• Raag Alhaiya Bilawal •

S-R-G-m-P-D-nN-S


While essentially summarisable as Bilawal plus komal ni’, Alhaiya also presents other quirks. Most distinctively, Dha is treated as the vadi, but not as a nyas (Pa and Ga are used as stopping tones instead, often being reached via meend). Dha is also used to support komal ni via ‘up-and-down’ phrases such as SNDP, DnDP, giving an overall tendency towards uttarang-dominance. The raga has a long history (Pulokesh Bose: “the name ‘Alhaiya’ is found in the [16th-century] books of Pandit Lochan and Hridaya Narayanadeva”).


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Aroha: SRGPDNS
Avroh: SNDnDP, mGmRS

Chalan: e.g. SGRGP; GPD(N)DPmG; GPNDNS; RS(N)DnDP; GmnDP; DGPmG; RGPmG; (m)RS (Bor/Sadolikar)

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—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (2018)—


[refrain, e.g. 1:59] (S)n\D, D(nDPGP), PmG

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

“Vilaval Ragini, from a folio” (Bundi, c.1680) / “The heroine completes her preparations before meeting her lover. With the aid of her confidante, she puts on her earrings and ornaments: the act of adorning the body with jewelry, makeup, clothing, and perfume was considered an essential part of creating the mood of shringara…” (Malwa, c.1680)

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• Classifiers •

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


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 | 32Enclosed | Inexact

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

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

Symmetries: Mirror | Rotation | Palindr.


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.

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• Prakriti: Desh, Des Malhar, Champak, Devgiri Bilawal, Kukubh Bilawal, Bihagara, Bihagda, Nat Kamod, Gaud Malhar, Sorath, Arun Malhar, Tilak Malhar

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SRGmPDnNS
Reverse: SrRgmPdnS (=Gandhari)
Negative: 5-2-3-2
Imperfect: 1 (Ni)
Detached: none
Symmetries: mirror (Gm—nN)
Murchanas: Bihag set

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

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: ~Bilahari
S-R2-G3-M1-P-D2-N2-N3-S
Jazz: Bebop Dominant
1-2-3-4-5-6-b7-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-5-7-9-10-11-0
(2–2–1–2–2–1–1–1)

o • o • o o • o • o o o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Alhaiya Bilawal, Alhayia Bilaval, Alahiya

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—Vidhadyar Vyas (~2010s)—

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George Howlett is a London-based musician, writer, and teacher (guitars, sitar, tabla, & santoor). Above all I seek to enthuse fellow sonic searchers, interconnecting fresh vibrations with the voices, cultures, and passions behind them. See Homepage for more, and hit me up for Lessons!

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