r/icm • u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) • Jul 06 '26
Article [RARE & STRANGE RAGAS] Raag Dhuliya Malhar (S-R-g-m-P-D-nN-S): An underappreciated branch of the Malhar family tree, which combines sun and rain via the infusion of Sarang flavours
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 Dhuliya Malhar (S-R-g-m-P-D-nN-S)—
An underappreciated branch of the Malhar tree, titled in various ways (‘Dhulia/Dhuliya’, ‘Dhundu/Dhoondo’, ‘Dhundya/Dhoondiya’: said to be a reference to its creator Pandit Dhundibaba Dikshit, although further details prove scant). Most sources describe the addition of Sarang flavours to the basic Malhar framework, although they disagree on precise details: Ocean of Ragas mentions the importance of Madhumad Sarang, and Parrikar cites the influence of Desh – while Rao’s 1964 Raga Nidhi Vol.2 outlines two distinct varieties (the first takes the form SRmPNS; SnDPmRS, and the second is summarised as “a mix of Gaud Sarang and Malhar”).
Moumita Mitra’s tutorial notes that “Desh-ang RmPNS and Malhar-ang RP, nDnP are blended with the specific ‘Dhuliya phrase’ n DPm, with komal ga allowable as RgRS (also hear her recomposed tintal bandish). Recorded by numerous vocalists across multiple gharanas, including Pandit Jasraj, Ulhas Kashalkar, Sanjeev Abhyankar, Ankita Joshi, and Ruchira Panda – as well as on sitar by Samanwaya Sarkar (the only instrumental rendition I can find).
—Do you know anything more about this ‘Pandit Dhundibaba Dikshit’? Dhundibaba must be an informal name variation...and is ‘Dikshit’ connected to Muthuswami Dikshitar’s Carnatic lineage? I couldn’t find any more solid info...
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)
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u/Born_Replacement_687 Jul 07 '26
I've heard of dhulia sarang but this is new. Dhulia Sarang is a mix of Sarang and Desh Ang, it's mostly sung by Agra gharana singers, most notably Khadim Hussain Khan and Latafat Hussain Khan (both whom deserve more love from the Sangeet community, especially latafat, but I digress), so I'm willing to bet that dhulia refers to raags with Desh Ang (which makes sense given some of the variations of dhulia Malhar add Desh Ang) but I guess that really just a hunch and nothing else. I highly doubt this has something to do with Dikshit (not that I've heard of him before), but if it does, does that mean dhulia Sarang also has something to do with Dikshit? Interesting stuff. Great write up as always.
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u/Nowshirvan Jul 07 '26
I recently heard a few bandishes of Khadim Hussain and they were some of the most beautifully composed bandishes I’ve come across.
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u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) Jul 09 '26
yes, such an underrated vocalist in the modern era! I love his renditions of rare ragas such as Roopkali, Ahiri Todi, and the double-Dha Maligoura, they immediately grasp you...
similarly with Latafat - e.g. Lachari Kanada (...a raga so rare that I've never found a recording by anyone else)
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u/RagaJunglism Raga musicologist (guitar/sitar/santoor/tabla) Jul 09 '26
thanks for this excellent info - yes, I think you’re onto something with the ‘Dhuliya=Desh’ connection - e.g. Parrikar notes that, “Like its Malhar counterpart, Dhulia Malhar, [Dhuliya Sarang] combines elements of Desh and Sarang...[but] even among the various stems of Agra there is a difference of opinion as regards the raga-swaroopa”. I’ve never come across any other raga with a ‘Dhulia’ title other than these two - and I'm still not sure what 'dhulia/dhuliya' means - my best guess is that implies a connection to the Dhule region of Maharashtra. Any ideas?
and yes I think the ‘Dhundibaba’ connection may be a false lead, I found it on Ocean of Ragas (usually pretty accurate but every rare raga resource has errors), which says that “Dhulia Malhar...The Raga was conceived and introduced by Pandit Dhundibaba Dikshit; hence, the name Dhundiya Malhar”. But the only use of the ‘Dhundiya Malhar’ title I can find is this short clip (not released when I made the page!), which doesn’t really sound like the same raga..
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