Monomanjari | SrGMPDnNS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-G-M-P-D-nN-S

A scale with no apparent prakritis unveiled by sitar icon Nikhil Banerjee some time in the 1970s (in his own words: “I’m quite satisfied with one of my Sonodisc LPs, Raag Monomanjari: that’s my favourite so far…”). From Narendra Datar’s 1989 review of this record: “A jod raga…a remarkable combination of Kalavati and Marwa. Kalavati is a very joyful late night melody, whereas Marwa is an early evening melody which portrays pathos. In Monomanjari, one can feel a delicate interweaving of these two contrasting moods…a highly intellectual and emotional appeal”. More recently, the raga has been kept alive by sitarist and multi-instrumentalist Chris Stephens, who in 2025 released a tantalising solo sitar rendition (“Manomanjari’s mood is a mixture of light and heavy, serene and harsh, romance and pathos…So far, only sitarists have performed this raga; I would love to hear it on sarod, surbahar, or sarangi…”). Also see other Banerjee inventions such as Chandrakaushiki and Madhyam se Bhairavi.

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राग मोनोमंजरी

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—Nikhil Banerjee (~1970s)—

[theme, e.g. 45:28] MPD(SnS) D(nDP), M(P)MG, G, M(D)MGr, r, S, S, N(S) (N)S N\D, D(PMP), P M(P), D, r, r, S…

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• Recent Raga Index Updates (Dec 2025): 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)

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–G–M–P–D–nN–S

• Reverse: SrRgmMdNS

• Negative: 6-1-2-3

• Imperfect: 3 (re, Pa, ni)

• Detached: 1 (ni)

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: none

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Gamanasrama

S-R₁-G₃-M₂-P-D₂-N₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Lydian b2 (dbl. 7th)

1-b2-3-#4-5-6-b7-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-4-6-7-9-10-11-0

(1–3–2–1–2–1–1–1)

o o • • o • o o • o o o o

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Monomanjari, Manomanjiri, Manamanjari

• Transliterations: Hindi (मोनोमंजरी)

—Nikhil Banerjee (1972)—

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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!