Known for its highly ornamental nature, Thumri is the most melodies Hindustani Classical Musical genre, capable of expressing a range of human emotions.' Thumri, Dadra, chaiti, kajri, baramhasa, Jhoola, sawan and many more... are the names of the Semi- Classical music genres, that happen to be the inevitable part of the regional folksongs of India. Performed across the regions of Banaras, Lucknow( Awadh), Punjab these forms celebrate life, seasons, occasions and emotions, they have been immensely popular both among the regional masses as well as the classical music affectionate.
The 2 Day Seminar on ' Thumri and the Allied forms ' organized by NCPA in collaboration with ITC-Sangeet Research Academy, Sangeet Natak Akademi & the Indian Musicological Society was indeed an experience for a life time. This seminar focused on the origin, history and socio- cultural associations of these forms. Various styles, viz. poorab, Punjab and Lucknow, associated with thumri, were discussed in detail along with audio / video recordings by the great thumri exponents of the yester years.
Vidushi Smt. Shruto Sadolikar brought in light on the history and evolution of‘ Thumri by saying," The word Thumri is supposed to be an apabranch( corrupted form of the word)‘ tanvari’ and is a combination of the word‘ thum’( thumakna) and‘ ri’ which connotes the action of Rijhana( seduce), wherein‘ thumakna’ is an act of dance, that involves a graceful gait with dancing steps, that constitutes to the emotive part of the song, thus depicting the expression of Bhava with Laya. The origin of thumri goes back to‘ Chalikya’ or‘ Kaishiki Vratti’ ancient era, that represented an act put together to depict feelings and emotions presented through songs and dances. While ' Halisaka ' or ' Rasa ' was a combination of ' Gana '( singing), ' Natya '( acting) and Nritya( dancing), that was propagated first by Bhagvan Shri Krishna.
In the medieval period,‘ Tuhfat-ul-Hind’ mentions Thumri as a‘ Sankeerna Ragini’( complex genre) sung by combining multiple ragas to express the Bhava.‘ Raga Darpana’ refers to thumri as a popular genre sung in ragas like Pahari, Kafi and Barwa. Emperor Wajid Ali Shah was believed to be the one who pioneered Thumri, but actually it was Sajid Ali Khan. At the end of the 18th century Raga ' Jangla ' was a popular ' Dhun ' inherited by a Persian word ' Jangula ', that means bells tied on the foot belt( Ghungaroo) and was sung in Delhi by a woman called Jani( a bar girl) along with dance. The ragas used for thumri were mostly Kafi, Pahari, Barwa, Bhairavi, Des, Pilu, Gara, Bihari, Multani, Paraj, Gandhari, Khat, Bihag, Jinjhoti etc. that mostly originated from the folk tunes. Great masters like Govindrao Tempe encapsulated elements of traditional Thumri presenting them through his ' Natya Sangeet ' theatrical presentations, taking classical music to the commoners.
Pt. Birju Maharaj bought light on the rich lyrical thumri’ s of Lucknow in-acting Radha and Krishna romancing on a swing with ' Jhulat Radhe Nand Kishore’ and‘ Meri Suno Shyaam, Choro Achariya’ wherein Radha requests Shyam to stop teasing her and pulling her robe, showcasing his expressive mastery, with delicate dance movements well rendered with layakari. While in‘ Bali Umar Larkaiyan’ in-acted various stages of a woman’ s life, starting from a young Gopi to an old Bhakta, who played with Shyam in the early years and became his devotee later, depicting both the‘ Shringar’ and‘ Bhakti’ Rasas. He elaborated on mastering the laya- bhed( artistry of rhythm) that is equally important for a Thumri performer, who needs an absolute control on Sur( Notes), Taal( Beats), Chand( poetry), Alankar( embellishments) and Bhava( expressions), that enables him to play and do Layakari aesthetically.
Talking about the Punjab Ang Pt. Ajoy Chakroborty said that thumri was imbibed from Lucknow into the Patiala Gayaki which was never its own, and thus later emerged as the Punjab Ang. He emphasized on perfect poises( spaces), voice modulation and sensitivity needed to reproduce the intricacies of thumri with mastery. Talking on‘ Swar lagawa’ in‘ Khyal that is quite straight so as to maintain the purity of the raga, while in‘ Thumri’ aesthetics, sweetness, delicacy and the emotive nature of the Bandish( composition) are given more emphasis that must be mastered under sahi‘ Taleem’.
Shri. Shekhar Sen connoted Thumri as a‘ Swatantrata ka Swar’ emphasizing on the freedom of expression that thumri bestows, in-spite of being a very complicated gayaki, constituting in itself many elements of Khyal, Prabandh, Poetry, Drama( expressions). It depends how beautifully one can paint the picture by using all the colours of the musical pallet. His composition“ lalcheele hain, tir cheele hain” described the different moods of one ' s beloved, they being naughty, daunting, sensational and so on … pointing that one cannot emote( Bhav) unless, one understands the meaning of a thumri.
Malini Awasthi talked on the‘ Poorab Ang’ Thumri of Benaras, that focuses on the‘ Bols’( words) and is called‘ Bol- Banav Ki Thumri’, sung in Braj and Awadhi languages and not Bhojpuri. Benaras produced many legends of Thumri like Girija Devi, Badimoti Bai, Rasoolan Bai, Nirmala Devi, Siddheshwari Devi, all performed all the genres of Khyal, Thumri, Dadra, Chaumasa, Banna and Chaiti.
Difference between‘ Thumri’ and‘ Dadra’ is that Dadra is more‘ Chanchal’( playful), while thumri is comparatively deeper depicting Viraha – Shringar rasas predominantly. Dadra is sung in Dadra and sometimes in Keherwa taals, one needs to maintain the‘ Mizaz’( mood) that depends on the words, since both the taals have different Chaal( rhythmic styles) and are used as per the requirement of the‘ Bols’. In thumri the progression starts from a slow tempo in the first half‘ Sthayi’, that is followed by‘ Laggi’( a fast rhythmic pattern) along with‘ Layakari’, that is stopped and then‘ Antara’ is started, again going back in the original tempo, before it is concluded. In Poorab ang, a‘ Sher’ or a‘ Doha’ is read in between the Sthayi and Antara and then is followed by Laggi.
She also elaborated on the allied forms like Dadra, Chaiti, Hori, Jhula, Sawan and Barahmasa, Chaumasa, Hori, Jhula, as taught to her by legendary Appaji( Girija Devi Ji), mostly represent the festive and seasonal occasions, wherein Sohar, Shahana, Banna are called as the‘ Sanskar Geet’ sung during weddings. Chaiti has been a part of the folklore and was eventually imbibed in classical music.‘ Chadhal Charit, Chit Lage Na Baba Ke Bhavanwa’ is a famous Chaiti, that describes the Viraha Bhav of a maiden waiting for her beloved, as she feels restless without her beloved, at her father’ s abode during the rains. While the traditional‘ Hori’ compositions are sung in Braj bhasha such as‘ Rang daroon gi main’ and’ Urat abeer gulal lali chai hai, depicting playfulness of Radha and Krishna.
The Seminar concluded with an exotic documentary based on the gayaki of the legendary Thumri & Ghazal Queen‘ Begum Akhtar Sahiba’, what could have been a conclusion to celebrate‘ Thumri’ and its Adaigi, that is capable of winning the hearts through its Manmohini Roopa.
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