S-gG-m-d-n-S

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As recounted in The Hindu, Mohankauns “was spontaneously created by Ravi Shankar in 1949. On hearing of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s death, Pandit-ji was asked by All India Radio to play a piece dedicated to the Mahatma. On the spot, he created a variation of Malkauns”. As well as the sparing use of shuddha Re, his new raga adds a shuddha Ga, bringing special prominence to a ‘Ga-Ni-Dha’ catchphrase: chosen by Shankar to spell out the Mahatma’s surname [here‘s the sloppily-distilled motif on own sitar, audible throughout Shankar’s take e.g. at 1:56, 12:57, & 18:58: & see my Alphamelodics: hidden sounds of words article!]. Khayal vocalist and raga archivist Farhan Amin kindly sent me his own reflections on the raga in early 2026, outlining the tendencies of its poorvang: “Shuddha Re arrives in only one way – G(R)Gm m – and the avroh usually goes GmS (à la Khambavati) and not mGS…”. The raga has also recorded by Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan as a spellbinding duet [however the purported Mohankauns recordings by rudra veena master Zia Mohiuddin Dagar are in fact mislabelled renditions of Vardhini, as clarified in fiery fashion by his son Bahauddin Dagar in 2025]. Browse other Ravi-authored forms such as Parameshwari, Gangeshwari, Kameshwari, Rangeshwari, Jogeshwari, Bairagi, Bairagi Todi, and Pancham se Gara – and see my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas. Also compare to other ragas inspired by the Mahatma: including Kumar Gandharva’s Gandhi Malhar (SRGmPDnNS) and Carnatic legend M Balamuralikrishna’s Mohan Gandhi (which, in Hindustani terminology, runs as: SGgG, mPnPNS; NSnPMPm, gSG).

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राग मोहनकौन्स

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• Hindustani Raga Index •

—Ravi Shankar (1981)—

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[refrain, e.g. 18:44] G GGm, n (n)d d, (dm)G Gm, G(R)Gm, m m(d) G m S, (n)d dd, (dS)n nnS S, (m)GGm, (m)G n d(nd), (dm)G, GGm, G(R)Gm, m…

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• More •

Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…

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—Imagery: Mohandes K. Gandhi—

“Born Mohandas Gandhi in Gujarat, he was part of an elite family. After a period of teenage rebellion, he left India to study law in London. Before going, he promised his mother he’d abstain from sex, meat, and alcohol in an attempt to re-adopt strict Hindu morals. In 1893, at the age of 24, the new attorney moved to the British colony of Natal in Southeastern Africa to practice law. Natal was home to thousands of Indians whose labor had helped build its wealth, but the colony fostered both formal and informal discrimination against people of Indian descent. Gandhi was shocked when he was thrown out of train cars, roughed up for using public walkways, and segregated from European passengers on a stagecoach…” (National Geographic)

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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: Madhurkauns, Madhkauns, Viyog Kauns, Anupriya

Also see other ragas with generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–gG–m–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGPdDS

• Complement: SrRMPDNS

• Imperfect: 2 (Sa, Ga)

• Detached: 1 (Ga)

• Symmetries: mirror (G—n)

• Murchanas: Hemshri set

–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Ragavardhini

S-G₂-G₃-M₁-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Epogimic

1-b3-3-4-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-3-4-5-8-10-0

(3–1–1–3–2–2)

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o • • o o o • • o • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–ma (+dha)

• Names: Mohankauns, Mohan Kauns

• Transliterations: Hindi (मोहनकौन्स)

—Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan (1978)—