S-r-G-mM-P-D-N-S
Typically considered the modern successor to the ‘original’ form of Basant – with Maihar musicians such as Nikhil Banerjee and Nityanand Haldipur considering it inseparable from Adi Basant (‘shuddha’, as well as referring to ‘pure’ or ‘unaltered’ swaras, may also indicate ‘primary’ or ‘original’: similar to the meaning of ‘adi’). Generally, it differs from the ‘main’ Basant in taking a shuddha Dha (placing it in line with Marwa thaat), although Dhrupad artists may omit Pa, and others may include touches of shuddha ma in avroh amongst other disparate quirks (some link it to Lalit, Hemant, and Bhinna Shadja). Also refer to renditions by sitarist Kushal Das, sarodiya Amjad Ali Khan, and bansuriyas Pannalal Ghosh and Hariprasad Chaurasia – and compare to the similarly-ancient Pancham, as well as other Basant variants such as Malti Basant, Gauri Basant, and Dakshinatya Basant.
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग शुद्ध बसन्त
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• Hindustani Raga Index •
—Kushal Das (2014)—
[refrain, e.g. 0:10] D(SNR)S N(D), (NS)S (Gm)m D(SNR) (N)S N(D), M, m…
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• Ragmalas •
Historic miniature paintings (learn more)
“Vasanta Raga, from a folio…” (Rajasthan, c.1670) / “Dancing nobleman play the role of Krishna in celebrations for the coming of spring, witnessed by flowering plants in the foreground, and the golden flower vessel balanced on his hand. The allusion to Krishna is secured by the nobleman’s skirt of peacock feathers, and the circle of female musicians accompanying him: together, they recall Krishna’s ‘raslila’ dance with the gopis…” (Rajasthan, c.1620)
• Recent Raga Index Updates (May 2026): Up to 365 Megalist pages! Recent adds include Asa, Bayati, Deepavali, Chanchalas Malhar, DoGa Kalyan, Gaud, Japaniya, Kaushiki, Latangi, Loom, Maru, Meerabai Malhar, Palas, Sarangkauns, Shankh Dhwani, Shivanjali, Sohini Bahar (+ try out ‘Audav Meladalan‘) • What does ‘Kauns’ mean? Analysing 60+ Kauns ragas • ‘Bifurcations‘: ‘poorvang vs. uttarang’ splits • Amir Khan’s ‘168 merukhands’ • Introduced the ‘complements‘ concept • Experiments (e.g. overtonal Bhairav, jazz Malkauns) • Survey of Sa Tunings • More Masterlist ragas (1000+)
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: Bhankari, Bhatiyar, Lalit Pancham, Pancham, Sohini Pancham, Vihang
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–r–G–mM–P–D–N–S
• Reverse: SrgmMPdNS
• Complement: SRgdnS
• Imperfect: 2 (re, Pa)
• Detached: none
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: none
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Chayatharangini
S-R1-G3-M1-M2-P-D2-N3-S
• Jazz: Lydian-Ionian b2
1-b2-3-4-#4-5-6-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-1-4-5-6-7-9-11-0
(1–3–1–1–1–2–2–1)
o o • • o o o o • o • o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Shuddha Basant, Suddha Vasanta, Sudh Vasant, (~’Shuddha Dha Basant’)
• Transliterations: Hindi (शुद्ध बसन्त); Bengali (শুদ্ধ বসন্ত)
—Hariprasad Chaurasia (1994)—
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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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