Is it raga Hemant or Pancham? Or both?

Raga Hemant is a charming melodic entity, popularised in the last 50 years primarily by Pandit Ravi Shankar. Authoritative sources attribute the raga’s origination to his Guru, Ustad Allauddin Khan, the founder of the Maihar-Seniya gharana. Considering that Ravi Shankar has been performing this raga since the 1950s, these attributions would place the genesis of the raga between 1930 and 1950.

Musicologists contest the very idea that a raga can be composed by one musician, no matter how great. The “raga-ness” of a melodic idea is a gradual evolution requiring its improvisational potential to be developed over several generations of quality musicianship, and interaction with audiences. The attribution of Hemant to any individual could, therefore, be conceptually flawed – especially considering that the raga has achieved considerable maturity and a following for over six or seven decades now.