S-R-gG-m-P-dD-nN-S

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A charming branch of the Malhar lineage, ragas under titles such as ‘Meera/Meerabai ki Malhar’ exist in diffuse modern forms, between them encompassing both forms of Ga, Dha, and Ni. While exact historical origins are uncertain, they take their name from Mira Bai, a famous 16th-century poet-musician revered for her fierce devotion to Lord Krishna – celebrated in countless myths, legends, and bhajans (“A princess of Rajput, she was the victim of much persecution and intrigue at the hands of her brother-in-law…Once a snake was sent to her in a basket of flowers, but when she opened it, she found an image of Krishna; On another occasion she was given a cup of poison, but drank it without any harm…”). Scholar-musician Aneesh Pradhan notes that while direct historical links between Mira Bai and the raga are lacking, many artists will tell of how she created it spontaneously to resurrect the stricken corpse of her would-be poisoner (“Rana orders the bearer of the cup to consume a few drops to check if the poison was effective, and he dies instantly. When Meerabai hears of this, she sits near his body and sings Malhar. Her singing ushers in torrential rains, and the man miraculously comes to life…”). Pradhan’s meticulous writeup, drawing on Geeta Bannerjee’s Malhar Darshan research, details how the raga can variously blend “elements from Miyan ki Malhar, Gaud, Sarang, Adana, and others” – highlighting renditions by Khadim Hussein Khan (“with Kanada phrases”), Dhondutai Kulkarni (“Miyan ki Malhar and Surdasi Malhar, and a phrase from Nayaki Kanada”), Mallikarjun Mansur (“Miyan ki Malhar, Surdasi Malhar, and Gaud Malhar”), and Kishori Amonkar (“Miyan ki Malhar, Gaud Malhar, Surdasi Malhar, and the Kanada group”). Vocalist Moumita Mitra’s analysis, transcribed in full below, outlines how different artists approach the double-Ga and double-Dha, adding that “I’ve heard many recordings…and each [artist] had their own way of singing it”. Seemingly untouched by instrumentalists save for Amjad Ali Khan’s brief lockdown take. Compare to Ramdasi Malhar, another rain raga connected to a 16th-century poet-saint.

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—Kishori Amonkar (1999)—

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[bandish, e.g. 9:49] n(nPnP)mP m\g gmRS R m, mPDn mPDNS (N)S n(m)P m\R, Rm RSR m…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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—Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande on Meera Bai—

In 2019 I interviewed Jaipur-Atrauli legend Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande, and – given her penchant for Meera bhajans – I asked her about her connections with the poet-saint. This is what she replied: “Meera is important to me as a truly empowered soul. Five hundred years ago, society was even more protective towards women than it is now. In childhood it is the father, in youth it is the husband, in old age the son. Meera was born royal, which brought even more restrictions than today. She was not supposed to fend for herself or explore music and dance. But despite these boundaries she proclaimed that she would live by what she believed, and was ‘ready to face whatever came’. What made her do it? Her inner force. She could not suppress her love for Lord Krishna. It ‘had to come out’ – and this is how musicians feel too. It is the power of love and devotion to what you believe and what is inside you.”

 

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—Moumita Mitra’s analysis—

Rare raga expert Moumita Mitra released an ever-excellent analysis of the raga in 2021. Here’s a full transcription, covering the raga’s multiple incarnations and her own attempts to blend them (lightly edited for clarity): “I’ve heard many Meerabai ki Malhar recordings by various artists of recent and past generations – and each one had their own way of singing it…some renditions were totally different. What I could derive is that the raga can use both Ga, both Dha, and both Ni – but some artists skip the komal dha, and the way shuddha Ga is used is quite different across gharanas. Here is what I could imbibe:

• [Double-Ga] Agra use double-Ga like S(m)RP, P(m)G, GmPDnDnP, PmG(mG)S, (m)RP(m)G RSRS, and they often repeat the phrase GmPDn DnP, GmG(m)GS, RP(m)G, RSRS. However some sing the conclusion phrase as RmPmRSR (m)RmP(m)g, mRS.
• [Double-Dha] The use of shuddha Dha can be like mPDNSRNS, or as Malhar-ang mPnDNS. In terms of komal dha, I found a Dhrupad recording in which it was used as RP(m)gm RSR, mPd(nd)nP, GmG, RP(m)g – and also a khayal recording where komal dha is used in avroh as mPnDNS, SNRS(n)d, d(n)P.

So I tried to combine some of the phrases used by various gharanas, and to sing the raga in a way I found aesthetically appropriate. After all, different artists have sung this raga in their own ways, so I will do the same! I composed a jhaptal bandish (with lyrics from the Malhar chapter of Bhatkhande’s Kramik Pustak Malika), and also a tintal (lyrics: ‘It’s raining from dark clouds; The clouds are too heavy; It’s raining and the earth is cooling; The Sun’s heat has dimmed due to the rains…’).”

 

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—Meerabai Malhar demo (Moumita Mitra)—

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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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

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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: Pilu

Also compare to other members of the Malhar raganga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–gG–m–P–dD–nN–S

• Reverse: SrRgGmPdDnS (=Khat)

• Complement: SrMS

• Imperfect: 1 (Ni)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: mirror (gG—Dn)

• Murchanas: Khat (on Pa)

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

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Kapi

S-R₂-G₂-G₃-M₁-P-D₁-D₂-N₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Aeolian + Ionian

1-2-b3-3-4-5-b6-6-b7-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-11-0

(2–1–1–1–2–1–1–1–1–1)

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o • o o o o • o o o o o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Meerabai Malhar, Mirabai ki Malhar, Meera Malhar, Mira Malhar

• Transliterations: Hindi (मीरा बाई मल्हार)

—Amjad Ali Khan (2021)—