• Raag Bahar •

S-R-g-m-P-D-nN-S


As per Tanarang, Bahar (meaning ‘spring’) “brings out nature’s beautiful blessings…full of shringar and bhakti raskhatkas and intricate taans are conducive to its dynamic, fleeting nature”. While rooted in the Kanada raganga, the raga features a Malharic twin-Ni, with the shuddha being more prominent. Bageshri hallmarks are also evident in the weak aroha Re, and the use of shuddha ma as nyas (e.g. S/m, m/n\P) – although Pa is also strong, and the Kanada avroh signature is preferred (e.g. Pgm, gmRS. In recent generations, the raga has proved itself an attractive jod ingredient (Parrikar: “highly promiscuous, and has been found in flagrante delicto with several other ragas”), appearing in such conjunctions as Bhairav Bahar, Bageshri Bahar, Rageshri Bahar, and Tilang Bahar.


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—Shashank Maktedar (2020)—


[refrain, e.g. 4:44] (mPDSN)S (N)S, nP (PmP)m P, m\g m, (mP)n, SNS, nP…

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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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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: S-R-g-m-P-D-nN-S
Reverse: SrRgmPDnS (=none)
Inverse: dha; SmdnS (=none)
Imperfect: 2 (Dha, Ni)
Detached: 1 (Ni)
Symmetries: none
Murchanas: Suha Todi (on Re)

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: (~Kapi/Kannada)
S-R2-G2-M1-P-D2-N2-N3-S
Jazz: Dorian (dbl. 7th)
1-2-b3-4-5-6-b7-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-3-5-7-9-10-11-0
(2–1–2–2–2–1–1–1)

o • o o • o • o • o o o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Bahar, Bahaar, Bahar Kanada, Bahari (not Bihari)

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—Tejendra Majumdar (~2000s)—

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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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