S-G-M-P-n-S
A ‘pentatonic Vachaspati’ created (as the name implies) by Indore vocal master Amir Khan, which omits Re and Dha (thus, Amirkhani Kauns is to Vachaspati as Dhani is to Kafi). All swaras except Sa are imperfect – with the unusual Ma–ni sangati exerting inevitable gravity and drawing melodies away from clear resolution. Few of the Ustad’s renditions have made it to record, and an extended take from shortly before his tragic 1974 passing (possibly part of his very last concert) just lists it as ‘Untitled Raga’ (side B of the same LP contains another untitled form, which is in fact Chandramadhu: the same scale but with komal ga) – while Biswarup Ghosh Dastidar entitles his rendition ‘Amarpriya‘. As noted by Abhirang, the SGMPnS swara set is also known as ‘Yogini’ (Sanskrit for ‘state of union’: the same derivation as ‘yoga’ and ‘Jog’), which he links to the lineage of the Carnatic Hrodini – and elsewhere I’ve seen it referred to as ‘Audav Ram Kalyan’ (n.b. numerous Vachaspati renditions have a weak or absent aroha Re). Also see Khan’s Madhukauns (plus Amiri Todi, composed in his honour) – as well as my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग अमीरखानी कौंस
Search | Glossary | Tags
• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SGMPnS
Avroh: SnPMGS
Chalan: (uncodified)
—Amir Khan (1974)—
[themes, e.g. 0:03] (S)G, MPM\G(Sn)S, (S)P (P)n S, S(nS), (S)G, MPM\G(Sn)S, (S)P (PS)n S…
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Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…
—Imagery: Amir Khan (1912-1974)—
“In Khan, I found a rebirth of that saint-musician, who, with a philosophy of music lost through decades…successfully practised all the 5,040 patterns…enabling him to have full control over the raga blooming forth…A few days before he died, he said to me: ‘Music is wrung out of your heart, which alone it is given to enchant’. Even to this day, I often feel haunted by those words. Music is the spontaneous outflow of the purest feelings of the soul, and it must come as ‘leaves to a tree’…Conceive the raga image as the mother conceives the child…” (Nikhil Banerjee)
• Recent Raga Index Updates (Jul 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• 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
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact
Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra
Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row
Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna
Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2
Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: (none found)
Also see other ragas with generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Pa-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–G–M–P–n–S
• Reverse: SRmMdS
• Complement: SrRgmdDNS
• Imperfect: 4 (Ga, Ma, Pa, ni)
• Detached: 3 (Ga, Ma, ni)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: none
• Quirks: ‘tivra Ma, komal ni‘ (rarest pairing) • ‘fragmented‘ (at least half the swaras are detached)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Hrodini/Yogini
S-G3-M2-P-N2-S
• Jazz: Lydian Dominant (no 2nd/6th)
1-3-#4-5-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-4-6-7-10-0
(4–2–1–3–2)
o • • • o • o o • • o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Amirkhani Kauns, Amir Khani Kauns, Khan-i Kauns, Amirkauns, Ameerkauns, ‘Audav Ram Kalyan’, ‘Amirkhani Vachaspati’, ~Amapriya/Amarpriya
• Transliterations: Hindi (अमीरखानी कौंस)
—Jayanthi Sridharan (2022)—
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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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