time of Emperor Shah Jahan, [which] contains no less than 35 songs in Raag Adana”. Also see a rundown of jhaptal compositions by Kovid Rathee (who casts it as “a raga for the brave and valorous”) – as well as the related Sughrai, Gunji Kanada, & Mudriki Kanada.

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Aroha: SRmPnP, mPnS

Avroh: SdnP, gmRS

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Chalan: e.g. PnmP; PSdnP; nmPgmRS; nSRmPnP; mPnSRS; RnSdnP; mPS (Bor/Dasgupta)

—Buddhadev Dasgupta (1999)—

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[gat, e.g. 1:27] Sn\dn, PmP, ggmP, gmRS, nS(m\)R, mP(S\)n, ngR, SgR, nSPnmP, Sn\dn, P…

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Adana: watercolour and ink” (date unknown)

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• Guitaragas •

My attempts to capture the raga on electric guitar (see more of these clips)

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—Adana on electric guitar (gat)—

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A quick cover of Buddhadev Dasgupta’s drut gat above…

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+

Sapta: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Poorvang: SRGM | SRG | SRM | SGM

Uttarang: PDNS | PDS | PNS | DNS

Varjit: Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row

Symmetries: Mirror | Rotation | Palindr.

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Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

Murchana: Bhup. | Bihag | Bilaw. | Charu.

Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: Asavari thaat, Asavari shuddha Re, Kaunsi Kanada, Darbari, Jaunpuri, Kaushiki, Sampurna Malkauns

–Proximate Forms–

Bhairavi = ‘Adana komal re‘

Kafi = ‘Adana shuddha Dha‘

Charukeshi = ‘Adana komal ga‘

Malkauns = ‘Adana no Re/Pa‘

Suha Kanada = ‘Adana no dha‘

Gopika Basant = ‘Adana no Re‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–g–m–P–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGmPDnS (=Khamaj)

• Negative: 2-3-2-3-2 (e.g. Megh)

• Imperfect: 1 (Re)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (m—N)

• Murchanas: Bilawal set

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• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Natabhairavi (mela #20)

S-R₂-G₂-M₁-P-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Natural Minor / Aeolian

1-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-5-7-8-10-0

(2–1–2–2–1–2–2)

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o • o o • o • o o • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Pa)

• Names: Adana (Kanada), Adaana, Adhana

• Transliterations: Hindi (अडाना); Bengali (আড়ানা); Sindhi (اڙانا); Odia (ଅଡ଼ାଣା); Kannada (ಅಡಾನ)

—Wasifuddin Dagar (2000s)—

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“Wasifuddin Dagar says his life’s motto is defined by his guru’s words: ‘Shup ki sabse upar tak jaati hai’ [‘Silence reaches the ears of the Almighty first’]. But silence is no longer an option for the Ustad: in late April, he found that the chartbusting title track of Mani Ratnam’s blockbuster Chola Dynasty saga Ponniyin Selvan 2 – Veera Raja Veera – was distinctly similar to a prized Dagar family composition in Adana [Shiva Shiva Shiva: above]: “I am a small man, but my music is huge…In this city, everyone knows that we don’t run after celebrity or money. We keep a low profile. But the acknowledgement of another artist’s work is important. In our music, when we name the greats, we touch our ears. That is acknowledgment of their knowledge, wisdom and effort that we are freely dipping into…” (Malini Nair)

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