Tilak Kamod
The lamp is lit, the beloved arrives, and the night glows
Musical Anatomy
Thaat
Khamaj
Jati
Sampoorna
Time
Night
Vadi
Ga
Samvadi
Ni
Nature
Romantic, festive, light
Arohana (Ascent)
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha ni Ṡa▲Avarohana (Descent)
Ṡa▲ ni Dha Pa Ma Ga Re Ga Re SaPakad (Characteristic Phrase)
Ga Ma Pa Dha ni Sa, 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.
"Maine poocha chand se, ke dekha hai kaheen"
"Ghar aaja ghir aaye baadal saaware"
Tilak Kamod · 5 compositions
Tilak Kamod is a light, romantic raga perfect for expressing joy and festivity. It is popular in thumri and film music.
Legend & Lore
Tilak Kamod is a raga of the Khamaj thaat whose name joins 'tilak' — the auspicious vermilion forehead marking of beauty, blessing, and welcome — with 'kamod,' evoking desire and romantic delight, together constructing a title that is itself a poetic image: the beloved adorned for celebration, the night marked by beauty and longing fulfilled.
Structurally it uses all seven notes in both ascent and descent (sampoorna-sampoorna), with Ga as vadi and Ni as samvadi, and like all Khamaj thaat ragas it may employ komal Ni in specific phrases — this touch of the flattened seventh introduces a brief shadow of tender longing into what is otherwise an unambiguously festive, warm character, giving skilled performers a moment of emotional depth within the celebration.
Tilak Kamod has been one of the most beloved vehicles for the thumri tradition for at least three centuries, its warm festivity perfectly suited to thumri's text-centered, bhava-driven (emotion-first) approach, and the great Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana brought this raga to what many consider its highest vocal expression — his thumri recordings in Tilak Kamod, with their alternations between playfulness and sudden aching tenderness, remain the defining interpretations.
The raga has also been extensively used in North Indian devotional music (bhajan and kirtan) and in Hindi film music: the famous song 'Jab Deep Jale Aana' (from the film Chitchor, music by Ravindra Jain) is set in Tilak Kamod and captures the raga's festival-night romantic warmth for popular audiences.
The Jaipur-Atrauli gharana also maintains a rich tradition of formal khayal compositions in this raga alongside the lighter thumri repertoire.
Knowledge Deep-Dive
Test Your Knowledge
1. The film song 'Jab Deep Jale Aana' from the film Chitchor (music by Ravindra Jain) is composed in which raga?
2. Which vocalist of the Patiala gharana is most celebrated for his thumri recordings in Tilak Kamod?
3. What emotional effect does the selective use of komal Ni (flat seventh) create in an otherwise festive Tilak Kamod performance?
Cinematic Echoes
15 Hindi film songs rooted in Tilak Kamod
Veena Padave Ragamayi
TamilSita Rama Kalyanam
Music · Gali Penchala Narasimha Rao
Singers · P. Susheela
Badariya Baras Gayi Us Paar
Moorti · 1945
Music · Bulo C Rani
Singers · Mukesh, Khursheed Bano, Hamida Banu
Discover More Songs in Tilak Kamod
Search all major music platforms for Hindi film and classical recordings in this raag. These go well beyond the 15 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 Tilak Kamod's emotional palette — that's intentional cross-raag composition by the music director.