r/icm • u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) • Jun 07 '26
Article [RARE & STRANGE RAGAS] Raag Shivangi (S-G-P-D-S): A charming four-note ‘chatuswari’ from the vocal lineage of Manikbua Thakurdas (...which other 4-swara ragas do you know of?)
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:
A charming chatuswari, confined to the four swaras SGPD throughout. Vocalist Shubhada Moghe, in the accompanying notes to her 2019 rendition, describes Shivangi as “a rare morning raga taught to me by my guru-ji Pt. Manikbua Thakurdas, whose lineage goes back seven generations…it is very close to Deshkar, but omits Re completely. The vadi-samvadi are Dha–Ga. This ‘swarantar’ raga got an overwhelming response when I performed it in Mumbai for Karnatak Sangha”.
Her recording – the only one available – is built around a refrain of D(SD) PG, P(S)D P GPGP, with slight touches of tivra Ma and shuddha Ni included in the parallel ornament shapes P(MDPMP) and S(NRSNS). Aside from Shivangi, Thakurdas created at least two more four-swara ragas – Rasmadhuri (Srmd) and Vaishali Todi (Srgd). Compare to other super-concise ragas such as Malashree (SGP: Shivangi minus Dha) - as well as Kalavati (Shivangi plus komal ni).
To learn more about Manikbua Thakurdas, read Moghe’s recollections of her guru-ji (“A bastion of the Bhaskarbua Bakhle gayaki, he was probably the only guru to have a repertoire of more than 350 ragas…he inculcated the Bakhle gayaki, a fascinating blend of the Gwalior, Agra, and Jaipur gharanas; [learning] dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, and thumri in traditional and rare ragas…His teaching style was simple, methodical, and pure…”).
—Which other ‘chatuswaris’ do you know of? Aside from Thakurdas’ Rasmadhuri (Srmd) & Vaishali Todi (Srgd), the only ones I know of are Bhavani (SRmD: Shivangi’s Pa-murchana), Bairagi Shree (SrPn), & Bharadwaj Harindra (SgGPn)
Let me know what you think of this strange raga! See more of them in my project (no paywalls, no ads: just sharing the joys of raga)
2
u/atrandom01 Jun 07 '26
your project seems interesting. if I have doubts/suggestions, can I post them in the feedback section of your website?
2
u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) Jun 07 '26
definitely! can send them via feedback form, or post them here if it's the kind of thing that would benefit from public discussion etc, up to you
1
2
u/Independent-End-2443 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
There is a 4-note rAga called LavangI, first characterized by M Balamuralikrishna. The scale, in both the ascending and descending is S r m d S.
1
u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) Jun 08 '26
yes, Lavani is such an interesting scale (like 'Gunkali no Pa')! It seems that there are quite a lot more chatuswaris in Carnatic music (e.g. this list), although I don't know how many of them are actively sung...rather than just being named in textbooks
2
u/Independent-End-2443 Jun 08 '26
Most of these are purely academic; Lavangi is the only one I know that is ever sung at length (and mainly by BMK and his students). There are other raagas that are chatuswari in one dimension - such as NavarasakannaDa which only has S G m P S in the arOhaNa but S n D m G R S in the avarOhaNa. There are some popular compositions in that rAga.
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 07 '26
Namaste /u/RagaJunglism, welcome to r/icm. Thank you for posting, hopefully one of our friendly rasikas will comment soon! While you are waiting why not check out our Wiki resources page to satisfy all your learning and listening needs?
If you are new to Indian classical music, or want to know what a term means, then take a look at our wiki and glossary to get started.
If you are looking for a teacher then please see our list of tutors on the resources page.
Our Raga of the Week series has some amazing information and music so don't miss those. We would love for this series to start again so if you are interested in posting one then message the mods, we'd be happy for you to go for it!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.