Lalit Pancham | SrGmMPDNS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-G-mM-P-D-N-S

A title applied to various offshoots of Lalit which add some combination of Pa and shuddha Dha to the basic SrGmMdNS swara set, often removing komal dha in the process. Many such incarnations draw from Shuddha Basant (a raga which features Pa and, depending on variant, either form of Dha: Ulhas Kashalkar notes that some title this interpretation as ‘Basant Pancham‘) – and some also feature phrases from Bhankar and beyond. The most prominent renditions come from Jaipur-Atrauli artists such as Kishori Amonkar and Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande – although many from outside the gharana have also added it to their repertoire, including Patiala stalwart Ajoy Chakraborty, Maihar sitarist Nikhil Banerjee, Delhi sarangiya Umrao Bundu Khan, and Sham Chaurasi Dhrupad vocalist Niaz Hussain Shami (also hear Kishori’s violin accompanist Yadnesh Raikar play it solo). Compare to other Lalit-based compounds including Ahir Lalit, Lalita Gauri, Lalita Sohini, Prabhat Bhairav, and the Carnatic-imported Meghranjani.

—Kishori Amonkar (2000)—

[bandish, e.g. 0:29] N(rS)N, (NDN)DNS (S)m, mm(G), (S)mm mm Gm(MGmMmGmG), (Sm)Gm D (NDND)M, m(Gm)D m(DNDSN)S SS, P(SN) (N)Sr\ND, D\P, PD P(mP) m(Gm), S/G m(MGmMmGm)G, Gm/N S(NS)D (MG)G (r)MGG (r)S, S(NS), (SNS)DNS (S)m…

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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

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.

• Prakriti: Bhankari, Bhatiyar, Shuddha Basant, Pancham, Sohini Pancham, Vihang

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–G–mM–P–D–N–S

• Reverse: SrgmMPdNS

• Negative: 4-1-5-2

• Murchanas: none

–Global Translations–

S-R₁-G₃-M₁-M₂-P-D₂-N₃-S

1-b2-3-4-#4-5-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-4-5-6-7-9-11-0

(1–3–1–1–1–2–2–1)

o o • • o o o o • o • o o

• Names: Lalit Pancham, Lalat Panchama (n.b. the Shuddha Basant-ang is sometimes known as ‘Basant Pancham‘)

• Transliterations: Hindi (ललित पंचम); Bengali (ললিত পঞ্চম)

—Ulhas Kashalkar (1993)—

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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!