Malkauns
मालकौंस
S g M d n S' | S' n d M g S
Origins & Context
Raag Malkauns is a Bhairavi thaat raga of Hindustani music, performed late at night, that uses five notes, S g M d n, with komal Ga, Dha and Ni and no Re or Pa. Komal means lowered, and a thaat is a parent scale. It is also written Malkosh, and the AUTRIM project of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the University of Amsterdam, citing Rao's Raga Nidhi, gives Malav Kaushik as another name.
In this notation, lowercase g, d and n are komal, and an apostrophe marks the upper octave. One teaching outline gives the aroha, or ascent, as S g M d n S' and the avaroha, or descent, as S' n d M g S. The vadi, the most prominent note, is shuddha Ma. Its partner, the samvadi, is Sa.
The AUTRIM project calls Malkauns an old raga, immensely popular with singers and instrumentalists, with a serious and solemn expression. Its movement is slow and gliding, and the tanpura is tuned to Ma instead of Pa. Chandrakauns uses the same notes except for a shuddha Ni.
KalaSudha presents Hindustani musicians in concert and releases their recordings. Its academy teaches ragas online and in local workshops, and each course is built by its instructor with KalaSudha.
Technical Details
Melodic structure and movement patterns
Aroha (Ascent)
S g M d n S'
Avroh (Descent)
S' n d M g S
Pakad (Catch Phrase)
.d .n S g M, g M n d M, d n S', g' S' n d
Additional Notes
Phraseologies
Key for these phrases: lowercase g, d and n are komal, a leading dot marks the lower octave and an apostrophe the upper.
The AUTRIM project notes that the line can rise and fall directly. In slow passages komal Ga is held with andolan, a slow oscillation, and Dha can be sustained too. One teaching outline gives phrases such as g M g S. George Howlett hears shuddha Ma exerting the strongest pull, with komal Ni as a launch point, as in .n S g M.
Common Phrases
Around the World
Global connections and equivalent scales
With Sa on C, Malkauns uses C, E flat, F, A flat and B flat. George Howlett gives the Phrygian pentatonic as its jazz translation, and Carnatic Hindolam as an approximate counterpart.