Durgawati | SRmPDnS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-R-m-P-D-n-S

A rare shadav raga, matching the swara set of ‘Durga plus komal ni’ (or ‘Kafi/Khamaj no Ga’). The inclusion of ni in avroh opens up Bageshri-like uttarang motions (SnDm…), with the rest of the raga generally trending towards Durga (e.g. RmPD; PDm; mRDS). Seemingly an invention of Maihar bansuriya Hariprasad Chaurasia, based on the lack of renditions by anyone else: with his most prominent recording being a 1997 Navras release (paired with the similarly folksy Mishra Shivranjani). Not to be confused with Durgeshwari (in either of its forms) – and also see the prakriti Gorakh Kalyan and Narayani. Further information welcome!

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राग दुर्गावती

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—Hariprasad Chaurasia (1997)—

[refrain, e.g. 18:59] D(nDP) mPD, S, nDPm R(n)S, D(nDP) mPD, S…

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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 | 32 | Enclosed | 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.

• Prakriti: Gorakh Kalyan, Narayani

Also see other shadav ragas which omit Ga

–Proximate Forms–

Khamaj = ‘Durgawati add Ga‘

Kafi = ‘Durgawati add ga‘

Megh = ‘Durgawati no Dha‘

Durga = ‘Durgawati no ni‘

Saraswati = ‘Durgawati tivra Ma‘

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

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–R–m–P–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmPnS (=Nayaki Kanada)

• Negative: 2-2-1-2-2-3 (=itself)

• Imperfect: 1 (Dha)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (gG—Dn)

• Murchanas: Shankara set

• Quirks: ‘self-shadowing‘ (negative form=core form) • ‘atritonal‘ (no available tritones)

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Andolika

S-R₂-M₁-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Mixolydian (no 3rd)

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

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-5-7-9-10-0

(2–3–2–2–1–2)

o • o • • o • o • o o • o

• Tanpura: Sa–ma

• Names: Durgawati, Durgavati (not Durgeshwari)

• Transliterations: Hindi (दुर्गावती)

—Hariprasad Chaurasia (1997)—

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Sa | Re | Ga | Ma | Pa | Dha | Ni

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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!