S-R-g-m-P-D-N-S

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Derived from the Dhanashree family, Patdeep somewhat resembles a ‘shuddha Ni Bhimpalasi’ (akin to the Western Melodic Minor), with both ragas ascending pentatonically before revealing Re and Dha in descent. Its unique scale structure, which features a distinctive run of four adjacent whole-tone jumps (g>m>P>D>N), brings natural prominence to komal ga and shuddha Ni as the only ‘detached‘ swaras (the strength of the g-N axis hints at historical overlap with Pilu: past forms of Patdeep are said to have used both Ga and Ni). Pa must resonate with greater strength than shuddha ma, and mandra Ni is often used as a launchpoint for wide-roving upward motions. Mewati vocalist Aarshin Karande summarises it as “an uttarang-pradhan raga with a hauntingly intense Nishad, [suited] to compositions focused on themes of anxiety, relief, and mystery”. Also see proximate ragas including Patdeepaki, Hanskinkini, Madhuvanti, & Rangeshwari – as well as its murchana companions Charukeshi, Vachaspati, Ahiri, & Faridi Todi.

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Aroha: NSRgm, PDNS

Avroh: SNDP, mgRS, NS

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Chalan: e.g. NSg(S)RS; NSgmP; NSgmPg; gmPN; DP; mPgmPN; N(D)NS; NSgRS; NSDP (Parrikar)

–Harjinderpal Matharu (2013)–

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“Patdeep is very brittle, and can’t be ‘stretched’ easily. The rules are very strict…it has such an immediate effect. Once you’ve heard the identifying phrases, you know exactly what it is. But that’s a double-edged sword, because the audience is immediately ‘Patdeeped’…Then, you’re left with the challenge of where to go from there. I try to unfold the scale a little bit at a time, so you can hear every nuance. You have to hold the raga back, stop it from exploding through you…” (Rajeev Taranath)

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—Context—

Origins, myths, quirks, & more

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[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all 365+ raga pages can eventually look more like these]

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—Phraseologies—

Melodies, movements, characteristics…

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[coming soon]

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—Swati Sen demo (2018)—

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“The Re and Dha are varjit in aroha, thus making Patdeep’s scalar profile congruent to ‘Bhimpalasi with shuddha Ni‘. The crucial point is that Patdeep is carved out of the Dhanashree raganga, which means that Pa, not ma, gets top billing. Mandra Ni is typically the origin of tonal activity, Re receives a kan of Sa, and the action quickly gravitates to Pa [e.g. NSg(S)RS, NSgmP]. Komal ga is deergha in aroha, and used as a nyas in avroh [e.g. NSgmPg, gmPN, DP]. A typical antara foray [e.g. mPgmPN, N(D)NS, NSgRS, NSDP]: notice that Ni is sometimes skipped in the descent from the taar saptak Sa…” (Rajan Parrikar)

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—Listen—

A brief selection of superb renditions

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–Venkatesh Kumar (2010)–

• Gwalior-Kirana khayal (7m): captured in full flight at London’s King’s Place for Darbar 2010, with expansive support from Satyajit Talwalkar on tabla, Murad Ali on sarangi, and Tofail Ahmed on harmonium (watch the rest of their performance on the Darbar Player):

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[bandish, e.g. 0:14] P, N, S(RSN)S, S(NS) D(N)P, m(gmgm)S m(gPmNPm)P\m g(mRS)R (gSN)S; P, N, S(RSN)S…

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–Sahana Banerjee (2015)–

• Senia-Rampur sitar (21m): another Darbar rendition, filmed on location in the raga’s natural afternoon timeslot – with her sitar’s unaccompanied textures and techniques captured in pristine close-up detail over an alap–jor–jhalla (note the anchoring role of the strong Pa–Ni sangati):

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[jhalla motifs, e.g. 19:22] NS, PNS; (S)NS, (m)gmP; mDP, gmgP mDPm PgRS; NS, PNR(g)SN; S(m)gmPN; gmPN, gmPNS; NSgmPNS…

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–Further Recordings–

• Kushal Das (4m): a solo surbahar take from the Maihar torchbearer, showcasing his instrument’s extraordinary bends
• Prattyush Banerjee (7m): recorded for Darbar at London’s Southbank Centre, with Benares maestro Sanju Sahai on tabla
• Bahauddin Dagar (8m): a Dhrupad interpretation from London’s Royal Festival Hall, with Sukhad Munde on pakhawaj
• Jayateerth Mevundi (9m): an AUTRIM pitch-graph (“Oh my friend; ever since my beloved left, I haven’t heard from him…”)
• Omkar Dadarkar (11m): a solo vocal setting from 2017, filmed by Darbar at the Rajbari Bawali in Bengal (Hori Khelat Bahar)
• Ayan Sengupta & Pratik Shrivastava (13m): the young duo are joined by Debjit Patitundi on tabla, another rising star
• Ashwini Bhide-Deshpande (18m): “Jaipur-Atrauli’s versatile vocalist renders the tranquil Patdeep with extraordinary poise”
• Amjad Ali Khan (18m): patient, wandering glides are built around a strong shuddha Ni (intoned a little lower than usual)
• Bhimsen Joshi (29m): live at Delhi’s Siri Fort, with advancing age doing little to diminish his powers (bandish: Dhun Dhun Bhaag)
• Prabha Atre (44m): a classic from the Kirana stalwart, which lingers on Ni amidst a range of classic Dhanashree motions
• Abhishek Borkar (66m): with Farrukhabad exponent Ramdas Palsule on tabla, from a 2019 FEA Parallel Lines show in Pune
• Hariprasad Chaurasia (69m): “All you need is a piece of bamboo to make some of the most beautiful music ever…”
• Nikhil Banerjee (88m): from a 1970s Kolkata concert with rhythmic support from Lucknow maestro Swapan Chaudhuri

• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

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—Patdeep for Vibraphone (Jonathan Mayer)—

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A captivating vibraphone arrangement by sitarist-composer Jonathan Mayer, who has also arranged other ragas for Western classical instruments as part of the fantastic ZeroClassikal label (also hear a rendition of Vachaspati I played live in London with Jon’s group in 2024)

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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

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.

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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: Thaat #21

–Proximate Forms–

Kafi = ‘Patdeep komal ni‘

Kirwani = ‘Patdeep komal dha‘

Bilawal = ‘Patdeep shuddha Ga‘

Miyan ki Malhar = ‘Patdeep double Ni‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–R–g–m–P–D–N–S

• Reverse: SrgmPDnS (=Ahiri)

• Negative: 3-3-2-2-2 (e.g. Tivrakauns)

• Imperfect: 3 (ga, Dha, Ni)

• Detached: 2 (ga, Ni)

• Symmetries: mirror (r—P)

• Murchanas: Charukeshi set

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

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: Gourimanohari (mela #23)

S-R₂-G₂-M₁-P-D₂-N₃-S

• Jazz: Melodic Minor

1-2-b3-4-5-6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-2-3-5-7-9-11-0

(2–1–2–2–2–2–1)

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o • o o • o • o • o • o o

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–Around the World–

CONGRUENTS: rough list

• Lullaby of Birdland (Shearing/Ella)
• Waiting For You (Seal: intro/chorus)
• The Shadow of Your Smile (Mandel: intro)

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—Lullaby of Birdland (USA)—

(Ella Fitzgerald, 1954)

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)

• Names: Patdeep, Patdip (not Patdeepaki)

• Transliterations: Hindi (पटदीप); Bengali (পটদীপ); Kannada (ಪಟದೀಪ್)

—More—

Further info: links, listenings, learnings, etc

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• Raag Patdeep: [coming soon]

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• Header audio: Khayal by gharana-blending vocalist Venkatesh Kumar (2010)
• Header image: ‘The Ancient Temple of Changu Narayan, dedicated to Lord Vishnu’ (UNESCO)

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