S-R-g-M-P-d-N-S Borrowed from a South Indian ragam (mela #57), Simhendra Madhyamam takes the form of ‘Kirwani tivra Ma’, ‘Todi shuddha re’, or ‘Madhuvanti komal dha’. Despite the broad popularity of its Carnatic congruent (hailed by Charulatha Mani as “regal, meditative, bold, and striking”), the raga remains rare in the North – with its phraseological norms […]
• Raag Simhendra Madhyamam •
• Raag Meghranjani •
S-r-G-mM-N-S A truly odd scale form, Meghranjani can be interpreted as either ‘Bhairav minus Pa & dha‘ (SrGmNS) or ‘Lalit minus dha‘ (SrGmMNS) – producing a strange shape which omits two consecutive generic swaras (see other such ragas in my ‘consecutive varjits‘ category, including Adbhut Kalyan, Devranjani, & Malashree). Originally borrowed from the Carnatic Megharanjani, the […]
• Raag Lalita Sohini •
S-r-G-mM-D-N-S A blend of the early-morning Lalit and late-night Sohini, with the melodies of the latter dominating the aural impression, reportedly created by Agra vocalist Yunus Ahmed Khan in the mid-20th century. Raja notes that “while Sohini is a resident of the upper tetrachord, Lalit is a resident of the lower tetrachord. Thus, the resulting melodic entity […]
• Raag Jogiya •
S-r-m-P-d-N-S Jogiya (from Sanskrit yogi: ‘State of Union’) is a shadav raga of considerable mystique. Tanarang recounts “a characteristic mood of devotion and detachment…Jogiya has komal re and dha like Bhairav, however they are not oscillated…and shuddha ma is powerful as nyas and vadi”. Generally expandable in madhya and taar saptaks, the raga’s geometries revolve […]
• Raag Chandrakaushiki •
S-R-g-m-P-d-nN-S An invention of Nikhil Banerjee, combining Chandrakauns and Kaushiki. Expanding on a Malkauns base, the shuddha Re opens up a broader array of intervals to and from the interlinked twin-Ni positions – with the komal dha playing a similarly vital role below. (n.b. While some online sources refer to the raga as having been “created by […]
• Raag Baradi •
S-r-G-M-P-D-N-S A long-lived and diffuse sonic lineage variously referred to as ‘Baradi’, ‘Barari’, ‘Varati’, and ‘Varali’, which appears in several overlapping modern forms, typically spanning the territory around Marwa thaat (Bhatkhande’s Sangeet Shastra Vol.3, published around a century ago, notes 13 distinct variants). Some artists omit tivra Ma, and others may add komal dha (‘Poorvi–ang’) – […]
• Raag Nandkauns •
S-gG-m-P-d-n-S A poorvang–uttarang blend of Jog and Malkauns created by vocalist Chinmoy Lahiri, which despite the name, contains no trace of Nand – as explained by his son Shyamal Lahiri: “Baba performed this raga at the All Bengal Music Conference…and Allauddin Khan Saheb wanted to know that from where it derived. My father said that […]
• Raag Devata Bhairav •
S-r-gG-m-P-d-N-S A double-Ga Bhairav derivative introduced by Agra gharana pioneer Azmat Hussain Khan ‘Dilrang’. As per Parrikar, the raga is distinguished from its parent with “the introduction of [an] avroh pragoya via the komal ga [mgrS]”. Some artists include subtle touches of komal ni, including Jitendra Abhisheki – who sings a madhyang-focused bandish (to me, reminiscent of […]
• Raag Vardhini •
S-gG-m-P-d-n-S Adapted from Carnatic music’s mela #32 (‘Ragavardhini’: strictly speaking, the Northern form should perhaps be spelled this way too), Vardhini matches the swaras of Nandkauns or ‘Jogkauns komal ni’. Seemingly introduced to the Northern ragascape via the Dagarvani Dhrupad – as per information kindly supplied by Pelva Naik, “Vardhini came into the Dagar gharana, as far […]
• Raag Triveni •
S-r-G-P-d-N-S Taking a hexatonic ‘Shree/Bhairav no ma’ swara set, Triveni’s main incarnation (also known as ‘Tirban/Tirvan’) comprises two congruent swara-clusters – SrG & PdN (both semitonal jumps of ‘1-3’). Melodic motions mostly take after Shree and Bhairav, particularly via a strong re–Pa sangati and G\rS descents – both evident in Shounak Abhisheki’s jhaptal bandish (Kalindi […]
• Raag Tankeshree •
S-r-G-M-P-d-N-S Tankeshree is a seldom-performed Shree–ang raga, which lies closest to the predominant form of Triveni (the same scale minus Ma). Pa is strong and tivra Ma is weak – at least based on the evidence of Omkarnath Thakur’s soaring 1940 rendition (Malan Laaye Chun Chun Kaliyan), which regularly ascends in sparse SGP fashion (also […]
• Raag Noor Sarang •
S-R-mM-P-D-N-S A rare raga of the Sarang family, around which there exists limited melodic consensus. As per Abhirang’s account, “when we only use tivra Ma in Shuddha Sarang, it is converted to Noor Sarang…in avroh, the Dha is kept ‘free’ [e.g. ornamented D(NP)]” – also noting its proximity to Jaymini Sarang (both Ni). Dhrupad interpretations […]
• Raag Mangal Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-D-N-S A ‘shuddha Dha Bhairav’ offshoot, which thus allows for Durga-like uttarang movements such as mPDS. Ronu Majumdar also touches on Bhupali (e.g. SDS SDPDS: gat transcribed below), placing these passages in contrast to Bhairav’s signature GrS conclusion phrase. Subbha Rao’s Raga Nidhi Vol.3 notes that the raga’s movements remain anchored in the pentatonic swara […]
• Raag Malti Basant •
S-r-G-mM-D-N-S A rare springtime raga, summarised in Narayanrao Patwardhan’s 1964 Raga Vigyan as a fusion of Puriya, Basant, Sohini, & Hindol (see chalan phrases below) – although Deepak Raja recounts a conversation with Ulhas Kashalkar, who states that “there is no Hindol in it…the raga has shades of Puriya and Sohini as well as Basant…Mainly [sung] in […]
• Raag Gauri Basant •
S-r-G-M-P-d-N-S Introduced by prolific raga creator Kumar Gandharva via fusing Gauri with Basant’s tivra Ma incarnation. His original renditions also prominently showcase a Bhairav-ang G\r slide – but this fragment lacks its usual support from shuddha ma above, instead being followed in the bandish by Basant-like turns such as GPd; PMPG (…this shift is timed […]
• Raag Lagan Gandhar •
S-R-gg̃G-P-D-S An oddball product of Kumar Gandharva’s limitless imagination, Lagan Gandhar (‘Full Ga Concentration’) is distinguished by taking a ‘triple-Ga’ – with an additional ‘quarter-tone’ sruti lying roughly halfway between the komal and shuddha shades (‘komalaa gandhar’: notated here as ‘g̃’). This strange tone-trio is often navigated in adjacent manner, with slow glides serving to […]
• Raag Saurashtra Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-dD-N-S A unique ‘double-Dha’ blend of the morning Bhairav with the night-time Bhinna Shadja, Saurashtra Bhairav’s movements vary across gharana boundaries. Abhirang, interpreting a pair of Ramrang compositions (Barani Na Jaye Chabi & Aba Main Kase Jaya Kahu), cites the importance of Bhinna Shadja’s mDNSNDm catchphrase – although most other movements fall in line with those of […]
• Raag Purva •
S-r-G-M-P-D-N-S As per Deepak Raja’s insightful analysis, “Purva [bears] resemblance to Puriya in terms of swara material, phraseology, melodic centre of gravity, and aural impression” – also adding that, while sitarist Vilayat Khan considered the raga indistinguishable from Puriya Kalyan, it is in fact marked out by “differential weightages given to different segments of the […]
• Raag Jait •
S-rR-G-P-D-S A charming audav raga with several disparate branches. In particular, the treatment of Re varies (some render it komal, and others shuddha, while Jaipur-Atrauli singers employ both forms) – with Dha, which must be taken vakra, also showing up in both its variants (albeit not within the same performance). Indeed, even renditions by the […]
• Raag Hansa Narayani •
S-r-G-M-P-N-S Taking the shape of ‘Puriya Dhanashree minus dha’, Hansa Narayani presents uttarang shades of Hansadhwani (PNS): another swan-related raga with Carnatic roots (‘Hansa’ suggests a swan-riding image of Saraswati, the four-armed Hindu goddess of music and learning, and ‘Narayani’ refers to an incarnation of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and fortune: collectively covering two-thirds of […]
• Raag Viyogavarali •
S-r-g-m-d-N-S An invention of Agra vocalist S.N. Ratanjankar, Viyogavarali (or ‘Viyog Varali Todi’) was derived by omitting Pa from the Carnatic Dhenuka (mela #9) – resembling ‘Chandrakauns plus komal re’ or ‘Gujiri Todi shuddha ma’. All swaras except Ni appear in their lowest specific variants, with the use of ga restricted to Todi-ang avroh motions (e.g. […]
• Raag Jogeshwari Pancham •
S-gG-m-P-D-n-S Created by Gwalior educator and vocalist Vishwanath Rao Ringe ‘Tanarang’ by adding touches of avroh Pa to Ravi Shankar’s Jogeshwari (itself a blend of Jog and Rageshri). Jogeshwari’s basic phraseology is retained, while also allowing elaborate extensions into Jog’s territory (the inclusion of komal ga means that all Jog’s swaras are now present). In […]
• Raag Dakshinatya Basant •
S-r-G-m-P-D-N-S A springtime raga described by sarodiya Joydeep Mukherjee as “very rare…adapted from Carnatic music” (hear him play it on “a very rare instrument, the Radhika Mohanveena”, created by Radhika Mohan Maitra in 1948 – accompanied by Subhasish Sabyasachi, “the first ambidextrous percussionist of India“). The name translates as ‘Southern Basant’ (to distinguish it from the […]
• Raag Kanakangi •
S-rR-m-P-dD-S A truly strange scale, Kanakangi is a recent import from the South, derived from the very first raga on the Carnatic melakarta wheel. As such, all 7 generic swaras are set to their lowest possible positions: a principle which, under Hindustani axioms, would produce Bhairavi (SrgmPdnS) – however the Carnatic swara-system allows for ‘double-komal’ […]
• Raag Namanarayani •
S-r-G-M-P-d-n-S Equivalent to ‘Basant Mukhari tivra Ma’, the SrGMPdnS swara-set – known in Carnatic music as Namanarayani, the 50th mela – has barely been played in the North. I searched hard during my quest to find matching ragas for the 32 ‘sampurna thaat’ scales (=all those with one variant each of ‘Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, […]
• Raag Rishabhapriya •
S-R-G-M-P-d-n-S Already a rare mode in Carnatic music (mela #62), Rishabhapriya has barely been touched by Hindustani musicians. Equivalent to ‘Charukeshi tivra Ma’ or ‘Vachaspati komal dha’, all poorvang swaras are set to their highest specific positions, and all uttarang swaras are at their lowest (SRGM+PdnS: like ‘Yaman’s poorvang + Bhairavi’s uttarang’). The rare Ma–ni sangati […]
