• Raag Puriya Kalyan •

S-r-G-M-P-D-N-S


Essentially combining the poorvang of Puriya Dhanashree with the uttarang of Yaman (SrGM+PDNS), Puriya Kalyan matches the swaras of Marwa thaat. Pa is prominent in descent, but may be skipped in Kalyanic ascending passages such as MDNS – and Sa is often omitted in both directions, with mandra saptak Ni favoured as a melodic starting point. Tanarang gives illustrative combinations of NrG, GMMG, MDNDP; GMDNSN, DNrSNDP; MrG, rS, while Dhyanesh Khan describes it as bringing “a sublime mood of devotion and peace”. Raja highlights its proximity with Purva, recounting that, “At a concert in L.A. in 1991, Vilayat Khan [argued] that Purva is the same as Puriya Kalyan…[However] Bhatkhande looked at this issue in the 1940s, when Purva was a mature raga and Puriya Kalyan had just begun to gain acceptance, and concluded that they are different: he connected Puriya Kalyan with the [Carnatic] Gamanashrama parent scale, and Purva he attributes to a combination of Poorvi, Maru, and Gauri”. Modern renditions may span the spectrum of ‘Puriya add Pa’ to ‘Yaman komal re’ (see melodic considerations).


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Aroha: NrGMDNrS
Avroh: rNDPMG, rMG; MGrS

Pakad: e.g. rMG; GMNDP; MGrS
Chalan: e.g. NDNrMGrS; rGMD(G)MG; GMDNDP; M(N)DNrS; NrGrS; rNDP; MDNDPMG; rGMD(G)MG; rMG; MGrS (Bor/Chaurasia)

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• The swara-set can be interpreted as ‘Puriya’s poorvang + Yaman’s uttarang’ (SrGM; PDNS) – although renditions span the space from ‘Puriya plus Pa’ to ‘Yaman komal re
• Puriya elements tend to dominate due to the presence of komal re, although both parent ragas already share significant overlap – including a strong Ga-Ni axis and the omission of Sa and Pa in ascent (e.g. Puriya’s NDNrG; GMDND MG vs. Yaman’s NDNRG; GMDND MDP)
• Several devices exist to distinguish the two ‘faces’ of the raga – e.g. the endpoint of aroha launches (Puriya-ang NrG vs. Yaman-ang NrGMP), the focus of melodic activity (Yaman emerges in the GMPDN space), and the relative weighting of komal re vs. Pa (e.g. Puriya-ang NrGM; rGMDGMG; MDNrND vs. Yaman-ang GMDNDP; SNDPMG)
• Lies very close to Purva – Vilayat Khan considered the ragas to be one and the same, although other scholars hold that Purva is closer to ‘Puriya add Pa’, with less Kalyan-ang influence
• Associated, like both parent ragas, with the post-sunset hours (‘sandhiprakash’) – and generally interpreted in a restrained, contemplative manner
• Recent Raga Index Updates (Sep 2026): Melodic ‘snapshots’ of prachalit ragas • Up to 365 raga pages! Some highlights: Bayati, Basant Mukhari, Bilaskhani Todi, Chandranandan, DoGa Kalyan, Jog, Kalavati, Kaushiki, Malkauns, Maru, Meladalan, Parameshwari, Sarangkauns, Vachaspati (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)

Salaman (Toumani Diabaté & Ballaké Sissoko): I’ve loved this composition since ripping it from a Frome Library CD when I was 14... Originally performed by the legendary kora duet on their ‘New Ancient Strings’ album, Based on ‘Tita’, a love song from Western Mali (...the b6 has a ‘between minor and major’ tuning...handled here with a messy bend)

And if you like this stuff then check out Derek Gripper, the true master of arranging Toumani Diabaté for the guitar! @derek_gripper 

#kora #worldmusic #mali #africanmusic #guitarsolo @toumanidiabatemusic @ballake.sissoko
Raag Jog: exploring different ways the electric guitar can support a Dhrupad-ang nomtom (syllabic improvisation)...

(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace

#dhrupad #raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic
Raag Kafi: Electric guitar improv around the adha bandish ‘Aaj Khel Shaam Sang Hori’

(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace

#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar
Raag Jog: some sawal-jawab (‘question-answer’) fun with Marc Clayton on tabla

(From ‘Around the World in Eight Ragas’: my show with Ashwin Baliga & Marc Clayton at Mehfil Space on 11 Jun 2026) @ashwinbaligaofficial @marc_plays_tabla @mehfilspace 

#raga #indianmusic #icm #worldmusic #ragaguitar

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—Kaushiki Chakraborty (2019)—


[refrain, e.g. 0:27] (M)P M(PG) GM, G (Gr)N NrGMG\r S, (M)P M(PG) GM

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• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

—Stuart Hinds (overtonal vocals)—

“Puriya Kalyan (‘Peaceful and Pensive at Sunset’)…The idea for the ‘Color of the Melody’ project is to use raga principles for polyphonic overtone singing. I sing two contrapuntal lines – fundamentals and overtones – creating a texture that is harmonic as well as melodic. These are not raga performances per se, but are true to the essential features of traditional raag: thaat, arohaavroh, vadisamvadi, pakad, rasa, and time of day…” (Stuart Hinds)

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• 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

Thaat: 10 | 32Enclosed | Inexact

Chal: All-shuddha | All-komal | Ma-tivra

Gaps: Anh. | Hemi. | 3-row | 4-row | 5-row


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.

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• Prakriti: Marwa thaat, Shree Kalyan, Purva, Baradi
Also compare to other members of the Kalyan raganga

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–Proximate Forms–
Marwa = ‘Puriya Kalyan no Pa
Shree = ‘Puriya Kalyan komal dha
Yaman = ‘Puriya Kalyan shuddha Re
Rampriya = ‘Puriya Kalyan komal ni
Hansa Narayani = ‘Puriya Kalyan no Dha
Bhatiyari Bhairav = ‘Puriya Kalyan shuddha ma
(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

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–Swara Geometries–

Core form: SrGMPDNS
Reverse: SrgmMdNS
Complement: SRgmdnS
Imperfect: 2 (re, Pa)
Detached: none
Symmetries: none
Murchanas: Deepavali (on Pa)

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–Global Translations–

Carnatic: ~Purvikalyani
S-R1-G3-M2-P-D2-N3-S
Jazz: Lydian b2
1-b2-3-#4-5-6-7-8
Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-1-4-6-7-9-11-0
(1–3–2–1–2–2–1)

o o • • o • o o • o • o o


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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)
• Names: Puriya Kalyan, Puria Kalyan, Pooriya Kalyana [n.b. as discussed above, Vilayat Khan considered Puriya Kalyan and Purva to be identical – but most scholars hold them to be separate forms]
• Transliterations: Hindi (पूरिया कल्याण); Bengali (পুরিয়া কল্যাণ)

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—Shivkumar Sharma (2015)—

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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!

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