Mahatma Gandhi made the devotional song Vaishnava Janato based on Raga Khamaj, almost synonymous with his own name. This bhajan gets a modern interpretation from Pandit Jasraj, Shankar Mahadevan and Jaspinder Narula in this video.

Raga Khamaj is a late evening raga and is brought out rather elegantly in the light classical form of thumri. It has been a popular choice for film music as well. The romantic nature of the raga is brought out by this delightful composition of Salil Chowdhury O Sajna Barkha Bahar Aayi. This song is supposed to have been set to the swishing of the wipers of an Ambassador car when the composer was caught in a torrential downpour. The original version done in Bengali called Na Jeona was also sung by Lata Mangeshkar. She is said to have chosen this song when asked what is the ONE song she will take with her to a desert island. I suppose that question was asked before the age of the iPod.

Shubha Mudgal sings a soul stirring version of Raga Khamaj in her song Babul Jiya Mora Ghabraaye. In the song the little girl tells her father not to marry her off to riches but instead to a blacksmith. He is the one who can melt my chains, she implores.

The composer RD Burman had used Raga Khamaj in the film Buddha Mil Gaya for the song Aayo Kahan Se Ghanshyam. He used Khamaj twice in the same film to compose two brilliant songs for the film Amar Prem. One of which was Bada Natkhat Hai Re and the other was the song immortalised by Kishore Kumar – Kuchh Toh Log Kahenge. While all the songs of the film are timeless classics, I am sharing with you Kuchh Toh Log Kahenge in Raga Khamaj.

One last flavor of Raga Khamaj lies in this piece from the film Kaala Paani made in 1958 starring Dev Anand and Madhubala. The film was based on AJ Cronin’s Beyond This Place. Sung by Asha Bhosle to the tune of SD Burman, this is a song that brings in an element of flirtation and mischief all within the light treatment afford by a Kshudra Prakriti raga !! Couldn’t help that jibe. The song is Nazar Laagi Raja Torey Bangley Par.

Now to give you a flavor of the classical form, Kaushiki Chakraborty, daughter of the classical singer Ajoy Chakraborty sings Raga Khamaj in drut teentaal (16 beats, allegro)

Finally, here is a Ustad Abdul Karim Khan singing Khamaj in a recording that is supposed to have been done in 1906 – more than a 100 years old ! Click to hear

Other Songs Based On Raga Khamaj

Aa dilse dil mila le – Navrang (1959) Music by C Ramchandra, singer Asha Bhosle

Ab kya misal doon - Aarti (1962) Music by Roshan, singer Mohd Rafi

Ayo kahanse ghanashyam - Buddha Mil Gaya (1971) Music RD Burman, Singer Manna Dey

Bada natkhat hai…ka kare yashoda maiya – Lata – Amar Prem (1971) RD Burman

Bata do sakhi kaun gali gayo shyam – Music by Naushad Ali

Bidhir bandhon kaatbe tum – Film Ghare Baire (Satyajit Ray), Lyrics and Music by Tagore, singer Kishore Kumar

Chunariya katati jaye – Mother India (1957) Music: Naushad, Singer Manna Dey

Dhal chuki shaam e gam - Kohinoor (1960), Music Naushad Singer Mohd Rafi

Hum Apna Unhe Bana Na Sake – Bhanwara (1944) Music by Khemchand Prakash singer KL Saigal

Khat likha de savariyake nam babu - Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966), Music Laxmikant Pyarelal, Singer Asha Bhosle

Mere to giridharagopala - Meera, Music Pt Ravi Shankar, Singer Vani Jayaram

Sakhi Re Suun Bole Papiha – Miss Mary (1957) Music: Hemant Kumar, Singer Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle

Sham Dhale Jamna Kinare – Pushpanjali (197o) Music by Laxmikan Pyarelal, Singer Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey

Tere bina sajna lage na jiya hamar – Aarti (1962), Music by Roshan

Woh na aayenge palatkar – Devdaas (1957), Music SD Burman, Singer Mubarak Begum

If you enjoyed reading this then check out a similar article on Raga Desh on my website http://abhijitbhaduri.com/2009/03/the-charm-of-raga-desh/

The music composer whose work introduced me to Malgunji is Rahul Dev Burman. Pancham as RD was known to his friends and family is the fifth note of music. Born on June 27, 1939, RD had composed music for more than 350 films until he breathed his last on January 4, 1994. He signed Bhoot Bungla (The Haunted House)in 1965 as his first film as a music director. This is also the film where for the first time Kishore Kumar the singer and he worked together. But Chhote Nawab (The Young King) also a film directed by Mehmood in 1961 is the one that RD Burman made his debut with. The song Ghar Aaja Ghir Aye (lyrics by Shailendra) is brilliant composition in Raga Malgunji (a Raga that combines elements of Raga Khamaj and Raga Bageshri). I will always rank this as the best ever Hindi film song composed in Malgunji.

Salil Chowdhury wrote many of the songs that are now inherent part of the cultural identity of Bengal. His music was a blend of the western classical (he grew up on Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart, and a bit of Chopin), folk ditties, and a smattering of the Indian classical. Another all time favorite film composition based on Raga Malgunji is from the film Anand (1970) and composed by Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1922-5 Sep 1995). Na Jiya Laage Na (My mind is restless without you).

Listen to the Bengali version of the same song song. I love the introductory notes of the Bengali version better. I did not count this as a separate song and make this my five favorite Malgunji compositions.

There is a inherent tinge of sadness in Raga Malgunji that comes through beautifully in this song from the film Safar (1970) composed by Kalyanji Anandji. If you really want to feel the impact of the compositions in Raga Malgunji, then listen to it between 10pm and midnight to resonate with the pathos of longing that this Raga brings out so beautifully.

The film was Adalat (1948). The composer was Madan Mohan (25 June 1924 to 14 July 1975) and the when you have Lata Mangeshkar sing a composition in Malgunji and the poignant lyrics of Rajendra Krishan. Unko yeh shikayat hai ki hum kuchh nahi kehte. Translation: I never have anything to say, says he. It is not like me to say anything anyway. Just as RD Burman brought out the best in Asha Bhosle as a singer, Madan Mohan’s music and Lata’s voice is a heady concoction.

There are just a handful of hindi film songs based on Raga Malgunji. Nain So Nain Naahi Milaao from the film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje is one of them. Yet no other song captures the beauty of Raga Malgunji the way these four do. So while I started the article by sharing five songs that I would recommend, I could only find four – unless you count two versions of Salil Chowdhury and make the five song reco! !

You can listen to clips of Raga Malgunji played by the sitar maestro Nikhil Banerjee. There is a sitar performance by Kartik Seshadri a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar playing Malgunji.