Bhimpalasi
Afternoon jasmine unfolds — tender, unhurried, entirely yours
Musical Anatomy
Thaat
Kafi
Jati
Audav-Sampoorna
Time
Afternoon
Vadi
Ma
Samvadi
Sa
Nature
Romantic, tender, afternoon
Arohana (Ascent)
Sa ga Ma Pa Ni Ṡa▲Avarohana (Descent)
Ṡa▲ Ni Dha Pa Ma ga Re SaPakad (Characteristic Phrase)
Sa ga Ma, Pa Ni Sa Ni Dha Pa Ma ga Re SaNotation guide
Notable Compositions
Raga attributions for film songs, ghazals, and semi-classical pieces are often disputed. Composers may draw from a raga without strictly adhering to it. Treat these as approximate — we show a confidence indicator on each entry.
"Hothon se chhu lo tum, mera geet amar kar do"
"Ik tara bole, ik tara bole"
"Ek akela is shahar mein, raat mein aur dopehri mein"
Bhimpalasi · 10 compositions
Bhimpalasi is an afternoon raga with a tender, romantic character. It is popular in thumri and film music.
Legend & Lore
Bhimpalasi is one of the most cherished afternoon ragas of the Hindustani tradition, distinguished from its Kafi thaat relatives by a tenderness and romantic accessibility that has made it equally at home in classical khayal, thumri, and Hindi film music.
The raga's asymmetric jati — ascending pentatonically (omitting Re and Dha) but descending with all seven notes — creates a characteristic fingerprint: an upward-reaching gesture that broadens into a richer, ornamented descent, like a sigh that expands as it releases.
Ma (Madhyam) as vadi places the raga's emotional center in the middle register, and its two flat tones — komal Ga and komal Ni — are the source of its wistful, tender affect, especially when approached through the extended meend (portamento glide) associated with the Kirana and Jaipur gharanas.
Pandit Bhimsen Joshi — whose first name this raga shares by happy coincidence — left recordings of Bhimpalasi that are considered definitive, demonstrating how the raga's apparent simplicity conceals extraordinary depth.
Kishori Amonkar brought to it a quality of raw emotional transparency in her thumri renditions, and the film song 'Aaj jaane ki zid na karo' by Farida Khanum uses Bhimpalasi's scale so naturally that the two have become almost synonymous in popular musical memory.
Knowledge Deep-Dive
Test Your Knowledge
1. What makes Bhimpalasi's jati structure distinctive, and what emotional effect does this asymmetry create?
2. Which two swaras are characteristically omitted in Bhimpalasi's ascent?
3. The song 'Aaj jaane ki zid na karo', deeply associated with Bhimpalasi's emotional register, is most associated with which singer?
Cinematic Echoes
165 Hindi film songs rooted in Bhimpalasi
Chalo Chale Mitwa
TamilNayak (2001 Hindi film) · 2001
Music · A. R. Rahman
Singers · Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy
Baat Meri Suniye To Zara
TamilKuch Naa Kaho
Music · Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Singers · Shankar Mahadevan, Mahalakshmi Iyer
Hum Katha Sunate (Luv Kush Title Track)
Luv Kush (TV Series)
Music · Ravindra Jain
Singers · Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Hemlatha
Galti se Mistake
Jagga Jasoos
Music · Pritam Chakraborty
Singers · Amit Mishra, Arijit Singh, Shubhanshu Kesharwani
Ishq Jalakar - Kaarvaan
Dhurandhar
Music · Shashwat Sachdev
Singers · Muhammad Sadiq, Ranjit Kaur, Hanumankind, Jasmine Sandlas, Sudhir Yaduvanshi, Shashwat Sachdev
Dhevadhai Poloru
Gopura Vasalile · 1991
Singers · Malaysia Vasudevan, Mano, Deepan Chakravarthy, S. N. Surendar
Unn Manasile Paattuthaan
TamilPaandi Nattu Thangam · 1989
Singers · S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra
Duniya Se Ji Ghabra Gaya
Laila Majnu · 1953
Music · Ghulam Mohammed
Singers · Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood
Poova Maramum Poothadu
TamilNaan Petra Selvam
Music · G. Ramanathan
Singers · T. M. Soundararajan, jikki
Raavoyi Chandamama"(Telugu)/Vaarayo Vennilave
MissammaTelugu /MissiammaTamil
Music · S. Rajeswara Rao
Singers · A. M. Rajah, P. Leela
Aa Neele Gagan Tale Pya
Badshah · 1954
Music · Shankar–Jaikishan
Singers · Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar
Masoom Chehra
Dil Tera Diwana · 1962
Music · Shankar–Jaikishan
Singers · Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi
Malarnthum Malaratha
TamilPasamalar
Music · Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Singers · T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela
Poo Maalaiyil Or Malligai
TamilOoty Varai Uravu
Music · M. S. Viswanathan
Singers · T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela
Sindhu Nadhi Karai Oram
TamilNallathoru Kudumbam
Music · Ilaiyaraaja
Singers · T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela
Guruvayurappa
TamilPudhu Pudhu Arthangal
Music · Ilaiyaraaja
Singers · S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra
Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu
TamilThalapathi
Music · Ilaiyaraaja
Singers · S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha
Hum Katha Sunate Ram Sakal Gun Dhaam ki" (Luv Kush Title Track)
Luv Kush (TV Series)
Music · Ravindra Jain
Singers · Kavitha Krishnamurthy, Hemlatha
Medhuva Medhuva Oru
TamilAnnanagar Mudhal Theru
Music · Chandrabose
Singers · S P Balasubramaniam, K S Chitra
Tu mile Dil khile
Criminal
Music · M.M.Keeravani (a) Maragathamani (a) M.M. Kreem
Singers · Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik
Kabhi Kabhi Aditi (loosely baed)
TamilJaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na
Music · A. R. Rahman
Singers · Rashid Ali
Kanaa Kaangiren Kannalane
TamilAnanda Thandavam
Music · G V Prakash Kumar
Singers · Shubha Mudgal, Nithyasree Mahadevan and G V Prakash Kumar
Ishq Jalakar - Kaarvan
Dhurandhar
Music · Shashwat Sachdev, Roshan Lal Nagrath (from original)
Singers · Shashwat Sachdev, Shahzad Ali, Subhadeep Das Chowdhury, Armaan Khan
Hamari yad aayegi kabhi tanhaiyon men
Hamari Yaad Aayegi
Music · Snehal Bhatkar
Singers · Mubarak Begum
Discover More Songs in Bhimpalasi
Search all major music platforms for Hindi film and classical recordings in this raag. These go well beyond the 165 indexed above.
Many Hindi film songs blend multiple raags across their mukhda and antara. When searching, you may discover songs primarily in other raags that share Bhimpalasi's emotional palette — that's intentional cross-raag composition by the music director.
Often Confused With
Key distinctions that set Bhimpalasi apart from similar raags
Bageshri's vadi is Ma, Bhimpalasi's is Pa. Bageshri omits Re in ascent and has a more introverted quality; Bhimpalasi is warmer and more emotionally open.
Kafi is freer and more folk-based; Bhimpalasi is a refined classical raag with a specific alaap structure and afternoon time association.