S-R-m-D-N-S
A rare, oddly-shaped audav raga formed by omitting Ga and Pa from Bilawal thaat – essentially, ‘removing the major triad from the major scale’ (it can also be seen as ‘Bhavani plus Ni’, Rajeshwari Re-for-ga’, or ‘Durga Ni-for-Pa’). Vocalist Sakuntala Narasimhan, introducing a drut khayal, cites Rasaranjani as an innovation of her Rampur gharana guru Hafiz Ahmed Khan, presumably derived from the Carnatic Ranjani (hear his 1980 recording) – describing it as “very unusual: I’ve never heard anyone sing this raga…it has hints of pathos”. Offers a strong ma–murchana, although this is balanced by the fact that ‘Ni>Sa’ is the only chromatic resolution available. Also recently recorded by Biswarup Ghosh Dastida, who mentions that the same SRmDNS scale form is sometimes referred to as ‘Surnandini’. Compare to Kaushik Dhwani, the same swara-set with Ga instead of Re.
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग रसरंजनी
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• Hindustani Raga Index •
—Sakuntala Narasimhan (~1990s)—
[refrains, e.g. 1:20] SD mmRSNS, (S)m, mR S(NS)R S; mm(N)D NS, (S)NRS; NSmR(mR), S(NSRS)N, Dm, RS…
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• Carnatic Origins •
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(Aruna Sairam/Mathur Srinidhi)
–All ragas of Carnatic origin–
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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
Jun 28
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
Jun 22
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
Jun 15
Some tintal improv around a wonderful Durga bandish I’ll be playing at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc)
#indianmusic #raga #icm #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 10
Come see me play some bendy raga-guitar at @mehfilspace @the_rose_hill in Brighton on Thu 11th June! with vocalist @ashwinbaligaofficial and @marc_plays_tabla
https://therosehill.co.uk/event/the-mehfil-space-presents-around-the-world-in-8-ragas/
‘Around the World in 8 Ragas’: exploring cross-cultural melodic forms (e.g. scales that turn up independently in Japan, India, Mali, etc) – including this piece, a famous Bhairavi bhajan by Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (Jo Bhaje Hari Ko Sada)
#bhajan #raga #indianmusic #brightonmusic #ragaguitar
Jun 5
tomato can jungle/DnB (distracted while cooking)
#drumming #percussion #dnb #jungle
May 23
A great Jaunpuri gat from Senia-Shahjahanpur sarod legend Pt Buddhadev DasGupta, full of fast bends and slides (originally released for Joep Bor’s 1997 Raga Guide, in many ways a precursor to my own raga index)
Raag Jaunpuri: a late morning raga, likely originating in the Sultanate-era music of Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh (as per Subodh Agrawal: “The rulers of Jaunpur were keen patrons of the arts, and the last one – Sultan Hussain Sharqi – was himself a distinguished musician; it is probable that the Jaunpuri flavor of Asavari was developed by him, or under his patronage“). Rajan Parrikar elaborates on its “Asavariant” status, noting that some (including Omkarnath Thakur) see it as essentially indistinguishable from Shuddha Re Asavari, while others consider Jaunpuri to follow more ‘rounded’ melodic motions…
#sarod #ragaguitar #stratocaster #worldmusic #jaunpur
May 6
just for fun…I had to defend the honour of my main instrument against my second instrument (many thanks to @mountainhead for the original video, as well as some tasty bends) – still no match for the surbahar’s meend range though!
#sitar #guitar #raga #bends #ragaguitar
May 4
• 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 | 32 | Enclosed | 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.
• Prakriti: (none found)
(also the only raga in the Index to entirely omit both Ga and Pa)
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–m–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgPnS (=Bairagi Todi)
• Complement: SrgGMPdnS
• Imperfect: 3 (Sa, Dha, Ni)
• Detached: 1 (Ni)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Lilavati (on Re)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Rasa Ranjani
S-R2-M1-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Ionian (no 3rd/5th)
1-2-4-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-5-9-11-0
(2–3–4–2–1)
o • o • • o • • • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–ma
• Names: Rasaranjani, Rasranjani, Rasa Ranjini, (~Gyankali)
• Transliterations: Hindi (रसरंजनी)
—Hafeez Ahmed Khan (1980)—
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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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