S-R-m-P-D-S Beguiling in its pentatonic simplicity, Durga (‘invincible, impassable’) is inextricably tied to visions of the Mother Goddess: depicted in Hindu lore as a destroyer of demons and protector of the faithful. Despite these ancient associations, the raga is of relatively recent Carnatic import, only gaining broad acceptance among Northern rasikas around the mid-20th century. […]
• Raag Durga •
• Raag Bhupali •
S-R-G-P-D-S Hailed for its structural simplicity, Bhupali is often the first raga taught to Hindustani students. While the same Major Pentatonic scale form is shared by countless global cultures, India’s incarnation (named for Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal region) presents its own quirks – invoking tranquillity and home-bound reassurance with interlinked sliding motions and emphatic resolutions. Shares […]
• Raag Pahadi •
S-R-G-P-D-S Said to derive from Bengali or Kashmiri folk tunes, Pahadi (meaning ‘mountain’ or ‘of the hills’) combines the playful with the pensive. 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 virtually any swara being permitted, […]
• 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 allied forms (given the […]
• Raag Zeelaf •
S-G-m-P-d-S A rare audav raga fabled to have been created by 13th-century qawwali pioneer Amir Khusrau, somewhat resembling ‘Charukeshi minus Re & ni’. As per Rajan Parrikar, “this haunting pentatonic melody is composed of the following swaras: SGmPd: Jitendra Abhisheki gives a superb account with his own composition. Notice the strong ma…[and] the subtle Gm/S meend”. […]
• Raag Vijayanagari •
S-R-g-M-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Malini Rajurkar (~1980s)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Tilak Bhairav •
S-rR-G-m-P-dD-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Dhruv Tara Joshi (~1960s)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: […]
• Raag Shuddha Malhar •
S-R-m-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Lalith J. Rao (1994)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: […]
• Raag Shobhawari •
S-R-m-P-d-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Aslam Khan (~2000s)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Shivranjani •
S-R-g-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Shivnath & Deobrat Mishra (2013)— [mishra refrain, e.g. 3:37] DSgg, gRS, RRgR, (R)SSGG, GPDP, ggRS(R)S… • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | […]
• Raag Shivawanti •
S-R-g-M-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Imrat Khan (2007)— [refrain, e.g. 17:40] R(/g\)R, S RS, (SD)PDP, S, R(/g\)R… • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 […]
• Raag Reva •
S-r-G-P-d-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Joydeep Mukherjee (2021)— [sanchari, e.g.1:05] r/m m, m\r r, S S(d) d/S, S d/r r, r(S) (S)d, P P, r/m m, m\r r, S… • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also […]
• Raag Rati Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-dD-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Kumar Gandharva (~1980s)— [refrain, e.g. 18:18] m, (G)m (G)r\S, G, m, PD(N)S, S(nDnPm), m(PDnDnP) G(mG)G\r(G)S, S\d, N S, m, m(P)… • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag […]
• Raag Malavi •
S-r-G-M-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Manjiri Asnare-Kelkar (2020)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Jaldhar Kedar •
S-R-m-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —K.G. Ginde (1985)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Jait Kalyan •
S-R-G-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Mallikarjun Mansur (1968)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Jait •
S-rR-G-P-D-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Hariprasad Chaurasia (2010)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav | […]
• Raag Gunkali •
S-r-m-P-d-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Kedar Bodas (2015)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Gunakri •
S-r-m-P-d-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Vidyadhar Vyas (1997)— [refrains, e.g. 1:04] P(d)mPdP, m m, (g)r r, S S, P; (m)P mm, g\r, n\d(nd) d/S, SS… • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag […]
• 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. Taking a vadi-samvadi of Dha–Ga (as opposed to Bhupali’s Ga-Dha), the raga is uttarang-dominant, with a melodic focus on vakra movements in madhya and taar saptaks. Dha […]
• Raag Chatuswari Bhavani •
S-R-m-D-S Distinguished by allowing only four swaras (‘chatu’=four, ‘swara’=tones), Bhavani’s symmetrical shape is akin to a ‘Durga no Pa’. Its intriguing surtar sparsity necessitates a multipolar approach to melodic resolution, tempting a murchana-like refocus towards the triads available from Re (RmD: minor) and ma (mDS: major). Associated with the 20th-century experiments of Gwalior vocalist Narayanrao […]
• Raag Bangal Bhairav •
S-r-G-m-P-d-S [summary] • Raga Megalist (300+) • Search | Glossary | Tags • Hindustani Raga Index • —Priyanshu Ghosh (2022)— [Swaras] • Classifiers • Explore hidden inter-raga connections: swara geometries, melodic features, murchana sets, ragangas, & more (also see the Full Tag List): Swaras: -4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10+ Sapta: Audav […]
• Raag Abhogi •
S-R-g-m-D-S The Carnatic-imported Abhogi is a rare ‘audav Kanada’ raga – somewhat resembling ‘Darbari no Pa/ni’ (or, if the mgmRS Kanada signature is de-emphasised, ‘Bageshri aroha no ni’). As per Tanarang, the raga’s capacity for Darbaric poorvang movements “creates a deep atmosphere…[which] can be expanded in all the three octaves” – while the ultra-sparse uttarang […]
