S-g-M-d-n-S

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A novel experiment by rare raga connoisseur Abhirang, formed by changing Malkauns’ shuddha ma vadi to its tivra variant. This shift renders both Sa and Ma ‘detached’ (i.e. with no swaras either 7 semitones above or below them: a property shared by only Harikauns and Sehera), meaning that conclusive resolutions towards the raga’s two most prominent swaras are hard to conjure. This brings a sharp disbalance to all melodic motions, as even the more ‘classic’ Malkauns phrases are fundamentally recoloured by the lack of stable home ground. Abhirang, who includes the tivra Ma in his tanpura tuning, tends to accentuate the komal ga with ornaments from above (e.g. M\g; (dM)g), manipulating the raga’s tension profile via the extent of Ma’s usage as a melodic endpoint. I contacted him to ask more: his explanation links it to Mangal Gujari (the same scale plus komal re), as well as a congruent Carnatic form called ‘Karmapu’ (which I can’t yet trace in the wild) – giving vadi–samvadi options of ga–ni or dha–ga, and noting nyas of Sa, ga, & dha amidst a general poorvang-dominance. Compare to its murchana set, including Sarangkauns and Shankh Dhwani (…and if you interpret Tivrakauns’ swara wheel as if it represented the vibhags of a tala cycle, i.e. ‘S>g>M>d>n>S’ = ‘3-3-2-2-2’, you get the ultra-rotatable ‘bulerias’ pattern of Spanish flamenco!). Ripe for further exploration by those who seek fresh melodic challenge [Update: After I posted this page on the Chandrakantha forum in Sep 2023, Xavi Ganjam recorded the raga on mohan veena! Keep the experiments rolling in…]. Also see my article What does ‘Kauns’ mean? A brief survey of all known Kaunsi ragas.

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राग तीव्र कौन्स

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Aroha: SgMdnS

Avroh: SndMgS

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Pakad: variable, e.g. nSgMd; MdnSg

Chalan: (open-form) – illustrative sequences e.g. SgMd; MdndMg; SgMgn; dnSgS (Abhirang: supplied via email)

—Abhirang (2022)—

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[refrain, e.g. 7:16] (M)d g(S) M(dMd) g, S S(gS) (n)d, n(d)S, gM (M)d g(S) M(dMd) g, S S(gS) (n)d, n(d)S; (d)Md n M(gn) n(dnd) d, Md(ndMg), gM(dMg) (S)gS S, S(gS) (n)d, nS…

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• Classifiers •

Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List):

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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

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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 see other ragas with generic swaras ‘Sa-Ga-Ma-Dha-Ni‘ – and compare to other members of the Kauns raganga

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–g–M–d–n–S

• Reverse: SRGMDS

• Complement: SrRGmPDNS (=Asa Bhairav)

• Imperfect: 3 (Sa, Ma, ni) 

• Detached: 2 (Sa, Ma)

• Symmetries: mirror (g—D) 

• Murchanas: Sarangkauns set

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• Quirks: ‘detached Sa‘ • ‘tivra Ma, komal ni‘ (rarest pairing) • ‘maximal‘ (swaras are optimally ‘spread out’)

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–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ‘Karmapu’

S-G₂-M₂-D₁-N₂-S

• Jazz: Phrygian Pentatonic (#4)

1-b3-#4-b6-b7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-3-6-8-10-0

(3–3–2–2–2)

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o • • o • • o • o • o • o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Ma

• Names: Tivrakauns, Teevra Kauns, Tivra Kaunsi, Teevra Madhyam Malkauns, ‘Karmapu’

• Transliterations: Hindi (तीव्र कौन्स)