• Raag Kalingada •

S-r-G-m-P-d-N-S


Kalingada shares the same seven swaras as Bhairav, but approaches them in distinct fashion – generally preferring a simpler, less ornamented character (as per Rajan Parrikar: “Kalingada has a flippant mien…far less austere than Bhairav. Ga and Pa are advanced to positions of influence, and the swara-lagav is mostly linear, without the andolit treatment prevalent in Bhairav”). Chandrakantha – who summarises it as “a simple sampurnasampurna raga, performed in a straight manner” – notes that in recent generations, “Kalingada and Bhairav have begun to converge…if this tendency continues, we can expect [them] to merge, and Kalingada to lose its identity”. Prakriti with Gauri, although some artists will incorporate komal ni as a kanswar – and also see the nearby Paraj (and their compound: Paraj Kalingada).


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Aroha: SrGmPdNS
Avroh: SNdPmGrS

Chalan: e.g. SrGmP, dPmPmG, mGrG; PdPdN, SNdN, NdP, dPmGmP (Parrikar)

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—Kaushiki Chakraborty (2018)—


[themes, e.g. 1:57] GmGP (Pd), mP(nd) d(PdP)mG, GmGP; GmP(dSNSN) dP, mP(nd)P Pm(P)G…

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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 | 32Enclosed | 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.

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• Prakriti: Bhairav thaat, Bhairav, Gauri

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–Proximate Forms–
Nat Bhairav = ‘Kalingada shuddha Re
Bhatiyari Bhairav = ‘Kalingada shuddha Dha
Basant Mukhari = ‘Kalingada komal ni
Shree = ‘Kalingada tivra Ma
Poorvi = ‘Kalingada double Ma
(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SrGmPdNS
Reverse: SrGmPdNS (=itself)
Negative: 4-1-3-3-1 (e.g. Bibhas)
Imperfect: 3 (Pa, dha, Ni)
Detached: none
Symmetries: mirror (S—M)
Murchanas: Bhairav set

Quirks: ‘palindromic‘ (same intervals forwards & backwards) • centred‘ (constellation balances at the wheel’s centrepoint) • ‘Pa-repeating‘ (poorvang and uttarang take the same ‘semitone shape’)

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: ~Mayamalavagowla (mela #15)
S-R1-G3-M1-P-D1-N3-S
Jazz: Double Harmonic
1-b2-3-4-5-b6-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-1-4-5-7-8-11-0
(1–3–1–2–1–3–1)

o o • • o o • o o • • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+dha)
• Names: Kalingada, Kalingda
• Transliterations: Hindi (कालिंगडा); Bengali (কলিঙ্গড়া)

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—Nishad Bakre (2023)—

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