Emperor Akbar watches as Miyan Tansen receives a lesson from Swami Haridas, depicted in a Mughal miniature painting.

Miyan Ki Malhar is a monsoon raga, popularly used for invoking and embracing rain to drench the earth and to welcome the monsoon.

One of the Navaratnas (nine jewels) of Emperor Akbar’s court -- Miyan Tansen -- created the piece. The raga is a musical prayer to the monsoon for a rejuvenation of life.

The complex and subtle melodic structure of Miyan Ki Malhar, stems largely from the raga's use of both shuddha (while ascending) and komal (while descending) nishad. A melodic movement between the two nishad is thought to help clouds descend as rain on earth. Mian Tansen was thought to have such a musical prowess that he could make the raindrops fall propelling him to new musical heights, set on Miyan Ki Malhar.

A maximum of five among nine moods or sentiments (popularly called as Navarasa) are used in music. They are: Shanta (tranquil or peaceful), Karun (pity), Shringar (beauty), Veer (heroic), and Chanchal (restless). Miyan Ki Malhar creates Veer rasa.

Miyan Ki Malhar is particularly an alap-ang raga pertaining to Thaat Kafi. Rendition by a male vocalist and a recital of sarod among all the instruments can best preserve the essence of the raga. An anxious heart will ask for his near and dear ones’ safety; again, a romantic heart will seek for union, while listening to either rendition or recital of the raga.

Though mostly performed at midnight, it can be performed at any time during monsoon. This raga has an intimate relation with the flower Kodom (Anthocephalus kadamba). Tagore song “Badol Din-er Prothom Kadom Phul” and “Hey Gambhir” are set on Miyan Ki Malhar.

The onset of the monsoon is a time of great joy and celebration in this part of the world. Crickets sing, frogs croak, the earth smells fresh and wet, and cool breeze prevail. Poets, dancers, painters and musicians express exhilaration for the resurrecting powers of nature during the rainy season. National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam hails the monsoon with a Miyan Ki Malhar composition “Borosha Oi Elo Borosha”.

A true treat of a vocal piece based on the raga is Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s record of “Bijari Chamake”, where the maestro expresses the distinctive mood of flashes of lightening. Record of a drut khayal “Barsan Lagi Rey Badariya” by Ustad Amir Khan and a magical alap-ang record by Ustad Rashid Khan are apt examples of the raga. Master of sarod Ustad Amjad Ali Khan also fashions a musical high based on the raga.

Set on Miyan Ki Malhar, the marvelous rendition of the number “Saawan Ke Suhane Mausam Main” by Ustad Ahmed and Mohammad Hussain manifests a melancholic heart missing their counterpart in the beautiful allegory of the season monsoon.

Ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan with sarangi maestro Ustad Sultan Khan  and tabla artiste Ustad Shaukat Hussain enthralled the audience with a Miyan Ki Malhar genre “Ek bas tu hi nahin”,  in a live concert held at the Royal College Of Music, London, on October 1990. Another Mehdi Hassan ghazal “Nawazish Karam Shukriya Meherbani” is also evocative of the raga.

Nachiketa generates the mood of melancholy in his song “Shrabono Ghanaye” while Ghulam Ali and Sadya Afreen Mallick have separately recorded a Bengali ghazal “Megh Eshey Chhunye Chhunye Jaye”, penned by eminent singer, composer and poet Mohammad Asafuddoulah.