A season · the rains, roughly June to September

The monsoon roomवर्षा

Megh, Miyan ki Malhar and Desh: the ragas of the rains.

Ragas here: Megh, Miyan ki Malhar, Desh

The monsoon: a woman in a silk dupatta watching the rain from a red sandstone pavilion

In much of India the monsoon arrives in June and lasts until about September, after months of heat. It is one of the most celebrated seasons in Indian art and poetry, and it has its own family of ragas, the Malhars. During the rains they may be sung at any hour, the best-known exception to the time rules.

Megh ("cloud") is grave and rolling. Miyan ki Malhar, credited by tradition to Tansen, sets flat and natural Ni side by side. Desh is a late-evening raga that many musicians also love in the rains.

Legend says a great enough singer could bring rain with Malhar, just as Raga Deepak could light lamps. They are good stories, not history.

In monsoon paintings, the sky is a band of dark, curling clouds with gold lightning, and white cranes fly in a line beneath them.

The ragas of the rains

Megh मेघ

The monsoon, at any hour of the rains
Parent scale (thaat): Kafi

Going upSa Re Ma Pa Ni SaComing downSa Ni Pa Ma Re Sa

Megh means cloud. A five-note raga of the monsoon, with a heavy swaying on Re, and one of several ragas that legend says can call the rain.

Traditionally described as rolling, deep, expectant.

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Miyan ki Malhar मियाँ की मल्हार

The monsoon, at any hour of the rains
Parent scale (thaat): Kafi

Going upSa Re Pa Ma Pa Ni Dha Ni SaComing downSa Ni Pa Ma Pa Ga Ma Re Sa

The best-known raga of the Malhar family of rain ragas, traditionally credited to Tansen, the 'Miyan' of its name. It uses komal and shuddh Ni side by side, often in the same phrase.

Traditionally described as stormy, majestic, longing.

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Desh देस

Late evening, and much loved in the rains · about 9 pm–12 midnight
Parent scale (thaat): Khamaj

Going upSa Re Ma Pa Ni SaComing downSa Ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Sa

A popular late-evening raga that many musicians also associate with the rainy season. It climbs with shuddh Ni and comes down through komal Ni.

Traditionally described as romantic, lilting, tender.

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How to read the notes: an underlined note is komal (flat), Ma with a mark (Ma) is tivra (sharp), and a dot below or above means the octave below or above.

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Play Miyan ki Malhar in the rain

Start the soft rain at the top of the page, then play over it.

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Storm and stream

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Editorial portrait: a couple at a carved wooden window, watching the rain

Where sources differ

The Malhar family has many members (Gaud Malhar, Ramdasi Malhar, Megh Malhar and more), and musicians disagree about how they differ. Megh is sometimes treated as a Malhar raga and sometimes on its own. Many, but not all, link Desh to the rains.

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