Rag Desh - Anushka Shankar Sitar

Desh also Raag Desh is a Hindustani classical raga.

The raga emerges from Khamaj thaat. The parent-scale or Thaat of Khamaj, notated in sargam notation, has the following structure: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. In Western terms, assuming the tonic (Sa) to be at C, the scale would be: C D E F G A B-flat C. Khamaj thaat is thus equivalent to the mixolydian mode in Western classical music.

The Carnatic music equivalent of the Khamaj Thaat is Harikambhoji, the 28th Melakarta raga.

The raga is of Audav-sampurna nature, i.e., in its arohana (ascent) only five notes are used, whereas the avarohana (descent) uses all the seven notes. Shuddha Ni is used in the arohana, while Komal Ni (represented as ni below) is used in avarohana. All other swaras are shuddha.

Arohana: Sa Re, Ma Pa Ni,Sa.

Avarohana: Sa ni Dha, Pa Dha Ma Ga Re, Pa Ma Ga, Re Ga Ni Sa.

Pakad: Re, Ma Pa Ni, Sa Re ni Dha Pa,ma Ga Re

The vadi swara is Re, and the samvadi is Pa.

The raga is to be sung during the second quarter of the night.