Meendमींड Get the app

Raag · 9 pm – midnight · Romance, the rains

देसDesh

Romance and the rains: shuddh Ni going up, komal Ni coming down, and the turn Re Ga Ni Sa that every listener knows.

This landscape is drawn from the raag: the far mountain rises with its aaroh and falls with its avaroh, and the near hills follow its pakad.

64 madhya
About these soundsMeend makes the harmonium and santoor sounds itself. They aren’t recordings of real instruments, so they sound close, but not quite the same. They are here to let you hear how the swaras go.The tanpura and tabla are recordings of real ones.
SRGMPDNNदेस

Tap a swara to hear it

Thaat
Khamaj
Jati
Audav–Sampurna
Vadi and samvadi
Re and Pa
Its hour
9 pm – midnight, 2nd prahar of the night
Its season
The rains
Its mood
Romance, the rains

Desh is a raag of romance and of the monsoon, sung in the second prahar of the night and, in the rains, at any hour. It belongs to Khamaj thaat, and like many Khamaj raags it uses both Nis: shuddh going up, komal coming down. It is among the most loved raags in light classical music.

Hear it

Aaroh
SRMPNS
Avaroh
SNDPMGRGNS
Pakad
RMPNSNDPMGRGNS

How it moves

Re is Desh's vadi and Pa its samvadi. Its climb leaves out Ga and Dha:

Up from Re to taar Sa, by shuddh Ni
RMPNS
Down by komal Ni
NDP
The turn everyone knows: Re, Ga, Ni below, and home
MGRGNS
Re to Pa
RMP
High, to taar Re
PNSRS

Its hour

1st prahar of the day, 6–9 am12nd prahar of the day, 9 am – noon23rd prahar of the day, noon – 3 pm34th prahar of the day, 3–6 pm41st prahar of the night, 6–9 pm12nd prahar of the night, 9 pm – midnight23rd prahar of the night, midnight – 3 am34th prahar of the night, 3–6 am4midnight6 amnoon6 pmnightdayDesh9 pm – midnight
2nd prahar of the night, 9 pm – midnight. Its hour’s other raags: Durga, Khamaj, Kafi, Bihag, Charukeshi, Pahadi.

Desh belongs to the second prahar of the night, from 9 to midnight, and to the rains.

On the bansuri

  • S
  • R
  • G
  • M
  • P
  • D
  • N
  • N
  • S
Its swaras on the bansuri, from Sa to taar Sa: a dark hole closed, a half-dark one half closed. Every swara’s fingering, in your key →

Look-alikes

Khamaj uses both Nis too, but dwells on Ga, leaves out Re going up, and has a lighter, more playful mood:

SRGMPDNNदेसDeshVadi Re, samvadi Pa · 9 pm – midnight
Desh’s pakad
RMPNSNDPMGRGNS
SRGMPDNNखमाजKhamajVadi Ga, samvadi Ni · 9 pm – midnight
Khamaj’s pakad
NDMPDMGSGMG
The same swaras: they differ in where they dwell and how they move.

Miyan ki Malhar, the other great raag of the rains, has both Nis side by side and a komal Ga:

SRGMPDNNदेसDeshVadi Re, samvadi Pa · 9 pm – midnight
Desh’s pakad
RMPNSNDPMGRGNS
SRGMPDNNमियाँ की मल्हारMiyan ki MalharVadi Ma, samvadi Sa · midnight – 3 am
Miyan ki Malhar’s pakad
RPMRPNDNSGMRS
Desh has Ga; Miyan ki Malhar has komal Ga.

Practise it

  1. Long notes on Re and Pa.
  2. The aaroh and avaroh, minding the two Nis.
  3. The pakad and the phrases.
Re and Pa, held
R–––––––P–––––––
A short aalap
RMP–NS––
NDP–MGR–
GNS–––––
RMPNSRS–
A riyaz of Raag Desh

Meend starts it with Aaroh–Avaroh, Pakad, Aalap and Bandish, 27 minutes a day, and listens as you play: each swara of the notation lit as it is played, the time kept, a lotus grown petal by petal.

Make it my riyazor check your playing on the tuner

Questions

Why does Desh use two Nis?

Shuddh Ni rises to Sa in the aaroh; komal Ni falls to Dha in the avaroh.

Is Desh a monsoon raag?

Yes: it belongs to the rains, as well as to the second prahar of the night.

How is Desh different from Khamaj?

Both use two Nis. Desh dwells on Re and Pa and leaves out Ga and Dha going up; Khamaj dwells on Ga and leaves out Re going up.