Name after goddess Durga, this raga has a very straight, forceful and impressive chalan (gait). There are two variants of this raga: one belongs to Bilawal scale, the other belongs to the parent scale of Khamaj. The latter is almost extinct now.
Thhaat (parent scale)
Bilawal
Jaati:
Audav (pentatonic in both ascent and descent)
Vaadi:
Pancham (P)
Samvaadi:
Shadja (S)
Swaras:
Omits Gandhaar (G) and Nishaad (N) in aaroh and avaroh (ascent-descent), all shuddh swaras
Aaroh (ascent):
S R M P D S’ (Western Notes: C D F G A C)
Avaroh (descent)
S’ D P M R S (Western Notes: C A G F D C)
Key phrases:
S D. S, S R P, P M P, D M R P, M P D S’, S’ D S’, R’ D S’, S’ R’ M’ R’ D’S’, D M R, D.S
Time:
Late Evening
This raga is identical to a Carnatic raga Shuddha Saveri; but, as usual, its chalan (melodic phraseology or gait) is different in different with almost staccato swaras at play. Its forceful ascending movements very naturally focus on the mid-octave region and upper half of the octave. This raga unfolds it beauty in the medium tempo.
Bibliography
1. Bhatkhande V.N. (1919-1937) ‘Kramik Pustak Malika Vol 1-6’
2. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Music of India
3. The Raga-ness of the Ragas by Deepak Raja
Links
2. Kishori Amonkar (vocal)
3. Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (vocal)
4. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (sarod)
5. Pandit Venkatesh Kumar (vocal)
Soumik Datta plays Raag Durga on the Sarod at Darbar Festival 2018 with Sukhvinder Singh (tabla).
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