Gunakri | SrmPdS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-m-P-d-S

Taking the swaras of ‘Bhairav no Ga/Ni’, Gunakri – described by AUTRIM as “serious and peaceful” – brings out the character of its parent raga via an oscillating komal re, and movements patterns including Sd, dP and SdSr, rS (although Jairazbhoy prefers to analyse it via the geometries of Basant Mukhari). Bose gives a neat ‘rising-falling’ pakad of mPd, mrS, which is often handled with long slides (e.g. d/S; m\r), while Vidyadhar Vyas’ version seasons the raga’s audav core with slight touches of Ga and Ni (helping to avoid shades of Jogiya’s aroha, which takes the same swaras). Not the same as Gunkali (although the ragas are prakriti, and share significant melodic overlap…and renditions of each are sometimes mistitled as the other).

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राग गुणक्री

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Aroha: SrmPdS

Avroh: SdPmrS

Chalan: e.g. SdrS; rmPm; PmrP; mPd; dS; rSdP; mPdPmrS (Bor/Vyas)

—Vidyadhar Vyas (1997)—

[refrains, e.g. 1:04] P(d)mPdP, m m, (g)r r, S S, P; (m)P mm, g\r, n\d(nd) d/S, SS…

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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

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: Gunkali

Also see other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ma-Pa-Dha‘

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–m–P–d–S

• Reverse: SGmPNS

• Negative: 3-1-1-2-3-1-1 (e.g. Todi)

• Imperfect: 2 (Pa, dha)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Kaushik Dhwani set

• Quirks: ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Salanganata

S-R₁-M₁-P-D₁-S

• Jazz: Phrygian (no 3rd/7th)

1-b2-4-5-b6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-5-7-8-0

(1–4–2–1–4)

o o • • • o • o o • • • o

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Gunakri, Gunakree, Gunakriya, (not Gunkali)

• Transliterations: Hindi (गुणक्री)

—Viraj Amar (2008)—

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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!