Malay Marutam | SrGPDnS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-G-P-D-n-S

‘Malay Marutam’ translates as ‘Fragrant Hill-Breeze’. Maihar bansuriya Rupak Kulkarni explained to me in a 2018 interview how the raga “is from Carnatic music, which does not give so much attention to the times of day. We have decided to designate it as a morning raga, mainly due to the nature and essence of its notes” – which resemble ‘Ahir Bhairav no ma‘. Seemingly first imported North by sitarist Ravi Shankar, and still considered to have an unstable Hindustani identity: refer to intriguing renditions by Shankar, K.G. Ginde, and Hariprasad Chaurasia (recorded inside Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho temple complex) – and sample the raga’s original Southern form via violinist Harikumar Sivan and late saxophone legend Kadri Gopalnath. Also see Jansammohini, another Carnatic import which differs in taking a shuddha Re instead – as well as Shankar’s other Carnatic experiments, including Charukeshi, Vachaspati, Kirwani, & Simhendra Madhyamam. Prakriti with the ultra-rare Ahir Bibhas and Sagera.

—Rupak Kulkarni (2019)—

[jor motifs, e.g. 7:53] S(G)rG G, GGGr SDn(r) S, SSS SrGPGr(G)S; GGG rrr SSSn SDnS, GGG rrr SSSn SDnS rSGrPG, PSrGPGrS, P(nDnDnD) n(rSrS), S(GrGrGr)GP, GP(nDnDn)PGS…

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• Carnatic Origins •

—Ragam Malayamarutham—

(Kadri Gopalnath)

–All ragas of Carnatic origin–

• Recent Raga Index Updates (Jan 2026): Added new ragas: e.g. Asa, Basant Bahar, Badhans Sarang, Bayati, Chandni Todi, Chandraprabha, Deepavali, Firozkhani Todi, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Latangi, 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+)

• 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 | 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: (none found)

Also see other shadav ragas which omit Ma

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–G–P–D–n–S

• Reverse: SRgmdNS

• Negative: 3-1-2-1-2-3

• Imperfect: 4 (re, Ga, Pa, ni)

• Murchanas: none

–Global Translations–

S-R₁-G₃-P-D₂-N₂-S

• Jazz: Mixolydian b2 (no 4th)

1-b2-3-5-6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-4-7-9-10-0

(1–3–3–2–1–2)

o o • • o • • o • o o • o

• Names: Malay Marutam, Malayamarutham, Malaymarutama

• Transliterations: Hindi (मलयामरुथम)

—Shalil Shankar (1991)—

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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!