• Raag Latangi •

S-R-G-M-P-d-N-S


A unique sampurna scale borrowed from the 63rd Carnatic mela, which takes the form of ‘Kalyan komal dha’ (or ‘Yaman’s poorvang + Bhairav’s uttarang’: SRGM+PdNS). Subbha Rao’s Raga Nidhi Vol.3, written in the early 1960s, mentions that “Latangi is not found in Hindustani music” (p.90) – and it remains unclear who first imported the scale to the North. Balaram Pathak played it on All India Radio as early as 1963, and fellow sitarist Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan was performing it soon after that – with later adopters including Nikhil Banerjee, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pravin Godkhindi, and Chand & Suraj Khan. Ocean of Ragas notes that the same SRGMPdNS scale form is also referred to as ‘Dhanashree Kalyan’, adding that: “In switching Rishabhs and Dhaivats, we sacrifice the natural Sa-ma and Sa-Pa consonances present in Yaman (R-P; R-D) and Puriya Dhanashree (r-M; r-d)…Manikbuwa Thakurdas has explained it in his Raga Darshana as a mixture of Kalyan and Asavariang Dhanashree” (hear this interpretation performed by his daughter-in-law Mrinalini Thakurdas). Prakriti with a raga known as Pitambara, seemingly only recorded by Devashish Dey. Compare to Nat Bhairav (shuddha ma instead) and Simhendra Madhyamam (komal ga instead) – and read more about the raga’s original Southern form via SujaMusic (“a compassionate and devotional mood with hints of courageousness; attractive and sensuous, meditative and melancholic, a sweet-and-sour combination”).


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—Hariprasad Chaurasia (~1990s)—


[gat, e.g. 4:33] GSRG, (P)d dP, GM(Pd)P (M)GR (SN)S; GSRG, (P)d dP…

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• Carnatic Origins •


—Ragam Latangi (mela #63)—
(P. Unnikrishnan)

All ragas of Carnatic origin

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Jan 2026): Added new ragas: e.g. Asa, Basant Bahar, Badhans SarangBayati, Chandni Todi, Chandraprabha, Deepavali, Firozkhani Todi, Gaud, Japaniya, KaushikiLatangi, Maru, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shivanjali, Shrutivardhini • ‘Bifurcations‘: analysis via ‘poorvang + uttarang’ formulas • DoGa Kalyan & the Beatles’ Blue Jay Way • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Uncovered Prabhateshwari‘s origins • Transcribed Manjiri Asanare-Kelkar’s ‘Amodini‘ lec-dems • Experiments (e.g overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

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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


Aroha: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Avroh: Audav | Shadav | Sampurna

Jati: Equal | Balanced | Av.+1 | Av.+2

Samay: Morning | Aftern. | Eve. | Night

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: Thaat #3
Also compare to other members of the Dhanashree and Kalyan ragangas (based on the raga’s ‘Dhanashree Kalyan’ form – Latangi, as a Carnatic import, has no inherent raganga designation)

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SRGMPdNS
Reverse: SrGmMdnS
Negative: 1-4-2-2-3
Imperfect: 3 (Re, Ma, dha)
Detached: 1 (dha)
Symmetries: none
Murchanas: Mangal Bhairav (on Pa)

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: Latangi (mela #63)
S-R2-G3-M2-P-D1-N3-S
Jazz: Lydian b6
1-2-3-#4-5-b6-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-4-6-7-8-11-0
(2–2–2–1–1–3–1)

o • o • o • o o o • • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+dha)
• Names: Latangi, Lathangi
• Transliterations: Hindi (लताङ्गी); Kannada (ಲತಾಂಗಿ); Malayalam (ലതാംഗി), Punjabi (ਲਤਾਂਗੀ); Tamil (லதாங்கி); Telugu (లతాంగి)

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—Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (~1990s)—

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