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 Madhukauns •
• Raag Hemavati •
S-R-g-M-P-D-n-S Adopted from Carnatic mela #58, Hemavati matches the swaras of ‘Kafi tivra Ma‘, ‘Madhuvanti komal ni’, or ‘Vachaspati komal ga’. Prominently associated with Hariprasad Chaurasia, although it is unclear who may have first borrowed the scale from the South: Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan also recorded it, as has Amjad Ali Khan, with broad melodic variance […]
• Raag Shanmukhpriya •
S-R-g-M-P-d-n-S A strange scale imported from the Carnatic mela #56, equivalent to ‘Darbari tivra Ma’ (or ‘Hemavati komal dha’). Despite its Southern popularity, it is still little-known in the North, with only a few Hindustani artists having explored it in any depth. Among these, Rampur-Sahaswan singer Hafeez Ahmed Khan provides direct insight into its workings […]
• Raag Tivrakauns •
S-g-M-d-n-S 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 […]
• Raag Komal Ramkali •
S-r-g-M-P-d-n-S A strange sampurna scale, equivalent in shape to ‘Todi komal Ni’ or ‘Bhairavi tivra Ma’ (or ‘Todi’s poorvang + Bhairavi’s uttarang’: SrgM+PdnS) – indeed, the scale matches a historic form of Todi itself (Bor: “Todi Varali…first mentioned by Ahobala c.1665, with the scale SrgMPdnS”). Aside from Sa and Pa, Komal Ramkali has no shuddha […]
• Raag Harikauns •
S-g-M-D-n-S Among the strangest of pentatonic scales, Harikauns resembles ‘Hemavati no Re/Pa’ or ‘Madhukauns with Dha-for-Pa’ (or ‘Malkauns with the middle two swaras raised’) – forming a ‘diminished square’ of 3-semitone jumps (SgMD) plus a (symmetry-destroying) komal ni. Aside from a natural uttarang focus, the raga allows for near-complete freedom of motion – but presents inherent […]
• Raag Chandni Todi •
S-r-g-M-P-D-n-S Equivalent to ‘Todi’s poorvang + Kafi’s uttarang‘ (or ‘Ahiri tivra Ma’), the SrgM+PDnS scale has barely been explored in Hindustani music – in fact, I couldn’t trace a single recording of it until late 2025, when vocalist Ashish Dha sent me his experiment in a new raga titled Chandni Todi (‘Moonlit Todi’). He describes […]
• Raag Mangal Gujari •
S-r-g-M-d-n-S A strange shadav scale matching the swara set of ‘Gujiri Todi komal ni’ or ‘Meladalan minus shuddha ma’. Its structure presents a unique combination of geometric quirks: Sa is ‘detached’ (=Pa and ma are both varjit), and all other swara positions are vikrit (rgdn: komal, M: tivra) – leaving the ultra-rare ‘tivra Ma, no […]
• Raag Madhukant •
S-R-g-M-P-D-n-S An oddly-shaped and thinly-analysed sampurna raga, taking the shape of ‘Madhuvanti’s poorvang + Kafi’s uttarang’ (SRgM+PDnS: i.e. ‘Kafi tivra Ma’). Analysed by Jairazbhoy in 1971: “Ragas in which the Pa has a leading note [MP], while the Sa does not [nS]…Madhukauns and Madhukant are both modern ragas which appear to be evolving rapidly…Madhukant [is] […]
