S-R-G-mM-D-N-S

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A tantalising invention of bansuri pioneer Pannalal Ghosh, with a scale resembling ‘Bihag no Pa’ (or even ‘Bilawal komal Pa’/’Major Scale b5‘). As with Pannababu’s other creations, debate persists as to exactly how he conceptualised the raga – his own renditions span a multitude of ideas, and, at the time of his sudden passing aged just 48, he had not left behind much insight as to its workings. Ocean of Ragas summarises it as “a melodious combination of Yaman and Lalit: Pa is omitted, and Lalit’s GmMmG phrase is superimposed onto Yaman’s basic structure”. However there are several ways to interpret the scale – Ghosh’s biographer Vishvas Kulkarni notes that “differential opinions exist about Deepavali”, highlighting three distinct perspectives: ‘Puriya Kalyan’s Pa-murchana’; ‘Lalit with shuddha Re+Dha’, and ‘Yaman Kalyan no Pa’ – also citing the phrasal proximity of Sohini (see below for a more detailed melodic analysis). Since Pannababu’s 1950s originals, the raga has been recorded by Pravin Godkhindi (bansuri), Pramod Kumar (sitar), Abhirang, and Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (khayal). Prakriti with the ultra-rare Lalita Dhwani and Chakor Lalita – also compare to the Kalyan and Lalit ragangas along with other ‘komal Pa’ scales (i.e. ‘double Ma, no Pa’). And for more about the life of Pannalal Ghosh – spanning stints as a boxer, literary journalist, and anti-colonial activist – read Kulkarni’s definitive 2019 biography.

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Aroha: NRGmMm, GMDNS

Avroh: SNDMm, GRGMGRS

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Chalan: e.g. NRS; SND; DNRGS; DNRGMGRGS; NRGmMm; GRGRS; NRGmMG; MDS; NRGMGRS; SNDMDMm; GRGRS (OOR: Lalit-ang)

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—Pannalal Ghosh (~1950s)—

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[gat, e.g. 3:24] DNRGm M(mG)m, N(GRG)S; DNRGm M(mG)m…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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Bansuriya Vishvas Kulkarni, drawing from his monumental 620-page biography of Pannalal Ghosh, provides further detail: “Pannababu created seven new ragas [see p.4: Shuklapalasi, Nupurdhwani, Ratnapushpika, Chandramouli, Kumari, & Jayant] and a ragamalika [Panchavati: a blend of Barwa, Bahar, Basant, Bihag, & Bageshri]. He did not, however, live long enough to bring these wonderful new creations to maturity, and did not leave behind any written texts or detailed information on their nature. Hence, differential opinions exist about Deepavali:

1. Pannababu’s disciples Pt. Devendra Murdeshwar and Pt. V.G. Karnad were of the opinion that Deepavali is generated by ‘changing the mode’ in Puriya Kalyan to consider Pa as Sa‘ [=Puriya Kalyan’s Pa-murchana: SrGMPDNS > SRGmMDNS]
2. Pannababu’s first disciple in Mumbai, Pt. Rasbihari Desai, considered that Deepavali could be ‘shuddha Re and shuddha Dha used in Lalit’ [SrGmMdNS > SRGmMDNS]
3. It could also be ‘Yaman [Kalyan] with both Ma used in avroh’ [i.e. tivra Ma takes on the role of Yaman’s Pa: see ‘komal Pa’]
4. Pannababu’s disciple Shri Mohan Nadkarni also had felt while listening to Pannababu from a long distance that he was playing a raga with Sohini patterns. After reaching closer, he realized that actually it was Deepavali.”

Kulkarni adds that, “Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande appears to be in agreement with B and C”, seemingly confirmed by her own preface to the recital below. Bansuri master Nityanand Haldipur also emphasises B: “Pannababu Ghosh, my guru, created the raga somewhere around 1946 – it is misconstrued as ‘Yaman and Lalit and the play on madhyam’, [but] it’s a murchana raga of Puriya Kalyan”.

 

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—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (2013)—

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“The history of the bansuri as a concert instrument in Hindustani music begins with Pandit Pannalal Ghosh. Without his contribution to the design of the contemporary bamboo flute, and to its modern idiom, the instrument could have remained just another popular-but-marginal instrument, as it had done for millennia before him. Two other facets of his musical persona – the composer and the orchestrator – are, however, only vaguely present in the memory of the music community. Dr. Vishvas Kulkarni, a senior scientist at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and an amateur flautist trained in the Pannalal Ghosh tradition, has researched the life and work of Panna Babu over a period of 28 years – and has produced this book, which is remarkable for its coverage of the musician and his work…” (Deepak Raja)

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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)

See all shadav ragas which omit Pa – and also compare to other members of the Kalyan and Lalit ragangas

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–mM–D–N–S

• Reverse: SrgMPdnS (=Komal Ramkali)

• Complement: SrgPdnS (=Saheli Todi)

• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ma)

• Detached: 0

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Puriya Kalyan (on ma)

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• Quirks: ‘komal Pa‘ (=double Ma & no Pa)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: (~Hameer Kalyani)

S-R₂-G₃-M₁-M₂-D₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Major b5

1-2-3-4-#4-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-4-5-6-9-11-0

(2–2–1–1–3–2–1)

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o • o • o o o • • o • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–ma

• Names: Deepavali, Deepawali, Deepvali

• Transliterations: Hindi (दीपावली)

—Pramod Kumar (2010)—