Megh (raga)
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. So these 2 ragas where merged and a new raga was developed, this raga is raga Megh Malhar.
| Thaat | Kafi |
|---|---|
| Time of day | Any time during the rainy season |
| Season | Rainy season |
| Arohana | S m R m P n S' |
| Avarohana | S' n P m R m 'n R S |
| Pakad | R R S 'n S m R P m R 'n S |
| Vadi | Sa |
| Samavadi | Pa |
| Hindustani classical music |
|---|
| Concepts |
| Genres |
| Thaats |
Theory
Arohana & Avarohana
Arohana: S m R m P n S'
Avarohana: S' n P m R m 'n R S
Pakad
R R S 'n S m R P m R 'n 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'. Hence this raga is mostly sung or played in the Monsoon season. Another raga which describes rain is raga Malhar. So these 2 ragas where merged and a new raga was developed, this raga is raga Megh Malhar. So raga Megh has mixture with raga Malhar which forms raga Megh Malhar.
Behavior
Samay (Time)
Late night.
Seasonality
Raga Megh is commonly associated with the monsoon season. Because the meaning of Megh in Sanskrit is 'Cloud'. Hence this raga is mostly sung or played in the Monsoon season.
Rasa
Gambhir rasa
Historical Information
Origins
This is one of the very old ragas found in Indian classical music. This raga is related from Lord Krishna time period, when Govardhan Parvat (mountain) was on Lord Krishna's short finger during the Govardhan leela, then Lord Shiva generated a Damru sound to protect Lord Krishna. That sound which was generated by the Damru was raga MEGH....
Historical Information
Legend
There is legend stating that Tansen's physical agony after singing Raga Deepak (Poorvi Thaat) was pacified with listening to Raga Megh Malhar rendered by two sisters, Tana and Riri.
Film Songs
Language:Tamil
| Song | Movie | Composer | Singer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muthukkalo Kangal | Nenjirukkum Varai | M.S.Viswanathan | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela |
| Velli Malarae | Jodi | A. R. Rahman | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Mahalakshmi Iyer |
| Thumbi Thullal(Abheri traces also) | Cobra | Nakul Abhyankar,Shreya Ghoshal | |
| Ennai Konja Konja | Aathi | Vidyasagar | Hariharan,Sujatha Mohan |
Important Recordings
- Amir Khan, Ragas Megh and Lalit, HMV 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 difference between Sarang and Megh http://www.parrikar.org/hindustani/sarang/