Megh (raga)
Hindustani raga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Megh is a Hindustani classical raga. The meaning of megh in Sanskrit is 'cloud'. Hence this raga is mostly sung or played in the monsoon season. Another raga which describes rain is raga Malhar. These two ragas were merged and a new raga developed, raga Megh Malhar. The Carnatic music equivalent of this raga is Madhyamavati.
| Thaat | Kafi |
|---|---|
| Time of day | Any time during the rainy season |
| Season | Rainy season |
| Arohana | S M R M P Ṉ Ṡ |
| Avarohana | Ṡ Ṉ P M R M Ṉ̣ R S |
| Pakad | R R S Ṉ̣ S M R P M R Ṉ̣ S |
| Vadi | Sa |
| Samavadi | Pa |
| Equivalent | Madhyamavathi (Carnatic) Egyptian Pentatonic Scale (Western) |
Theory
Arohana & Avarohana
Arohana: S M R M P Ṉ Ṡ
Avarohana: Ṡ Ṉ P M R M Ṉ̣ R S
Pakad
R R S Ṉ̣ S M R P M R Ṉ̣ S
Vadi & Samavadi
In this raga vadi is Sa and samavadi is Pa – Re is used a lot but always sliding down from M, n always slides from P
Organization & Relationships
Related ragas: Ragas of Malhar family, namely Megh Malhar, Miyan ki Malhar, Gaud Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar, Dhuliya Malhar, etc. as well as Madhmad Sarang.
Thaat: Kafi.
Mixture
The meaning of Megh in Sanskrit is 'Cloud'. This raga is usually sung or played in the Monsoon season. Another raga which describes rain is raga Malhar. Merging these two gives a new raga: Megh Malhar, which has elements of both these ragas.
Behaviour
Samay (Time)
Late night.
Seasonality
Raga Megh is associated with the monsoon.
Rasa
Gambhir rasa
Origins
This is one of the very old ragas found in Indian classical music. This raga is connected to Lord Krishna, when he lifted Govardhan Parvat (mountain) on his little finger during the Govardhan leela.
Film songs
Language: Hindi
| Song | Film | Year | Composer | Singer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaike Pan Banaraswala | Don | 1978 | Kalyanji-Anandji | Kishore Kumar |
| Teri Tasveer Ko | Sawan Ko Aane Do | 1979 | Raj Kamal | K. J. Yesudas |
| Kahan Se Aaye Badra | Chashme Buddoor | 1981 | K. J. Yesudas, Haimanti Shukla | |
| Chaiyya Chaiyya
(Deviates in between at a few points) |
Dil Se.. | 1998 | A. R. Rahman | Sukhwinder Singh, Sapna Awasthi |
| Dheem Ta Dare | Thakshak | 1999 | Surjo Bhattacharya | |
| Munni Badnaam Hui | Dabangg | 2010 | Lalit Pandit | Mamta Sharma |
| Shankara Re Shankara | Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior | 2020 | Mehul Vyas | Adarsh Shinde |
| Sharaarat
(Loosely based) |
Dhurandhar | 2025 | Shashwat Sachdev | Madhubanti Bagchi, Jasmine Sandlas |
| Naal Nachna
(Loosely based) |
Afsana Khan, Reble |
Language: Tamil
A few songs are composed in Raga Madhyamavathi, the Carnatic equivalent of Megh.
| Song | Film | Composer | Singer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muthukkalo Kangal | Nenjirukkum Varai | M. S. Viswanathan | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela |
| Kana Kaanum | Agni Sakshi | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Saritha | |
| Aagaya Gangai | Dharma Yuddham | Ilayaraja | Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki |
| Tholvi Nilayenna Ninaithal | Oomai Vizhigal | Manoj-Gyan | P B Sreenivas, Abavanan, Chorus |
| Velli Malarae | Jodi | A. R. Rahman | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Mahalakshmi Iyer |
| Oru Deivam Thantha Poove | Kannathil Muthamittal | P. Jayachandran, Chinmayi | |
| Thumbi Thullal(Abheri traces also) | Cobra | Nakul Abhyankar, Shreya Ghoshal | |
| Thom Karuvil Irunthom (Reused from "Dheem Ta Dare") | Star | Shankar Mahadevan | |
| Ennai Konja Konja | Aathi | Vidyasagar | Hariharan, Sujatha Mohan |
Important recordings
- Amir Khan, Ragas Megh and Lalit, His Master's Voice LP (long-playing record), EMI-EASD1331
- Pt Ajoy Chakraborty -Raag Megh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg6LDWgv4Tc)
References
- The Raga Guide: A Survey of 74 Hindustani Ragas. Zenith Media, London: 1999.
- Ramashreya Jha explains the difference between Sarang and Megh http://www.parrikar.org/hindustani/sarang/