S-R-m-P-D-nN-S
A combination of melodies from the Malhar and Sarang ragangas, said to have been created by Saint Surdas: a blind 16th-century poet-musician renowned for his evocations of Krishna amidst themes of shringara and bhakti. The raga which bears his name is described by Tanarang as “uttarang-pradhan, with general movement around taar Sa…[lyrics] are dominated by descriptions of clouds, thunder, and lightning…in comparison to other Malhar forms, this raga is less deep…”). Ocean of Ragas advises that “shuddha Dha is used in avroh in a peculiar fashion, as [SnDmP; PnDP]”, also pointing to the influence of Sorath – and noting two additional variants (“one without Dha, and another with komal ga, favoured by Dhrupadyas”). Sitarist Srinivas Reddy recently recommended me an outstanding 1984 rendition by Nikhil Banerjee (“the drut gat is so powerful and triumphant…”).
• Raga Masterlist (1000+) •
राग सूरदासी मल्हार
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• Hindustani Raga Index •
Aroha: SRmP, nDmPNS
Avroh: SnDmP, nDPmRS
Chalan: e.g. SmRm; (m)RmP; DPmR; RmP; nDmPnDP; PDPmR; NSRS; mRNS; SnDmPnDP; PDPmRm; NS (Bor/Dasgupta)
—Venkatesh Kumar (2016)—
[refrain, e.g. 1:11] PnP m(R) RSNS (P)S, (nD)n (DP)D (P)m; PnP m(R) RSNS (P)S, (nD)n (DP)D (P)m…
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Histories, melodies, mythologies, etc…
—Imagery: Surdas (c.1480-1580)—
“Surdas’s meeting with Akbar, the Mughal emperor, came about in a fortuitous manner. The Emperor praised Tansen for his musical skill, but wondered if there was anyone who surpassed him at singing. Tansen mentioned Surdas’s name. A meeting was arranged, and Surdas became a favorite of Akbar. But Akbar did not pester Surdas to sing his praises: only once he issued that command did Surdas sing in praise of Krishna. The song impressed Akbar…”
• Recent Raga Index Updates (Oct 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+)
Multi-step meend in Raag Bageshri: some riyaz improv in one of my all-time favourite ragas
#raga #jazzguitar #indianmusic #icm #londonmusic
Sep 30
E8 Boogie (Squarepusher): @sqpusher did I get them right? Tried to work out guitar voicings for this curious chord sequence in E8 Boogie (…originally at the request of a student!)
Original: Squarepusher/Tom Jenkinson (from 1997’s Hard Normal Daddy)
#jungle #jazzguitar #warprecords #idm #dnb @warprecords
Sep 27
Raag Jaiwanti Todi (SrgmPDnS): An Ahiri-prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): the hereditary ruler of Sanand who gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also the creator of Gyankali and other ragas). Sung here by his student Pandit Jasraj – a bandish I’ve always loved, especially the ferocious taan and colourful harmonium accompaniment…
—Original: Pandit Jasraj (khayal); Appa Jalgaonkar (harmonium); Nizamuddin Khan? (tabla)
#raga #khayal #indianmusic #worldmusic #icm
Sep 22
Raag Prabhateshwari (SrgmPDnS): A mysterious raga created by Hariprasad Chaurasia, played here by his nephew Rakesh – resembling a blend of the morning Ahir Bhairav and the late night Bageshri. I was inspired to learn the raga when researching Maa Annapurna Devi’s time teaching Hariprasad (many thanks to my crack team of experts including Rupak Kulkarni, Alam Khan, George Ruckert, Suresh Vyas, Anindya Banerjee, and Gopi Shanker, who all gave valuable assistance in illuminating the raga’s origins)
—Original: Rakesh Chaurasia (bansuri), live at Darbar 2008 @chaurasia_rakesh @darbarfestival
#raga #darbarfestival #indianmusic #bansuri #worldmusic
Sep 15
• 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: Badhans Sarang, Samant Sarang, Miyan ki Sarang
See all shadav ragas which omit Ga – and compare to other members of the Malhar and Sarang ragangas (as well as to other forms which fuse elements of both)
–Swara Geometries–
• Core form: S–R–m–P–D–nN–S
• Reverse: SrRgmPnS
• Complement: SrgGMdS
• Imperfect: 2 (Dha, Ni)
• Detached: 1 (Ni)
• Symmetries: none
• Murchanas: Anup (on Pa)
–Global Translations–
• Carnatic: ~Narayani
S-R2-M1-P-D2-N2-N3-S
• Jazz: Bebop Dominant (no 3rd)
1-2-4-5-6-b7-7-8
• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):
0-2-5-7-9-10-11-0
(2–3–2–2–1–1–1)
o • o • • o • o • o o o o
• Tanpura: Sa–Pa
• Names: Surdasi Malhar, Sur Malhar
• Transliterations: Hindi (सूरदासी मल्हार); Bengali (সুর মল্লার)
—Nikhil Banerjee (1984)—
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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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