Reva | SrGPdS | Hindustani Raga Index

S-r-G-P-d-S

A rare pentatonic raga, Reva is often described as the ‘evening counterpart’ to Bibhas (or the ‘jawab to its sawal’), matching this samay designation by taking after the Poorvi–ang rather than Bibhas’ Bhairav-ang roots. Chiefly, its movements are distinguished from Bibhas via poorvang-focused sangatis including Gr; rS; SrrS, along with a greater exploration of the Shree-ang in mandra and low madhya saptak. Shuddha Ga assumes natural prominence as the only detached swara, and the only tone to lie on the scale’s Ga-ni reflection axis – with the raga’s form also possessing the rare property of ‘centredness’ (i.e. its ‘constellation’ balances at the swara wheel’s exact centre). Refer to a rendition by sarodiya Joydeep Mukherjee, and a vocal take by the appropriately-named Rewa Natu (“Dr. Abhijit had been insisting I sing it for quite some time. Finally I discussed it with my guru Chaitanya Kunte…He not only guided me, but composed a new bandish in the raga”). Not to be confused with the Carnatic ‘Revati’, which lies closer to Bairagi.

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Aroha: SrGPdS

Avroh: SdPGrS

Chalan: e.g. S; SrrS; Gr; S; dP; PdrS; GrGP; dP; SrS; dPG; r; SrS (OoR)

—Joydeep Mukherjee (2021)—

[sanchari, e.g. 1:05] r/G G, G\r r, S S(d) d/S, S d/r r, r(SrS) (S)d, P P, r/G G, G\r r, S…

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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: Bibhas

Also compare to other ragas matching the generic swaras ‘Sa-Re-Ga-Pa-Dha’: including Bhupali Todi (S-r-g-P-d-S); Shivranjani (S-R-g-P-D-S); Bhupali, Deshkar, Pahadi, Jait Kalyan (S-R-G-P-D-S); & Lagan Gandhar (S-R-gg̃G-P-D-S)

–Swara Geometries–

• Core form: S–r–G–P–d–S

• Reverse: SGmdNS

• Negative: 1-1-3-1-2-1-3 (e.g. Bhairav)

• Imperfect: 3 (Ga, Pa, dha)

• Detached: 1 (Ga)

• Symmetries: mirror (G—n)

• Murchanas: none

• Quirks: ‘centred‘ (constellation balances at the wheel’s centrepoint)

–Global Translations–

• Carnatic: ~Revagupti

S-R₁-G₃-P-D₁-S

• Jazz: Double Harmonic (no 4th/7th)

1-b2-3-5-b6-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-4-7-8-0

(1–3–3–1–4)

o o • • o • • o o • • • o

• Tanpura: Sa–Pa

• Names: Reva, Rewa, Riva

• Transliterations: Hindi (रेवा)

—Rewa Natu (2021)—

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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!