S-g-m-d-n-S Among the most revered ragas in the entire Hindustani pantheon, Malkauns (‘He who wears serpents as garlands’) combines structural simplicity with a nuanced mythological ethos. Said to have been composed by the goddess Parvati to soothe Lord Shiva’s murderous rage, in turn inspired by his wife Sati’s fiery death, its ‘all-komal‘ swara set is […]
• Raag Malkauns •
• Raag Todi •
S-r-g-M-P-d-N-S 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, […]
• Raag Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-d-N-S Revered as the foremost raga of Lord Shiva, the morning Bhairav takes its name from Kala Bhairava (‘Bhaya-Rava’: ‘the one who roars fear’) – an apocalyptic manifestation of the deity fabled to have cut off one of Brahma’s five heads to silence his arrogance. Renditions reflect the gravity of these ancient tales, depicting Shiva’s […]
• Raag Darbari •
S-R-g-m-P-d-n-S Darbari has been described as “the Emperor of Ragas, and the Raga of Emperors”. Its majestic tones famously echoed across the marble floors of Mughal palaces in centuries past, bringing solemn relief to kings, warlords, and diplomats alike. Consequently, modern renditions tend to retain a grave, reverential patience, pairing pakad of (n)dnP & (m)gmR amidst […]
• Raag Puriya Dhanashree •
S-r-G-M-P-d-N-S Like the scale-congruent Shree, Puriya Dhanashree’s versatile hemitonic clusters outline a major triad (SGP) with Sa and Pa ‘enclosed’ by their neighbours to present two sets of three adjacent swaras (NSr, MPd). Pa, while often omitted in aroha, exerts its gravity on descending melodies, easing the tension of the tivra Ma by providing temporary […]
• Raag Bhupali •
S-R-G-P-D-S Hailed for its structural simplicity, Bhupali is often the first raga taught to Hindustani students. While its basic ‘Major Pentatonic‘ scale form is shared by countless global cultures, the North Indian incarnation (named for Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal region) presents its own quirks – invoking tranquillity and home-bound reassurance with interlinked sliding motions and emphatic […]
• Raag Ahir Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-D-n-S Ahir Bhairav’s unique swara set is inextricably linked to visions of the Indian sunrise. While the raga’s poorvang matches the usual pattern of the Bhairav raganga (SrGm), its uttarang presents its own geometries, taking a shuddha Dha and komal ni (PDnS) in a manner closer to the Kafi–ang (although many artists tune their Dha sruti […]
• Raag Puriya •
S-r-G-M-D-N-S A prominent sunset raga, Puriya takes the same six swaras as Marwa and Sohini, reworking them to present a distinct set of melodic forces. Renditions tend to focus on mandra and madhya saptak, seeking a relatively even balance between ascending and descending phrases – with its character often considered more ‘melodic’ than Marwa (which is […]
• Raag Marwa •
S-r-G-M-D-N-S Notable for omitting its own Sa for long stretches, the hexatonic Marwa conjures moods of ‘austere, spiritual renunciation’ – summoning these sentiments with low, slow lines which patiently outline the raga’s highly irregular geometry (three adjacent plus three wide-set swaras: NSr; GMD). Its descent-dominant melodies, which avoid Pa throughout, often tease at resolutions which […]
• Raag Parameshwari •
S-r-g-m-D-n-S A mellifluous modern form created by Ravi Shankar in 1968, via a murchana rotation of Kameshwari (itself the product of backseat travel boredom in Bengal). While somewhat resembling a ‘komal re Bageshri’, Parameshwari’s hexagonal structure is ripe for open-ended experiments, summoning its own colours and tensions – and, despite its young history, has already garnered significant […]
• Raag Bilawal •
S-R-G-m-P-D-N-S Approximates the Western Major Scale, thus taking an ‘all-shuddha’ sampurna swara set – and selected by the great V.N. Bhatkhande as the titular raga of Bilawal thaat – although its popularity has declined in the century since (partly in favour of prakritis such as Tilak Kamod and Bihari). Dha and Ga assume vital roles […]
• Raag Durga •
S-R-m-P-D-S Beguiling in its pentatonic simplicity, Durga (Sanskrit: ‘invincible, impassable, inaccessible’) is inextricably tied to visions of the Hindu Mother Goddess: depicted in lore as a destroyer of demons and protector of the faithful (Maa Durga: who, according to legend, “was created to slay the buffalo demon Mahisha by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the lesser gods, […]
• Raag Kalavati •
S-G-P-D-n-S A playful pentatonic form, neatly structured as a stack of ‘regularly narrowing’ intervals (4>3>2>1 semitones). The wide, sparse poorvang (SG) and clustered uttarang (PDnS) combine to bring a reassuring momentum, with increasing melodic urgency as you go higher (a ‘triple jump then a sprint’). Most Kalavati performances tend towards energy and rhythmic charge (Rahul […]
• Raag Basant Mukhari •
S-r-G-m-P-d-n-S Effectively blending the poorvang of Bhairav with the uttarang of Bhairavi (SrGm; PdnS), Basant Mukhari’s complex history bears the imprints of multiple musical cultures. While its modern inception is traceable to S.N. Ratanjankar’s eclectic Carnatic borrowings of the 1950s (also see Charukeshi: the same scale with shuddha re instead), many also explicitly link it to […]
• Raag Hansadhwani •
S-R-G-P-N-S Hansadhwani translates to ‘Call of Swans’, a creature with rich cultural associations in the Subcontinent: Saraswati, goddess of music and learning, is often depicted atop a swan, said to symbolise purity, discernment, and clarity of communication (n.b. While most scholars interpret the Sanskrit term ‘hamsa’ to mean ‘swan’, Rigvedic texts use the term loosely, […]
• Raag Chandrakauns •
S-g-m-d-N-S Chandrakauns is a spacious raga of relatively modern origin, only becoming distinct from divergent strains of ‘shuddha Ni Malkauns’ by around the mid-20th century. This Ni-for-ni replacement removes much of Malkauns’ symmetry and intervallic balance, with the chromatic leading-tone resolution (Ni>Sa) bringing more prominence to both swaras. Given these sharper tensions, it is often played […]
• Raag Charukeshi •
S-R-G-m-P-d-n-S Adopted from the Carnatic mela #26, Charukeshi (‘One with Beautiful Hair’) calls for wide-open melodic exploration, favouring long lines which wind around themselves while visiting the furthest reaches of all three octaves. Like many Southern scales, it may be used as a canvas for recolouring multiple ideas from adjacent ragas (see avirbhav–tirobhav), while itself […]
• Raag Megh (Malhar) •
S-R-m-P-n-S Among the oldest surviving members of the Malhar family, Megh (‘Cloud’) is said to have saved the life of Miyan Tansen himself. Legend holds that the great composer’s powerful rendition of the fire-bringing Deepak caused the oil lamps in Emperor Akbar’s 16th-century royal palace to ignite and burn uncontrollably – and, soon, all the […]
• Raag Gujiri Todi •
S-r-g-M-d-N-S A popular Todi variant named for its historic associations with Gujarat, India’s Westernmost state. Linked to the morning hours, it distinguishes itself from the main Todi by omitting Pa throughout. Tanarang cites a mood of “sweetness and karuna“, revolving around a deergha komal re – with komal dha also playing a prominent role, separated from […]
• Raag Shivranjani •
S-R-g-P-D-S A spellbinding raga resembling ‘Bhupali komal ga’ (or ‘Kafi no ma/ni’), Shivranjani’s melodies, described by Kalakar as “plaintive and haunting”, are said to appease the destructive rage of Lord Shiva (a similar mythology to that of Malkauns). Tanarang suggests illustrative combinations of SRgP; PDPgR; gRgSR DS, although interpretations vary greatly within the scale’s pentatonic […]
• Raag Vachaspati •
S-R-G-M-P-D-n-S Vachaspati (‘Lord of Speech’) is a recent import from the South, adapted from Carnatic music’s 64th mela scale around the mid-20th century by artists including Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. Consequently, its Northern form is still in a state of flux, with few firm melodic conventions aside from staying within the scale’s bounds – […]
• Raag Patdeep •
S-R-g-m-P-D-N-S Derived from the Dhanashree family, Patdeep somewhat resembles a ‘shuddha Ni Bhimpalasi’ (akin to the Western Melodic Minor), with both ragas ascending pentatonically before revealing Re and Dha in descent. Its unique scale structure, which features a distinctive run of four adjacent whole-tone jumps in descent (N>D>P>m>g), brings natural prominence to komal ga and shuddha Ni […]
• Raag Kafi •
S-R-g-m-P-D-n-S Perhaps more like a compendium of interlinked folk tunes than a ‘formally codified’ raga framework, Kafi offers expansive freedoms. Typically appearing in mishra (‘mixed’) form, its free-roaming melodies may borrow from affiliated ragas as well as drawing on a wide range of light-classical styles such as thumri, bhajan, dadra, and ghazal – although most […]
• Raag Nat (Shuddha) •
S-R-G-m-P-D-N-S Described by Parrikar as “singular for its unabashed promiscuity”, Nat is perennially popular as a jod ingredient (see Nat Bihag, Nat Bhairav, Nat Kamod, Chayanat, and Jaijaiwanti Nat). The raga has likely origins in the age before Hindustani and Carnatic music’s bifurcation (while seemingly being unrelated to the Southern ‘Nata’), although renditions of its […]
• Raag Bhupali Todi •
S-r-g-P-d-S A captivating audav raga said to symbolise spiritual purity, which essentially runs along the lines of ‘what if all Bhupali‘s chal swaras were set as komal rather than shuddha?’ (SRGPDS > SrgPdS). Most renditions are poorvang-dominant, drawing from the Todi-ang as well as reshaping phrases from Bhupali, Bilaskhani Todi, and other forms (given the uniqueness of […]
• Raag Ahir Lalit •
S-r-G-mM-D-n-S Introduced by Ravi Shankar, drawing from the swara material of three morning ragas: Ahiri, Ahir Bhairav, and Lalit. As per Deepak Raja, “for most listeners, Ahir Lalit will be unable to escape the shadow of Ahir Bhairav over the Lalit facet of the raga…since Ahiri is heard mainly as a Bhairav variant”. Nevertheless, the […]
• Raag Dhani •
S-g-m-P-n-S Despite its ‘Minor Pentatonic’ scale form enjoying global popularity as the predominant mode of blues, rock, pop, and countless other guitar-driven genres, Dhani is comparatively rare as a raga in its own right – with its swara set mostly being heard as the ‘aroha of Bhimpalasi’ rather than in isolation (…it may be the […]
• Raag Madhumad Sarang •
S-R-m-P-n-S Running along the lines of ‘Brindabani Sarang with komal ni only’, Madhumad Sarang is among the principal incarnations of its raganga (‘Madhumad’ derives from the Sanskrit ‘madhyamadi’: the Carnatic equivalent is similarly titled ‘Madhyamavati’). Ma and Pa are strong, and the PnS uttarang summons natural upward momentum via clusters such as PSn, PnS, PnSRm, […]
• Raag Tilak Kamod •
S-R-G-m-P-D-N-S Mirroring the tones of the Western Major Scale, Tilak Kamod’s seven swaras offer robust melodic flexibility across a range of sentiments (“heroic courage, philosophic poise, devotional contentment, suggestive eroticism…”). Some trace the raga’s origin to Pyar Khan, a rabab-playing descendent of Tansen via his son Bilas Khan, who is said to have picked it […]
• Raag Maru •
S-R-G-M-D-N-S Rare to the point of near-extinction in its own right, the historic Maru is now best known as an ingredient of the highly popular Maru Bihag. In the words of scholar-singer Arun Dravid: “It is not well known, even in the music world, that Maru Bihag is a mixed raga…very few people know that […]
• Raag Bairagi Todi •
S-r-g-P-n-S Created by Ravi Shankar, Bairagi Todi replaces Bairagi’s shuddha ma with a Todi-intoned ati-komal ga, retaining the concise audav structure while presenting an odd mix of narrow and wide intervals. Sometimes matched with unusual talas (e.g. Shankar’s original is in ‘sade-gyarah’: a ‘fractional‘ 11.5 matra cycle divided ‘4-4-2-1.5‘), the raga is explorable in all saptak, […]
• Raag Bairagi •
S-r-m-P-n-S Bairagi (‘detachment’, ‘separation’) is a pentatonic form inducted into the ragascape by an early-career Ravi Shankar – as recounted in Oliver Craske’s superlative biography Indian Sun, p.106: “Shankar created Bairagi in 1949, [publishing] the raga, and a bandish in it, in Sangeet Magazine”. The ‘Megh komal re‘ swara set – which may well have […]
• Raag Meladalan •
S-r-g-mM-d-n-S A truly mysterious creation I stumbled upon in Subbha Rao’s 1965 Raga Nidhi Vol.3: “’Meladalan’ and ‘Thatavidhwamasa’ are pseudo-names which Acharya Brahaspati…has given to a raga the identity of which [he] wants to keep unpublished for certain reasons. He points out, however, that it is an ancient raga which he wants to bring into life […]
• Raag Kirwani •
S-R-g-m-P-d-N-S Despite its congruence with the Western Harmonic Minor, Kirwani has origins in the Carnatic Keeravani (likely via Ravi Shankar‘s extensive Southern borrowings): thus lending it a natural popularity for North-South jugalbandi duets, offering artists from both cultures a rich expanse of shared melodic territory. Like many Southern imports, Kirwani is comparatively ‘open’, allowing for near-free […]
• Raag Deshkar •
S-R-G-P-D-S Typically summarised as ‘the other raga with Bhupali’s swaras’, Deshkar shuffles the same five tones to produce a mood suited more to the morning than evening hours – a legacy of the raga’s roots in the Bilawal raganga (whereas Bhupali hails from the Kalyan lineage). Taking a Bilawal-ang vadi-samvadi of Dha–Ga, the raga is […]
• Raag Shuddha Malhar •
S-R-m-P-D-S Perhaps the oldest surviving Malhar raga (‘shuddha’, as well as referring to ‘pure’ or ‘unaltered’ specific swaras, may also indicate a ‘primary’ or ‘original’ quality: as with the similarly-ancient Shuddha Basant), marked by “a ponderous gait and a meend-rich contour”. As per the accompanying notes to a K.G. Ginde lecture, Shuddha Malhar is distinguished […]
• Raag Reva •
S-r-G-P-d-S A rare pentatonic raga, Reva is often described as the ‘evening counterpart’ to Bibhas (or the ‘jawab to its sawal’), matching this samay designation by taking after the Poorvi–ang rather than Bibhas’ Bhairav-ang roots. Chiefly, its movements are distinguished from Bibhas via poorvang-focused sangatis including Gr; rS; SrrS, along with a greater exploration of the […]
• Raag Hindol •
S-G-M-D-N-S A captivating, challenging audav raga with all swaras appearing in their highest specific positions (i.e. no komals, and Ma, if present, is tivra: also see Bhupali, Hansadhwani, & Adbhut Kalyan). The name translates as ‘swinging’: indicative of the raga’s melodic character, which is built around ‘swaying’ motions between a SGD trio of nyas, with […]
• Raag Gunkali •
S-r-m-P-d-S An enchanting morning raga, matching the swara set of ‘Bhupali komal re/dha’ (or ‘Shobhawari komal re’), described by Tanarang as “an epitome of bhakti and karuna…straightforward, and expandable in all three octaves”. While audav at its core, multivariate forms of the raga are in existence: some include shades of shuddha Ga in avroh (bringing hints […]
• Raag Ahiri •
S-r-g-m-P-D-n-S Traditionally held to cure stomach ailments, Ahiri allows for long, kaleidoscopic melodies – with a scale form resembling ‘Bageshri komal re’, ‘Ahir Bhairav komal ga’, or even ‘Bhairavi shuddha Dha’. Artists are relatively free to roam throughout the scale – often accentuating the ‘equilateral triangle’ of nyas (r-m-D: an augmented triad) while also drawing on motions […]
• Raag Jaldhar Kedar •
S-R-m-P-D-S Jaldhar Kedar applies the movement patterns of Kedar to the swara set of Durga, also drawing on the monsoon melodies of the Malhar family. Shuddha ma is emphasised as a nyas (e.g. SRSm; mRPm; DPm), and the Malharic Re–Pa sangati is also strong, while Durga’s mRP; mRDS is replaced by mRP; mRS; SRSm. Study […]
• Raag Pahadi •
S-R-G-P-D-S Thought to derive from Kashmiri or Bengali folk tunes, Pahadi (meaning ‘mountain’ or ‘of the hills’) combines playful and subtle shades. While its Bhupali-congruent core form offers a certain sparse simplicity, the raga’s true magic is found in its extensive mishra capabilities, with the tasteful use of any swara being permitted – particularly in […]
• Raag Jaiwanti Todi •
S-r-g-m-P-D-n-S An Ahiri–prakriti raga introduced by Maharaja Jaiwant Singh Waghela (1904-1980): a hereditary King of Sanand who also gained wide renown as a spiritual teacher, vocal educator, and generous patron of the nascent Mewati gharana (also hear his famous Mata Kalika composition). Its twists and turns are linked to the lineages of Todi, Ahir Bhairav, […]
• Raag Malashree •
S-G-P-S Often said to comprise only three swaras (a SGP major triad), Malashree pushes the bounds of raga definition. Arguably, this challenge is its defining purpose, calling on performers to find expressive freedom within an ultra-limited framework (as per Dagarvani beenkar Bahauddin Dagar, “We do not believe in ‘small’ vs. ‘big’ ragas: Malashree for example […]
• Raag Imratkauns •
S-R-G-m-d-n-S Devised by Imdadkhani sitar and surbahar virtuoso Imrat Khan via blending the scales of Rageshri and Malkauns – producing a swara set matching ‘Charukeshi no Pa’. This mid-scale space presents a strong poorvang–uttarang separation, amidst the strange geometric regularity of the consecutive ‘2-2-2-2’ run (dnSRG: just a ma-to-Ma nudge from matching the whole-tone scale, […]
• Raag Firozkhani Todi •
S-r-g-M-d-S A fascinating audav raga formed by removing the Ni from Gujiri Todi – leaving an angular pentatonic shape which, aside from Sa, contains no shuddha swaras (n.b. the same scale is known as ‘Audav Todi’ and ‘Chaya Todi’ too: although the latter title is also separately applied to other fusions of Chaya and Todi). […]
• Raag Bibhas •
S-r-G-P-d-S The pentatonic Bibhas (or Vibhas) appears in at least three present-day forms: typically tilted towards either the Marwa, Bhairav, or Poorvi frameworks. The former takes a shuddha Dha, while the latter pair render it komal (thus drawing focus to Pa, which is often treated as a nyas). Prakriti with Reva in its komal dha […]
• Raag Madhukauns •
S-g-M-P-n-S A curious ‘Dhani tivra Ma’ scale introduced by vocalist Amir Khan via a ‘ma-murchana’ of Chandrakauns (listen to his sargam-demo of the process below) – full of inescapable tension, with 3 of the 5 swaras being imperfect, and the disbalancing Ma–ni sangati on stark display. Sometimes considered identical to Khan’s Chandramadhu, created as part […]
• Raag Madhusurja •
S-rR-mM-P-n-S A Kumar Gandharva creation, inspired by witnessing the plight of a goat as it was led past his house on the way to be sacrificed at a nearby Kali temple. To collate a few common tellings: “When the goat realises, it starts pleading to save its life. The vilambit bandish describes these prayers [‘bachaale […]
• Raag Jait Kalyan •
S-R-G-P-D-S A Bhupali–prakriti raga which blends Jait with the Kalyan-ang, retaining the former’s strong Pa–Sa sangati amidst descending lines from the latter such as DP(G)RS. Re may be played weakly in aroha, rendering some upward-moving sections of the raga surtar, while glides of (D)G and (P)G are frequent. Seemingly introduced to the ragascape by Jaipur-Atrauli […]
