S-r-g-P-d-S

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A captivating audav raga said to symbolise spiritual purity, which essentially runs along the lines of ‘what if all Bhupali‘s chal swaras (Re, Ga, Dha) were komal rather than shuddha?’ (SRGPDS > SrgPdS). Most renditions are poorvang-dominant, drawing from the Todi-ang as well as reshaping phrases from Bhupali, Bilaskhani Todi, and other forms (given the uniqueness of its swara set, there is little danger of over-trespass). The only hemitones on offer are Sr and Pd – strengthening both the latter swara of each pair (see melodic overview). Refer to a demo by Moumita Mitra, and listen to renditions by Jayateerth Mevundi (vocal), Ravi Shankar (sitar), Ali Akbar Khan (sarod), Hariprasad Chaurasia (bansuri), and Harjinderpal Matharu (santoor) – as well as a curious ‘self-jugalbandi‘ by Dulal Roy, who simultaneously plays santoor with one hand and jaltarang with the other. Compare to Bairagi Todi, the same scale with komal ni instead of dha – and to other ‘jagged‘ scales, i.e. those which have no ‘adjacent repeated intervals’ (SrgPdS: jumps of ‘1-2-4-1-4‘).

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राग भूपाल तोडी

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: dSrgPdS

Avroh: SdPgrS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. grSdS; PdSrg

Chalan: e.g. dSgrgrS; SgrgP; gPdP; gPdS; SdSgrgP; grS; SdP; gPdPgrS (Bor/Chaurasia)

• Takes the same generic swaras as Bhupali, but flips re, ga, and dha to their komal (or ati-komal) variants – allowing for Todi-ang conclusions (rgrS) and chayas of Bilaskhani Todi (SrgPdP)

• As a unique audav form, melodic treatments can vary within the bounds of the swara set – although aroha motions tend to begin on low Pa or komal dha (e.g. PdS; dSrg), and many renditions avoid undue pause on komal re (e.g. dSgrgP; grgPd)

• Komal ga stands apart as the only swara with no immediate neighbour, and the congruent gPd and dSr clusters (both comprising intervals ‘4-1’) allow for ‘paired’ phrasings (e.g. gPdPdP; dSrSrS) – amidst an angular scale form which permits only two ‘basic triads’ (major: dSg; minor: SgP)

• Connected, as a Todi family raga, with the early morning hours – a trait shared with the congruent Carnatic Bhupalam, which is of presumed historical overlap

• Compositions •

—Harjinderpal Matharu (Shivkumari santoor):

• [tintal] grS, dS, PdSr (P)g\rS | Srg, PS d, Pd gPdSgrSdS dPgr

—Harjinderpal Matharu (2014)—

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[theme, e.g. 0:25] grS, dS, PdSrgrS, grS, dS…

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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

Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | Inexact

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

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

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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 the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Pa-Dha‘ – and compare to the rest of the Todi raganga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–r–g–P–d–S

• Reverse: SGmDNS (=Kaushik Dhwani)

• Complement: SRGmMDnNS

• Imperfect: 2 (ga, Pa)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: (none found)

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• Quirks: ‘jagged‘ (no ‘adjacent interval repetitions’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Bhupalam

S-R₁-G₂-P-D₁-S

• Jazz: Phrygian (no 4th/7th)

1-b2-b3-5-b6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-3-7-8-0

(1–2–4–1–4)

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o o • o • • • o o • • • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Bhupali Todi, Bhupal Todi, Bhoopali Thodi, Bhoopala

• Transliterations: Hindi (भूपाल तोडी); Bengali (ভূপালি তোড়ি); Kannada (ಭೂಪಾಲ್ ತೋಡಿ)

—Jayateerth Mevundi (2021)—