• Raag Lankeshwari •

S-R-gG-m-P-D-n-S


An enchanting blend of three night ragas: Bageshri, Rageshri, and Malgunji. Bageshri, evident via a strong maSa sangati and the skipping of Pa in ascent, combines with Rageshri to present a double-Ga – with more extended melodic developments often following in the manner of Malgunji. Seemingly the exclusive preserve of vocalists, although it remains rare on the concert circuit: refer to a crystal-clear rendition by Fareed Hassan, as well as endearingly scratchy takes from Chand Khan and Iqbal Ahmed Khan – and also see prakritis including Neelambari and Rageshri Kanada. Not to be confused with Lankeshri Kanada (although mistitlings are common).


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—Fareed Hassan (2020)—


[refrain, e.g. 5:13] (Sg)R RS nDn S/G, (S)GG (mG)m (RS)R S, S/g RS nD (S)n S(mGPmGm)G, (S)GG (mG)m (RS)R S, S/g RS nD (S)n S(mGPmGmG)G, (S)GG (mG)m (RS)R S, S/g RS nD…

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• Classifiers •

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: Malgunji, Bheem, Rageshri Kanada, Neelambari

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SRgGmPDnS
Reverse: SRgmPdDnS
Negative: 2-5-2-3
Imperfect: 1 (Ga)
Detached: none
Symmetries: mirror (gG—Dn)
Murchanas: Bihag set

Quirks: maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: (~Dwijaivanthi)
S-R2-G2-G3-M1-P-D2-N2-S
Jazz: Bebop Dorian (dbl. 3rd)
1-2-b3-3-4-5-6-b7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-3-4-5-7-9-10-0
(2–1–1–1-2–2–1–2)

o • o o o o • o • o o • o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Lankeshwari, Lankeshwaree (not Lankeshri / Lankeshri Kanada)
• Transliterations: Hindi (लंकेश्वरी)

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Chand Khan (~1960s)

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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!

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