S-g-P-D-n-S
Confusion persists around which melodic forms assume the name ‘Lilavati’, with several incongruous examples in sporadic modern circulation – as per Biswarup Ghosh Dastidar, “Lilavati/Leelavati can be sung in [Asavari] thaat [SRgPdS], Khamaj thaat [SgPDnS] and Bhairav thaat [SrGmPnS]”. Abhirang sets his to the tones to the second of these (as a ‘komal ga Kalavati’), taking his composition from a 1969 edition of Sangeet magazine and linking his interpretation to the congruent Carnatic ‘Karani’. Dilshad Khan & Parveen Sultana’s apparent ‘Leelavati’ recording – perhaps the most prominent online – takes swaras SrGmPnS, however I’m near-certain that this is a digital mistitling (the official YouTube upload doesn’t match the track lengths listed on the back of the record itself) – based on the CD notes, I believe their real ‘Leelavati’ to be this one (mistitled “Mishra Bha” on YouTube), which has swaras SRgPdS – a scale matching Benares vocalist Devashish Dey’s ‘Leelawati‘ recording, and also chiming with others who summarise Lilavati as being “similar to Shivranjani in one range and Bhupali Todi in another” (see Japaniya for another incarnation of this scale). Adding further confusion, a scratchy Zia Fariduddin Dagar session of uncertain provenance traverses the more extensive SrGmMPdDNS, however this seems to be yet another mistitling. Outside music, ‘Lilavati’ is also the title of a famous 12th-century mathematical treatise by Bhaskara II, named after his daughter (“Fawn-eyed child, how much 135 multiplied by 12?”).
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राग लीलावती
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—Abhirang (2020)—
[refrain, e.g. 4:12] DP P(gP)g, (S)n SgS, S, nSgS…
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Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)…
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Jun 28
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 22
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla
(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace
#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• 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
Thaat: 10 | 32 | Enclosed | 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
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-Ga-Pa-Dha-Ni‘: including Kalavati & Milan Gandhar
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–g–P–D–n–S
• Reverse: SRgmDS
• Complement: SrRGmMdNS
• Imperfect: 3 (Pa, Dha, ni)
• Detached: 1 (Dha)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Rasaranjani (on ni)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Karani
S-G2-P-D2-N2-S
• Jazz: Dorian (no 2nd/4th)
1-b3-5-6-b7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-3-7-9-10-0
(3–4–2–1–2)
o • • o • • • o • o o • o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Lilavati, Leelavati, Lilavatee, ~Ranjani
• Transliterations: Hindi (लीलावती)
—Dilshad Khan & Parveen Sultana (1995)—
(as noted above: the YouTube uploads for this album appear to have shuffled titles…although I’m confident that this one is the ‘real Lilavati’)
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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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