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

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Broadly running along the lines of ‘Kalavati plus shuddha Re’ (especially in avroh), Jansammohini is a captivating Southern import. As per santooriya Tarun Bhattacharya, “This [scale] was originally called ‘Siva Kalyan’, but the raga went out of circulation. Having heard the Carnatic Jansammohini, my guruji Ravi Shankar brought it back [under] the Carnatic name. It symbolises pangs of separation, nostalgia, and implicit faith in God” (hear his rendition). Explored to powerful effect across vocal and instrumental music, the raga’s robust geometries are capable of housing everything from bhajans (Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande’s Ganesh Vandana) and freewheeling sitar solos (Ravi Shankar’s rhythmic take) to epic, full-length santoor duets (Shivkumar & Rahul Sharma’s astonishing Real World rendition: speaking as a santoor player, this is probably the most vivid sound quality I’ve ever heard from the instrument). Still surprisingly rare, Jansammohini seemingly has no prakriti ragas despite its relatively simple structure (‘Khamaj no ma’). Aside from the clear imprints of Kalavati, the raga allows for relatively free exploration – with artists naturally tending to emphasise the wide P-G jump and descending whole-tone run of G-R-S-n (e.g. GRG, RSR, SnS, DPG…). Also see Malay Marutam, another Southern scale which takes a komal re instead – as well as Shankh Dhwani, the same scale minus Dha.

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• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •

राग जनसम्मोहिनी

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

Aroha: SRGPDnS

Avroh: SnDPGRS

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Pakad: e.g. RGP, nDP, GRnS

Chalan: (open-form) – illustrative sequences e.g. SnDS; (G)RG; GPGR; GRS; nDS; GPnD; PDnDS; SnD; PGPDPGR; GP(G)R; nDS (Ramrang)

• Compositions •

—Shivkumar Sharma (santoor):

• [rupak] SRG, D(P)PG, PG(R)R, nRS | GGP, D(SnD)D, D(n)S S S, nDP(GRSR)G
• [tintal] GRG RSR SnS, DPG | G P S(nD)S nDP, GR SnSRG (hear me play these compositions on electric guitar!)

—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (Jaipur-Atrauli khayal):

• [bhajan] Ganpat Vighanharan: G(R)R, Sn(P) RR, P\GG P(G)G RnSS, S(nSn) DnS D(P)PRn

—Shivkumar Sharma (1996)—

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[gat, e.g. 0:02] GRG, RSR, SnS, DPG; GP (Sn)DS, nDPGR SnSRG…

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• Carnatic Origins •

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—Ragam Janasammodini—

(Kumbakonam Sankarraman)

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–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

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• Guitaragas •

My attempts to capture the raga on electric guitar (see more on my Insta)

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—Jansammohini (electric guitar)—

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My brief electric guitar cover of some rhythmic sequences from Shivkumar & Rahul Sharma’s epic Sampradaya album rendition (recorded at Real World Studios, just a couple of miles from my birthplace in Bath, Somerset)…

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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 Ma

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–G–P–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmdnS

• Complement: SrgmMdNS

• Imperfect: 2 (Ga, ni)

• Detached: 1 (ni)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Raj Kalyan (on ni)

–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Janasammohini

S-R₂-G₃-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Mixolydian (no 4th)

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

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

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

(2–2–3–2–1–2)

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o • o • o • • o • o o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+ni)

• Names: Jansammohini, Janasammohini, Janasanmodini, Siva Kalyan (archaic)

• Transliterations: Hindi (जनसम्मोहिनी)

—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (2018)—