S-R-M-P-D-n-S

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Dreamed up by Ravi Shankar during a March 1968 car journey through Chengali, Bengal. As explained by his widow Sukanya: “While riding in the car, he conceived the nucleus of a melodic form that he later developed and called Kameshwari [‘Lordess of Love’]. By using the old murchana and swara bheda system, he discovered three more ragas at [its] heart” (n.b. these ragas are Parameshwari, Gangeshwari, and Rangeshwari). The SRMP sequence places it in line with Saraswati (independently imported from Carnatic music), as well as resembling ‘Vachaspati no Ga’ or even ‘Gorakh Kalyan tivra Ma’ – according to Shankar’s senior student Shubhendra Rao, Kameshwari is distinguished from Saraswati by more of a ‘straight-line’ approach in ascent (e.g. MPDnS rather than DnDS). Also see other Ravi-connected ragas including Jogeshwari, Mohankauns, Bairagi, Bairagi Todi, Ahir Lalit, and Pancham se Gara – as well as Rati Bhairav, a Kumar Gandharva creation named after Lord Kama’s famous consort.

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राग कामेश्वरी

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—Ravi Shankar (1972)—

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[refrain, e.g. 10:31] R(M)P, P(M)R, S(M)R, S(n)S, nDP, MPDn(D) S, (n)SR, R(M)P…

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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: Saraswati

See all shadav ragas which omit Ga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–M–P–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmMnS

• Complement: SrgGmdNS

• Imperfect: 3 (Ma, Dha, ni)

• Detached: 2 (Ma, ni)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Kameshwari set

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• Quirks: ‘tivra Ma, komal ni‘ (rarest pairing)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Saraswati

S-R₂-M₂-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Lydian Dominant (no 3rd)

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

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-6-7-9-10-0

(2–4–1–2–1–2)

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o • o • • • o o • o o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Kameshwari, Kameshwaree

• Transliterations: Hindi (कामेश्वरी)

—Shamim Ahmed Khan (1993)—