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 "Malhar" is a Hindustani classical raga. Malhar is associated with torrential rains. Besides the basic Shuddha Malhar, which was the original Malhar, several Malhar-related ragas use the Malhar signature phrase m (m)R (m)R P, including "Miyan ...

. So these 2 ragas where merged and a new raga was developed, this raga is raga Megh Malhar. The

Carnatic Music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...

equivalent of this raga is

Madhyamavati Madhyamavati (madhyamāvati) is a rāga in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is an ''audava'' rāga (or ''owdava'' rāga, meaning pentatonic scale), as it does not have all the seven musical notes (''swaras''). ...

Theory

Arohana & Avarohana

Arohana Arohana, Arohanam or Aroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the ascending scale of notes in a raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The pitch increases as we ...

Avarohana An Avarohana, Avarohanam or Avaroha, in the context of Indian classical music, is the descending scale of any raga.''Ragas in Carnatic music'' by Dr. S. Bhagyalekshmy, ''Glossary'' pages, Pub. 1990, CBH Publications The notes descend in pitch ...

: Pakad 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

family, namely Megh Malhar, Miyan ki Malhar,

Gaud Malhar Gaud Malhar is a raga in Hindustani classical music that combines characteristics of Malhar "Malhar" is a Hindustani classical raga. Malhar is associated with torrential rains. Besides the basic Shuddha Malhar, which was the original Malh ...

, Ramdasi Malhar, Dhuliya Malhar, etc. as well as Madhmad Sarang.

Thaat A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...

Kafi Kafi ( pa, ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh re ...

. 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

. 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 Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

time period, when

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh; a Tehsil, in Mathura district in the India in state of Uttar Pradesh. Ab ...

Parvat (mountain) was on Lord Krishna's short finger during the Govardhan leela, then

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

generated a

Damru A damaru ( sa, डमरु, ; Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the deity Shiva, associated with Tant ...

sound to protect Lord Krishna. That sound which was generated by the Damru was raga MEGH....

Legend

There is legend stating that

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pr ...

's physical agony after singing Raga Deepak (Poorvi Thaat) was pacified with listening to Raga Megh Malhar rendered by two sisters,

Tana and Riri Tana and Riri is an Indian story about two girls born around 1564, who were asked to sing in the court of Akbar. The story has become part of Gujarati folk culture. The twins were from a northern town known as Vadnagar near Visnagar in the state ...

Film Songs

A Few songs are composed in Raga Madhyamavathi, the Carnatic Equivalent of Megh

Language:
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Important Recordings

* Amir Khan, Ragas Megh and Lalit,

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

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/

External links

SRA on Samay and Ragas

Rajan Parrikar on Ragas

{{Authority control Megh