Thumrī ( Devnagari: ठुमरी,
Nastaliq: ﭨﮭﻤﺮﯼ ) is a common
genre of semi- classical Indian
music .
The text is romantic or devotional
in nature, and usually revolves
around a girl's love for Krishna .
The lyrics are usually in Uttar
Pradesh dialects of Hindi called
Awadhi and Brij Bhasha . Thumri
is characterized by its sensuality,
and by a greater flexibility with
the raga .
Thumrī is also used as a generic
name for some other, even
lighter, forms such as Dadra, Hori ,
Kajari, Saavan, Jhoola , and Chaiti ,
even though each of them has its
own structure and content —
either lyrical or musical or both
— and so the exposition of these
forms vary. Like Indian classical
music itself, some of these forms
have their origin in folk literature
and music.
Format
Some of the most commonly
used ragas are Pilu, Kafi, Khamaj,
Gara, Tilak Kamod and Bhairavi.
The compositions are usually set
to kaherava taal of 8 beats, addha
tal of 16 beats, dipchandi of 14
beats or jat of 16 beats and in
"dadra' tal of 6 beats.
↑Jump back a section
Origins
Thumrī arose in popularity during
the 19th century in the Lucknow
court of nawab Wajid Ali Shah . At
that time it used to be a song
sung by courtesans accompanied
by dance. That was the bandish
ki thumri or bol bant ki thumri.
When this style of thumrī went
out of vogue at the turn of the
20th century, a new style
became more popular, which is
known as bol banao, sung in
Varanasi . Since Varanasi is to the
east (poorab) of Lucknow, the
new style became known as
Poorab ang or eastern style
thumrī. [1]
↑Jump back a section
Noted Thumri artists
Purab Ang
Famous artists of the 'Purab Ang'
thumri' of the Benaras gharana or
Banaras gayaki are Badi Motibai,
Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi,
Girija Devi and Pandit Channulal
Mishra .[2]
Other famous singers of thumri
are Gauhar Jan, Begum Akhtar ,
Shobha Gurtu , Noor Jehan and
Prabha Atre . Shobha Gurtu is
often regarded as the thumri
queen. The bol banao style has a
slow tempo and is concluded by a
laggi, a faster phase where the
tabla player has some freedom of
improvisation.
Another stalwart in the genre of
thumri was Naina Devi, who was
married to a royal family but later
devoted her life to the singing of
the song of Tawaifs. For a
member of the royal family to
take such a step in those days
meant fighting countless social
stigmas that had enough power
to totally alienate someone from
the society, but she had the
support of her husband.[3]
Classical Thumri
Some khyal singers took an
interest in thumrī and sang it
their own way, as in the case of
Abdul Karim Khan, Nazakat-
Salamat Ali Khan, Barkat Ali Khan,
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen
Joshi , and Prabha Atre [2]
Today thumrī is sometimes sung
at the end of khyal concerts as a
concluding item. Besides the
tabla and the tanpura , other
typical instruments in thumri are
sarangi, and swarmandal
Nastaliq: ﭨﮭﻤﺮﯼ ) is a common
genre of semi- classical Indian
music .
The text is romantic or devotional
in nature, and usually revolves
around a girl's love for Krishna .
The lyrics are usually in Uttar
Pradesh dialects of Hindi called
Awadhi and Brij Bhasha . Thumri
is characterized by its sensuality,
and by a greater flexibility with
the raga .
Thumrī is also used as a generic
name for some other, even
lighter, forms such as Dadra, Hori ,
Kajari, Saavan, Jhoola , and Chaiti ,
even though each of them has its
own structure and content —
either lyrical or musical or both
— and so the exposition of these
forms vary. Like Indian classical
music itself, some of these forms
have their origin in folk literature
and music.
Format
Some of the most commonly
used ragas are Pilu, Kafi, Khamaj,
Gara, Tilak Kamod and Bhairavi.
The compositions are usually set
to kaherava taal of 8 beats, addha
tal of 16 beats, dipchandi of 14
beats or jat of 16 beats and in
"dadra' tal of 6 beats.
↑Jump back a section
Origins
Thumrī arose in popularity during
the 19th century in the Lucknow
court of nawab Wajid Ali Shah . At
that time it used to be a song
sung by courtesans accompanied
by dance. That was the bandish
ki thumri or bol bant ki thumri.
When this style of thumrī went
out of vogue at the turn of the
20th century, a new style
became more popular, which is
known as bol banao, sung in
Varanasi . Since Varanasi is to the
east (poorab) of Lucknow, the
new style became known as
Poorab ang or eastern style
thumrī. [1]
↑Jump back a section
Noted Thumri artists
Purab Ang
Famous artists of the 'Purab Ang'
thumri' of the Benaras gharana or
Banaras gayaki are Badi Motibai,
Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi,
Girija Devi and Pandit Channulal
Mishra .[2]
Other famous singers of thumri
are Gauhar Jan, Begum Akhtar ,
Shobha Gurtu , Noor Jehan and
Prabha Atre . Shobha Gurtu is
often regarded as the thumri
queen. The bol banao style has a
slow tempo and is concluded by a
laggi, a faster phase where the
tabla player has some freedom of
improvisation.
Another stalwart in the genre of
thumri was Naina Devi, who was
married to a royal family but later
devoted her life to the singing of
the song of Tawaifs. For a
member of the royal family to
take such a step in those days
meant fighting countless social
stigmas that had enough power
to totally alienate someone from
the society, but she had the
support of her husband.[3]
Classical Thumri
Some khyal singers took an
interest in thumrī and sang it
their own way, as in the case of
Abdul Karim Khan, Nazakat-
Salamat Ali Khan, Barkat Ali Khan,
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen
Joshi , and Prabha Atre [2]
Today thumrī is sometimes sung
at the end of khyal concerts as a
concluding item. Besides the
tabla and the tanpura , other
typical instruments in thumri are
sarangi, and swarmandal
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