S-R-gg̃G-P-D-S

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An oddball product of Kumar Gandharva’s limitless imagination, Lagan Gandhar (‘Full Ga Concentration’) is distinguished by taking a ‘triple-Ga’ – with an additional ‘quarter-tone’ sruti lying roughly halfway between the komal and shuddha shades (‘komalaa gandhar’: notated here as ‘g̃’). This strange tone-trio is often navigated in adjacent manner, with slow glides serving to highlight the subtle pitch-differences between each position (e.g. G\g̃\g). While the rest of the swara-set lies close to Shivranjani and Bhupali, it follows its own distinct phraseologies (even mirroring Ga’s mid-sruti interplay around the Ni zone at times, e.g. here). As per Parrikar, “a connoisseur‘s delight…the raga was very dear to [Gandharva]…The haunting feeling originates from the uncertainty imparted to Ga”. Few besides its creator and his wife Vasundhara Tai have attempted to tackle the raga in earnest (see renditions by vocalist Milap Rane and bansuriya Ronu Majumdar, plus a bandish breakdown by Swaroop Sardeshmukh). The Hindu’s coverage of Gandharva’s Apr 2023 centenary concert notes that “day two began with Kalapini Komkali’s Lagan Gandhar, a unique raga created by her father, adding a personal dimension to [its] vitality…Kalapini presented two compositions in this challenging raga [Sudha Na Rahi Mohe & Baje Re Mora]”. Also see Gandharva’s other creations, incuding Bihad Bhairav, Bhavmat Bhairav, Rati Bhairav, Saheli Todi, and Madhusurja (inspired by the impending doom of a sacrificial goat) – and compare to the mysterious, barely-recorded Suranjani [which immediately struck me for its uncanny similarities to Lagan Gandhar: apart from matching the same scale, both explore the ‘mid-Ga’ sruti zone to similar effect…]. Also see Dinkar Kaikini’s Bayati, another explicitly ‘quarter-tonal’ raga.

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राग लगन गान्धार

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—Kumar Gandharva (1968)—

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[refrain, e.g. 0:32] S, G\g̃\g, R(gR) R(S)S, (GR)G, G G(RS)S, SG(RS)S, S\DS, S\D(SD), SG G\g̃\g R(S) (GR)G, SG(RS), SG(RS), S\D, DS, SR(S), RR(gRgRgRS), DS\D, S G\g̃\g R(S) (GR)G, G G(RS)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: (none found)

Also compare to other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Pa-Dha’: including Bhupali Todi (S-r-g-P-d-S); Bibhas, Reva (S-r-G-P-d-S); Shivranjani (S-R-g-P-D-S); Bhupali, Deshkar, Pahadi, & Jait Kalyan (S-R-G-P-D-S).

–Swara Geometries–

(sadly my database can’t yet handle quarter-tones: so the ‘triple Ga’ is treated as a double)

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• Core form: S–R–gG–P–D–S

• Reverse: SgmdDnS

• Negative: 2-4-1-2-2-1 (e.g. Kameshwari)

• Imperfect: 2 (ga, Ga)

• Detached: 1 (ga)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Marwa set

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• Quirks: ‘triple-Ga’ (~quarter-tonal)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: (~Mishrashivaranjani)

S-R₂-G₂-G₃-P-D₂-S

• Jazz: Major Pentatonic (dbl. 3rd)

1-2-b3-3-5-6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-4-7-9-0

(2–1–1–3–2–3)

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o • o o o • • o • o • • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Lagan Gandhar

• Transliterations: Hindi (लगन गान्धार)

—Swaroop Sardeshmukh (2022)—