S-R-G-m-P-D-nN-S

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Intimately connected to Indian national identity, Desh gives melodic direction to the famous patriotic anthem Vande Mataram, as well as soundtracking dozens of Rabindrasangeet. Associated with the second quarter of night, renditions tend towards the sweet and amorous, with Deepak Raja noting clear divergence between ‘classicist’ and ‘romanticist’ treatments (the former is confined to stricter rules and bounds, while the latter borrows more liberally from thumri and other light-classical styles). The Re–Pa sangati is strong, and Ga and Dha are both omitted in ascent – with Raja giving a pakad of RRmP; nDP; RmGR. Prakriti with many ragas, notably including Alhaiya Bilawal, Bihagara, Des Malhar, Gaud Malhar, Nat Kamod, and Sorath (in fact, the ‘SRGmPDnNS‘ swara set – akin to the ‘Bebop Dominant‘ scale – matches more ragas in the Index than any other…).

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Aroha: SRmP, nDP, mPNS

Avroh: SnDP, mGR, GS

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Chalan: e.g. NSRmGR; RRmmP; RmPnDP; mPNNS; NSR; RGNS; RnDP; PDmGR; mGR; RGNS (Raja)

–Ravi Shankar (1994)–

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“In the heyday of radio, Indians arose every morning to Bankim Chandra Chatterjee‘s Vande Mataram broadcast by All India Radio. Our national song has been matched to several other tunes, but the impress of the Desh version [is] unmatched in its sweetness. That is no coincidence: Desh, arising from the soil of the land, is a raga of prodigious seductive power.” (Rajan Parrikar)

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—Context—

Origins, myths, quirks, & more

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I couldn’t help but share this particularly vivid imagining of the raga, lifted from renowned musicologist G.N. Joshi’s original liner notes to Call of the Valley: the famous 1968 trio album by Shivkumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia, & Brijbhushan Kabra, which soon became one of the first raga albums to sell widely in the West. Also read Joshi’s equivalent depictions for the rest of the record – a true Hindustani classic – which, together, form a full narrative sequence, essentially a ‘concept album’ (1: Ahir Bhairav, 2: Nat Bhairav, 3: Pilu, 4: Bhupali, 5: Desh, and 6: Pahadi):

 

“A leisurely alap on the flute serves as a beacon to the boy and the girl, who reach the rendezvous separately. He comes first, beside himself with expectancy, and with her arrival his spirits rise still higher. Hand in hand, singing songs of love, the two work towards the vast expanse of the lake that lies hidden in the bosom of the mountains. They are now talking freely, without any reserve, for there is now no danger of any intrusion. The moon rises gradually, bathing the unruffled waters of the lake with its milky shimmer. They reach the banks and see a small boat. The notes of Raag Des create the atmosphere of intense romance, with the help of dadra taal.”

 

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–Call of the Valley (1968)–

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—Phraseologies—

Melodies, movements, characteristics…

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[coming soon]

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—Parichay demo (2020)—

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“An important feature of Desh is its use of two Ni swaras, the shuddha in ascent, and the komal in descent. The raga omits Ga and Dha in the ascent, and in descent takes a ‘loop’ towards the bottom of the scale [mGRGS]. Some authorities permit the use of komal ni in ascent too, though only through a descending phrase embedded in the ascent [SRmP; nDP]…The dominant swaras are Re and Pa: authorities accept either as the vadi, with the other being the samvadi. Gwalior scholar-musician Manikbuwa Thakurdas considers Desh to be descent-dominant, with a centre of melodic gravity in the uttarang. However, poorvang-dominant and even madhyang-dominant treatments are also prevalent, reflecting a divergence of opinion relating to the relative importance of the two dominant swaras…” (Deepak Raja)

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—Listen—

A brief selection of superb renditions

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–Shubha Mudgal (2004)–

• Mixed-gharana khayal (12m): a widely-lauded recording of the Baajat Nagare Ghan bandish, rolling with a precise rhythmic emphasis (in the words of Sreemati Mukherjee: “So very melodious, each note distinct, as cascading melodies wash over us…where rigour merges with the delight of music…”):

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[bandish, e.g. 0:14] (R)m\Rm m(PDSNS) N S(NS) S, S(NR) S(NS)N; R/mR m m(PDSNS) N S(NS), S\n, n(DnD) D(nP), (R)m\Rm m(PDSNS) N S(NS) S…

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–Mubarak Ali Khan (~1990s)–

• Kirana khayal (20m): a classic showcase of his gharana‘s signature focus on pure, sustained swara intonation, live from the chessboard-like floor of Pakistan’s Firdous-E-Gosh TV show – presenting a superb pair of compositions in jhaptal and ektal, awash with swarmandal strums and dynamic taankari:

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[refrain, e.g. 14:32] N S n(Dn)D P, P n G(mPGmGm), (m)G (G)R; N S…

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–Further Recordings–

• Utsav Lal (5m): a piano setting with varied harmonisations (on a ‘normal’ keyboard, rather than his ‘fluid‘ alternative)
• Rashid Khan (5m): a famous pair of compositions, live from the Taj Mahal with full band in tow (also hear his full-length Desh)
• Soumik Datta (6m): the UK-based sarodiya performs a pleasingly flamboyant Desh for Darbar at the Southbank
• Debashish Bhattacharya & Partha Bose (9m): a double-sparkling sitar–slide guitar duet, live at Sawan Samaroh 2023
• Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (15m): a Sabrang composition, balancing both Ni swaras over Munawar Ali Khan’s tabla
• Pournima Dhumale (23m): singing a hori and a tarana, with Mukta Raste on tabla and Anant Joshi on harmonium
• Hariprasad Chaurasia (29m): “‘Krishnadhwani’ is music that evokes Lord Krishna and his divine flute. Des is one such raga…”
• Sayeeduddin Dagar (34m): from an Antwerp concert in 2000, with his sons Nafisuddin and Anisuddin providing vocal support
• Nikhil Banerjee (70m): live in Zurich in 1976 (“with both kharaj-kari and excursions into extreme end of taar saptak“)

• 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

Double: rR | gG | mM | dD | nN

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

Raganga: Bhairav | Malhar | Kan. | Todi

Construction: Jod | Mishra | Oddball

Origin: Ancient | Carnatic | Modern

Dominance: Poorvang | Uttarang

Prevalence: A-list | Prachalit | Aprach.

• Prakriti: Alhaiya Bilawal, Des Malhar, Champak, Devgiri Bilawal, Kukubh Bilawal, Bihagara, Bihagda, Nat Kamod, Gaud Malhar, Sorath, Arun Malhar, Tilak Malhar

–Proximate Forms–

Khamaj = ‘Desh only ni‘

Bilawal = ‘Desh only Ni‘

Miyan ki Malhar = ‘Desh komal ga‘

Shankara Karan = ‘Desh tivra Ma‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–m–P–D–nN–S

• Reverse: SrRgmPdnS (=Gandhari)

• Negative: 5-2-3-2

• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (Gm—nN)

• Murchanas: Bihag set

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• Quirks: ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Kedaragaula

S-R₂-G₃-M₁-P-D₂-N₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Bebop Dominant

1-2-3-4-5-6-b7-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-4-5-7-9-10-11-0

(2–2–1–2–2–1–1–1)

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o • o • o o • o • o o o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)

• Names: Desh, Des (not Desi)

• Transliterations: Hindi (देस); Bengali (দেশ); Kannada (ದೇಶ್)

—More—

Further info: links, listenings, learnings, etc

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• Raag Desh: [coming soon]

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• Header audio: Bansuri elaboration in jhampa taal by Hariprasad Chaurasia (1998)
• Header image: The blue peafowl (pavo cristatus), India’s national bird, flares its full train of feathers (Commons)

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