S-r-g-M-P-d-N-S

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Pivotal to Hindustani history, Todi overflows with musical ideas found nowhere else on the planet. Some link its ambiguous geometries with ‘existential anguish and unsettlement’, while others hear ‘the playfulness of a newborn, content and smiling’. Rajan Parrikar hails it as “the most profound, finespun idea in melodic music…from ecstasy, to frolic, to pathos, to melancholy, every conceivable human emotion is refracted through the Todi prism…”. Some title the raga ‘Darbari Todi’ or ‘Miyan ki Todi’, in reference to Miyan Tansen, the legendary composer of Emperor Akbar’s 16th-century durbar – although its actual historical path is mysterious (for one thing, the ‘Todi’ of Tansen’s era may well have taken the swaras of today’s Bhairavi: hence the Carnatic ‘Hanumatodi’). Prakriti with Multani, although the phraseologies of the ragas are distinct, and Todi’s komal ga is typically tuned to an idiosyncratic ati-komal shade, highlighted in concluding phrases such as NdMg; rgrS. Also compare to a multitude of other Todi-infused forms, including Gujiri Todi (the same scale minus Pa), Bhupali Todi (minus Ma and Ni), and Khat Todi (double Ma and Ni).

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Aroha: SrgMdP, MdNS

Avroh: SNdPM, dMg, rgrS

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Pakad: e.g. rgrS; gMd

Chalan: e.g. NSrg; rgr, rgMP; gMdP; MgMd; NdP; MdNS; NSrgr; dNSrg; rgrS; NrNdP; NdMg; rgrS (Raja)

• Anchored by a rgrS pakad – with komal re and ga tuned to distinctive ‘ati-komal’ sruti and ornamentally intertwined, e.g. as Sr(g); g(r)rS

• Komal dha is vital, given its samvad connection to both re and ga – and also when paired with shuddha Ni in upward movements such as gMdNd

• Pa plays a highly variable role – often skipped as gMd; dMgr (see Gujiri Todi), but available as a resting tone elsewhere, e.g. GMdP; dNdP

• Komal ga is the only swara with no immediate neighbours (nSr; g; MPd), changing its ornamental flavour

• Associated with the post-sunrise hours – and capable of summoning a multitude of moods which defy easy description

–Indrani Mukherjee (2019)–

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“Abdul Wahid Khan normally practised only two ragas: Todi in the morning, and Darbari in the evening. He once said that if Todi could last all day and night, he would drop Darbari and only practice Todi – such was his thirst for mining its essence…” (Peter Lavezzoli)

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—Context—

Origins, myths, quirks, & more

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[COMING SOON: click here to hasten the project’s expansion, so all 365+ raga pages can eventually look more like these]

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• Ragmalas •

Historic miniature paintings (learn more)

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“Todi Ragini holding a veena, with four gazelles…” (Penn, c.1800)

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“An illustration of Todi Ragini from a folio” (Jaipur, c.1750) / “Todi Ragini: a lady in anguish is separated from her lover; she is of striking complexion, wearing pearls and a transparent veil, and rests on a tree trunk, looking at an antelope. Cypress trees and clouds form the backdrop…” (Hyderabad, c.1700)

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—Phraseologies—

Melodies, movements, characteristics…

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[coming soon]

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—Satyasheel Deshpande: gharanas demo (2019)—

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“An interesting NCPA lec-dem by the always-fun Satyasheel Deshpande, comparing four bandish: ‘Aba More Raama’ [Kirana, 1:33], ‘Jaa Jaa Re/Naadir Dir Tom’ [Gwalior, 9:32], and ‘Bin Bajave Mae Re’ [Gwalior, 20:13]…”

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—Listen—

A brief selection of superb renditions

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–Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1967)–

• Dagarvani rudra veena (10m): a favourite raga of the Dagarvani clan, rendered by one of its all-time greats – with invaluable close-ups of his delicate fretting motions and plucking techniques (Parrikar: “the deep sonorous tones of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar’s rudra veena summon a magisterial ambience. ‘Shuddha Todi‘ is his brand name for the Hindustani Todi…”)

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[jor, e.g. 5:43] S(NS) (S)N r, S, d, (d)M, (N)d, S(NSN), S, (g)r, (r)g\r, (g)r, S S, S(NSN)r S, M(Nd) d/S, S (N)S, (N)S…

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–Rashid Khan (~2010s)–

• Rampur-Sahaswan khayal (11m): expanding on the famous Langar Kankariya Na Maro bandish with Benares tabla maestro Samar Saha in fine support (also watch Khan supporting his guru Bhimsen Joshi in a Todi jugalbandi – as well as Joshi’s rendition of the same composition with Sabri Khan on sarangi):

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[bandish, e.g. 2:17] (rM)g d\Md d, dd d(P)P, (PM)Pd(P) M\g, g d\Md d, dd(P) (PM)P, M/dP(g), (rM)g d\Md d(NdPd)…

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–Further Recordings–

• Habib Ali Khan (4m): a fascinating historical snapshot played on the vichitra veena, a rare glass-sliding instrument
• Aarshin Karande (4m): “Sadarang is enraptured by an enchanting beauty; whose face is like the moon, and words ensnare…”
• Ram Deshpande (9m): an AUTRIM pitch-graph (“depicting a lover complaining about her beloved’s aggressive behaviour”)
• Shahid Parvez (11m): captivating layakari from the very first Darbar festival in 2007, a tribute to Bhai Gurmit Singh Virdee
• Mehr Ali (15m): a 1961 Dhrupad rendering from the seldom-heard Talwandi gharana, with Bhai Naseera on pakhawaj
• Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (29m): the Patiala pioneer sings the bandish Allah Jane Maula Jane (also see a brief live rendition)
• Sharan Rani (30m): from a 1961 album, showcasing the sarod queen’s distinctive spin on the raga’s twists and turns
• Amjad Ali Khan (31m): another sarod interpretation, exploring some of Todi’s more soothing dimensions via a drut ektal gat
• Kishori Amonkar (35m): an AIR session, featuring a rare performance of her self-composed Kirpa Karo Kartar bandish
• Basavraj Rajguru (38m): critic Deepa Ganesh hails the “short improvisations and lush taans: an unforgettable composition”
• Bhimsen Joshi (44m): at the peak of his command, from a well-recorded 1963 baithak with Shaikh Dawood on tabla
• Kamalesh Maitra (45m): the thudding tones of the tabla tarang draw fresh moods from the raga’s dissonant geometries
• Nikhil Banerjee (49m): an AIR Kolkata session with Karamatullah Khan on tabla, spliced to a later T-Series recording
• Ulhas Kashalkar (60m): at Dover Lane 2001, with Purshottam Walawalkar’s harmonium and Suresh Talwalkar’s tabla

• Experiments •

Novel interpretations of the raga’s essence…

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—Utsav Lal (fluid piano)—

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“The ‘Fluid Piano’…incorporates ‘fluid tuning’ mechanisms, enabling musicians to alter each note by precise microtonal intervals. It is an acoustic piano with no tuning restrictions, not limited to one predominant cultural tuning, offering an immense diversity of scales and modes from all around the world. It even gives you the freedom to alter the tuning whilst playing…The massive expansion in artistic choices, expression and capabilities are incredibly exciting…” (Utsav Lal)

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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: Todi thaat, Multani, Annapurna

Also compare to other members of the Todi raganga

–Proximate Forms–

Gujiri Todi = ‘Todi no Pa‘

Bhupali Todi = ‘Todi no Ma/Ni‘

Shree = ‘Todi shuddha Ga‘

Simhendra Madhya. = ‘Todi shuddha Re‘

(n.b. these are just ‘scalar similarities’, with nothing particular implied about phraseological overlap)

–Swara Geometries–

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• Core form: S–r–g–M–P–d–N–S

• Reverse: SrGmMDNS (=Lalita Sohini)

• Complement: SRGmDnS (=Rageshri)

• Imperfect: 2 (ga, Pa)

• Detached: none

• Symmetries: none

• Murchanas: Todi set

–Global Translations–

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• Carnatic: ~Shubhapantuvarali (mela #45)

S-R₁-G₂-M₂-P-D₁-N₃-S

• Jazz: Lydian b2 b3 b6

1-b2-b3-#4-5-b6-7-8

• Pitch classes (‘fret-jumps’):

0-1-3-6-7-8-11-0

(1–2–3–1–1–3–1)

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o o • o • • o o o • • o o

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• Tanpura: Sa–Pa (+Ni)

• Names: Todi, Miyan ki Todi, Mian ki Todi, Darbari Todi, ‘Shuddha Todi’

• Transliterations: Hindi (तोडी); Urdu (ٹوڈی); Bengali (তোড়ি); Punjabi (ਤੋਡਿ); Kannada (ತೋಡಿ)

—More—

Further info: links, listenings, learnings, etc

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• Raag Todi: [coming soon]

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• Header audio: Jor by Imdadkhani sitarist Budhaditya Mukherjee (2018)
• Header image: ‘Dharmashala in the compound of Hoshang Shah’s Tomb‘, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh (Commons)

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