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

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Sarodiya Rahul Bhattacharya describes the late-afternoon Gaoti as “an underutilised gem…a pleasant, fulfilled feeling…like enjoying a perfume without actually knowing why”. Also known as ‘Gawati’, differences of opinion persist as to whether the raga is identical to Bheem: while some claim that Bheem can be distinguished by its occasional use of komal ga in taar saptak, this facet is also evident in plenty of Gaoti renditions, such as the stellar interpretation of Acharya Jayanta Bose. And, while Agra-Gwalior vocalist Prabhakar Karekar considers the ragas indistinguishable (having remarked that he “had been taught the raga under the name Bheem”), the liner notes to a Nikhil Banerjee album state that “Gaoti has the same aroha–avroh as Bheem, but consistently uses the phrases nSDP and GmRnS. Bheem, on the other hand, often uses mPGRS and mPGmGRS” (also noting that “Both ragas recall their kinship with Bhimpalasi through the use of komal ga in the upper octave [as SgRS]…Unlike Bhimpalasi, however, Re and Dha are more prominent, and ma is weaker and used in a vakra fashion”). Straightforward audav ascents are set against sampurna descending lines which tend to run in ‘paired’ sequences (e.g. nS, DP, mP, Gm, RS). While its precise genesis is unclear, Kuldeep Kumar describes it as “a raga popularised by the legendary Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, but not attempted by many instrumentalists” – although several superb instrumental takes are now available, including Shivkumar Sharma on santoor and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on mohan veena – and, as pointed out by reader Ethan Gilbert, the divine 80-min rendition on Nikhil Banerjee’s Amsterdam 1984 album).

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Aroha: nSGmPnS

Avroh: gRSnDm, PDmGRS

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Chalan: e.g. GmPSn; SPD; PDmP; GmRnS; Sm; mPGmPnS; PnSPDP (Parrikar)

—Acharya Jayanta Bose (2013)—

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[motifs & taans, e.g. 1:11] n(SnSn…) DPD; nnmPnS GGSnSG, m(g)SnS, G, m(g)SnS, GmPn S(n)S(n)S(n)S…

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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

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.

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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: Khamaj thaat, Khamaj, Jhinjhoti, Kambhoji, Khambavati, Sameshwari, Sakh

–Proximate Forms–

Kafi = ‘Gaoti komal ga‘

Bilawal = ‘Gaoti shuddha Ni‘

Ahir Bhairav = ‘Gaoti komal re‘

Desh = ‘Gaoti double Ni‘

Vachaspati = ‘Gaoti tivra Ma‘

Jansammohini = ‘Gaoti no 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–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmPdnS (=Darbari)

• Negative: 2-2-3-2-3 (e.g. Bhupali)

• Imperfect: 1 (Ga)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (r—P)

• Murchanas: Bilawal set

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

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Harikambhoji (mela #28)

S-R₂-G₃-M₁-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Mixolydian

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

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

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

(2–2–1–2–2–1–2)

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o • o • o o • o • o o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Gaoti, Gawati, Gawoti, (~Bheem: see above)

• Transliterations: Hindi (गावती)

—Shivkumar Sharma (1997)—