S-gG-m-dD-n-S
An ingenious evening raga created by the late (and vastly underappreciated) santoor maestro Ulhas Bapat, based around mirroring Jog‘s GmgS catchphrase in the uttarang as Dndm: thus hinting at a ma-murchana (i.e. ‘double-Ga is to Sa as double-Dha is to ma‘). This allows Amrut Ranjani (meaning ‘Nectar of Delight’) to sample flavours of Bageshri (DnS), Rageshri (GmD), and Jogeshwari (gGm), while always retaining a distinct melodic character – cemented by a captivating pair of Bapat’s gats (as far as I can tell, the only available compositions). Given the lack of further information about the raga, take the chance to learn more about Bapat’s other creative endeavours (“He has developed his own specialized system of tuning, [featuring] all the 12 notes…and reconstructed the sticks in a manner which enables him to produce meend. Composing in unique taals is another speciality, e.g. ‘makarand’ [11 matras: ‘5½–5½’] and ‘pratik’ [9: ‘4½–4½’]”. Prakriti with the rare Pushpachandrika.
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राग अमृत रंजनी
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—Ulhas Bapat (2003)—
[refrain, e.g. 7:44] GmnD, (m)dmGm gSnS GmnD, (m)dmGm gSnS GmnD…
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Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
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Sep 30
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (…originally at the request of a student!)
Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)
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Sep 27
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj – a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment…
—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)
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Sep 22
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh – resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)
—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival
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Sep 15
• 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
Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi
Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball
Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern
Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang
Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.
• Prakriti: Pushpachandrika
Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–gG–m–dD–n–S
• Reverse: SRgGPdDS (=Trishnaa)
• Complement: SrRMPNS
• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ga)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Todi set
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: (~Gangeyabhushani)
S-G2-G3-M1-D1-D2-N2-S
• Jazz: Phrygian Pentatonic (dbl. 3rd/6th)
1-b3-3-4-b6-6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-4-5-8-9-10-0
(3–1–1–3–1–1–2)
o • • o o o • • o o o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma
• Names: Amrut Ranjani, Amrutranjini, Amrit Ranjani
• Transliterations: Hindi (अमृत रंजनी)
—Ulhas Bapat (1990s)—
(given the absence of a second Amrut Ranjani recording, here’s Bapat’s rendition of Jaijaiwanti: another ‘double-double’ raga, this time as ‘gG–nN‘)
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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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