Kafi (IAST: Kāfi) is a raga in Hindustani classical music. It corresponds to Kharaharapriya in Carnatic music and Dorian mode in Western music. Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande classified most ragas into ten Thaats. Kafi Thaat is one of them. The raga Kafi is the principal raga of its Thaat.

Kafi is a classical form of Sufi music in the Punjabi and Sindhi languages that originated from the Punjab and Sindh regions of South Asia. Some well-known Kafi poets are Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, Shah Hussain, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.

Kafi (IAST: Kāfi) is one of the ten basic thaats of Hindustani music from the Indian subcontinent. It is also the name of a raga (Kharaharapriya) within this thaat. [1] Kafi thaat makes use of the Komal Gandhara and Komal Nishad. So basically it adds Komal Gandhara to the Khamaj thaat.

Chosen by Bhatkhande as the titular raga of Kafi thaat (akin to the Western Dorian Mode: a ‘palindromic‘ scale beloved in jazz, blues, rock, pop, funk, and beyond) – and prakriti with many ragas, notably including Bageshri, Bhimpalasi, Shahana, and the predominant modern forms of Desi and Dhanashree.

Kafi is a semi-classical raag. It permits the use of certain vivadi swars ex. Shuddh Ga and Shuddh Ni. Watch the video to learn how. Mood: Shringar (Romance). It can express both separation as well as the union of two lovers. Watch video demonstrations of Raag Kafi, a romantic raag.

Raag Kafi is also referred to as the Bhairavi of night. Both Shuddha Nishad & Gandhar are occasionally used. The atmosphere created is most suitable for both types of Shringar (Separation & Union) and hence many Thumri & Hori compositions are sung in this Raag.

Kafi is a prominent genre of Punjabi literature and is very rich in form and content. This article deals with the etymology, connotation and definition of Kafi with its literary and cultural background and the atmosphere in which it flourished, so as to have a better concept of it.