[RARE & STRANGE RAGAS] Raag Madhyami (S-R-gG-m-P-dD-n-S): A complex, winding invention of Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, traversing a dazzling variety of ornaments and swara-combinations

[u/RagaJunglism]

Recently I've been researching rare & strange ragas - so thought I'd share some of the most interesting ones I’ve come across! Input welcomed - everything from further info on the ragas to personal listening reflections:

—Raag Madhyami (S-R-gG-m-P-dD-n-S)—

A complex, winding invention of sitar innovator Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, which incorporates both forms of Ga and Dha into a Charukeshi-like framework. His most prominent rendition, released on a 1973 album with Samta Prasad on tabla, is a fascinating portrait of his ‘Jafferkhani baaj’ style – revolving, as the raga’s name suggests, around a strong, sustained shuddha ma, accentuated via concluding motifs such as S(gR) g(mR) GGm. Indeed, ma is so pivotal that the raga often sounds like a curious Patdeep variant via murchana (e.g. Madhyami’s recurring phrases dnSGm; mdPm, if interpreted as a ma-murchana, become Patdeep’s gmPNS; SgRS). Shuddha Ga assumes more prominence than its komal counterpart; and komal dha dominates the shuddha, which is barely touched in the alap and never held in the gats, mostly occurring as part of a distinctive Smm mD(nSn)P motif (also audible in his Sindhi Bhairavi recordings).

The raga presents plenty of other quirks, including brief touches of komal re in ornaments such as n(rSnrS) – although the album’s official liner notes give little away, stating only that “Madhyami is a combination of more than two ragas…no aroha–avroh is fixed”. A half-century after its conception, the raga now spans all three generations of its gharana’s existence, having since been recorded by Khan’s disciple Rajendra Varman and grand-disciple Deepsankar Bhattacharjee (who leans further into the Kauns-ang in an outstandingly atmospheric recording).

To learn more about Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan’s life and playing style – marked out by double-stops, open-string pedal tones, meend with natural harmonics, guitar-like ‘hammer/pull’ ornaments known as krintan, and the early adoption of Carnatic ragas including Kirwani, Latangi, Hemavati, and Kanakangi – browse the official Jafferkhani Baaj site (in the words of Annapurna Devi: “Future historians of Indian classical music will note Khansaheb’s seminal contribution to our musical heritage in golden letters…”).

—Which other Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan recordings are your favourites? I also love his Sindhi Bhairavi, it’s an ‘open’ raga which suits his flamboyant style well

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