Semi Classical

Thumri Thumri has often been scorned upon by the purists of Hindustani classical music due to its semi-classical mode and emphasis on light ragas, which may not necessarily adhere to the rigid of rules of a raga. But, it was always hugely popular among music aficionados. Satish Nandgaonkar retraces the history and development of this most melodious of Indian semi-classical forms of music. Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj's simple gait is grace personified. When he sat before a harmonium at 'Kaisa Jadu Dara', a thumri recital recently held at Tata Theatre, not many knew that what he would eventually perform would not only be an unusual but a rare glimpse of an art form which is near extinction. The style of thumri is the seated abhinaya style, which is both sung and interpreted with gestures while the artist remains seated. Though Panditji performs this style very rarely, he remains the last great exponent of this style credited to the Lucknow gharana. Prevalent in the early years of the Lucknow gharana, the seated abhinaya is the only form of music where Thumri and Kathak, two distinct North Indian forms of music, blend imperceptibly, complimenting and enriching each other. Thumri has often been scorned upon by the purists of Hindustani classical music due to its semi-classical mode and emphasis on light ragas, which may not necessarily adhere to the rigid of rules of a raga. But, it was always hugely popular among music aficionados.

This light, melodious form of semi-classical music has come a long way from the salons of courtesans in North India. Till the end of the 19th Century, Lucknow was the only recognised gharana of thumri. So the forms of thumri which developed later were classified according to their geographical locations. For instance, those which were created west of Lucknow in places like Farukkabad, Itawa, Bareilly, Mathura, Rampur and Delhi were referred to as the 'Pachai Ang of thumri', while those from the eastern areas like Benares and Calcutta came to be known as 'Purab Ang of thumri.' The third gharana of thumri was founded by Ali Baksh Khan of the Punjab/Patiala gharana and became popular in the 1940s when his sons Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) and his younger brother Munawar Ali Khan lent it a distinctive style. This came to be known as the 'Punjab ang of thumri'. Essentially classified into Bol Baant or Bandish thumris and Bol Banao thumris, the latter is the more modern of the two. Bol Baant indicates fragmentation, as in the Hindi word baantna, where the emphasis is more on dissection of the lyrics and embellishing them with classical ragas during presentation. Bol Banao indicates making or construction, from the Hindi word banana, where the stress is more on emoting the bhav (feeling) in the lyrics of the thumri. The 'Pachai Thumri', which was largely Bol Baant thumri, incorporated folk forms of Western Uttar Pradesh like Holi, Rasiya, Malhar, Sawan, and Led, while the Bol Banao thumri absorbed Eastern UP folk forms like Chaiti, Kajri, Purabi, Jhumar etc. The content of Bandish thumris focuses more on the Krishna Lilas -- the amorous and playful adventures of Lord Krishna with the gopis and his soulmate Radha. In contrast, Bol Banao thumris are not merely catchy for the ears but also carry profound emotional expressions. Though initially thumris were composed in various dialects of Northern India, the largest number of compositions are found in Braj Bhasha, the primary dialect of North India during the 15th to 19th century, now eclipsed by the more Sanskritised, Khari Boli dialect. It is pertinent to note that thumri's development is closely linked with the evolution of Khyal singing and Kathak dance. The bhavs or moods depicted in thumri lyrics can be presented both, through vocals as well as dance. The contents of thumris show that it is linked to the ashtanayikas or eight primary types of heroines defined by Bharata in his treatise, the Natyashastra. These eight types of heroines constituted the framework for subsequent dramas and poems including the contemporary thumri texts. Bharata and other theorists have classified heroines to describe and isolate individual characters and moods so, that artistes could reproduce them in their subtlety. Heroines were classified according to their amorous inclinations (anxious or detached), age (four stages of youth), social status (queen, aristocrat or harlot), their relationships with their lovers, their sexual propensity and so on. These classifications have created an astonishing 385 types of nayikas. According to thumri exponents, the study of nayika bhed or classification of heroines is necessary and helpful in rendering thumris effectively. Thumri was traditionally written to accompany abhinaya (representational dance) in Kathak, which generally portrays a nayika. Most pre-1900 authors have based their texts on stereotypical nayikas. The types include 1. Vasakasjya nayika (one dressed for union with her lover) 2. Virahatannahita nayika (one distressed by separation) 3. Svadhina nayika 4. Kalahantarita (one separated from her lover by a quarrel) 5. Kandita (one enraged by her lover, reproachful) 6. Vipralabdha (one deceived by her lover) 7. Prositashatrka (one with sojourning husband) 8. Abhisarika (one who moves to her lover, who travels for midnight meeting through dark jungle etc) 9. Pravatsyatpatika (one disturbed by the prospect of her lover's departure)

Origin Wajid Ali Shah who governed Lucknow from 1847 to 1856 and Sadiq Ali Khan, a renowned thumri singer from the Qawwal-bachhe gharana, are generally credited with popularising and refining thumri in the 19th century. Shah is credited with creating several thumris apart from laying the foundation of Urdu theatre in India. But, the earliest references to thumri are found in the historical texts of the Gupta period (4th to 6th century AD) and Kalidasa's play 'Malvikanimitra' where the main protagonist, Malvika, performs thumri. Other explicit references, prior to 1850, are found in a treatise written by Captain Augustus Willard titled 'Treatise of the Music of Hindostan' in 1834. Similarly, they are found in 'Radhagovind Sangitsar', a treatise commissioned by the Pratap Simha, the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1803. But the thumri of the 19th Century had very little stylistic resemblance to the Bol Banao thumri of today, which is sung in slow tempo, emphasising the emotive portrayal of the text through a leisurely exploration. In the 19th Century, thumris denoted a piece in a medium or fast tempo (teentaal or rupak or ek taal) stressing the bol baant, a set of techniques where the text is fragmented for an elaborate vistar (alaap like passages), taan (fast melodic runs), and layakari (rhythmic manipulation).

Thumri and Khyal While the Bol Baant or Bandish thumri resembled Chhota Khyal in text, taal and compositional structure, it also differed from it on several counts. Firstly, Bol Baant thumri was associated with Kathak dance. Secondly, it employed a specific set of light ragas. Thirdly, its style was technically less demanding than Chhota Khyal, which requires a command of virtuoso taans and a strict adherence to raga rules. The Bol Baant thumris were also essentially composed by a specific group of Lucknow based composers who used Hindu pen-names despite being Muslims. For instance, the most popular thumris of that time are attributed to Lallan Piya and Sanad Piya. The resemblances found between Chhota Khyal and thumri are primarily because both forms evolved in a similar way. Till the 18th century, Dhrupad was the favoured classical court genre. Khyal emerged as a more rhapsodic and light alternative form relying more on fast taans rather than the austere Bol Baant layakari or Dhrupad. Khyal was patronised by people like poet-musician Amir Khusro (1253-1325), Hussain Shah Sharqi, the Sultan of Jaunpur (1457-83). It was not until Mohammed Shah of Delhi came to rule in 1719 that Khyal entered the royal courts as a favoured classical genre.

It was in Delhi, which supported hundreds of tawaifs or courtesans who were accomplished musicians, that thumri and khyal developed rapidly. The courtesans cultivated the interpretative song and dance forms. As Delhi's fortunes began declining after Aurangzeb's death in 1707, the Mughal emperors succeeding him began taking interest in the lighter forms like khyal and thumri. They preferred it to the more sober Dhrupad.

Thumri and Kathak The way thumri's evolution is linked to that of khyal, it also evolved complementing Kathak. In the Mahabharata, the word Kathak appears denoting actors, singers. Kathaks were professional story tellers who narrated stories from the Hindu epics and mythology. During the medieval era and Mughal empire, Kathak flourished in temples and courts. Its speciality was the dramatic presentation of Vaishnavite myths and the stories were supported by mime and accompaniment. In the 18th century, Kathak became very popular in Lucknow, paralleling the rise of thumri. But, Kathak was essentially embued with Vaishnavism, specialising in the portrayal of tribulations and joys of Radha and Krishna -- Krishna's teasing, and holi playing, and Radha's passionate longing. As Delhi's fortunes declined, after the invasion of Persian ruler Nadir Shah in 1738, the courtesan district in Delhi became deserted. At the same time, Lucknow was emerging as the new political, economic and cultural centre of North India. Kathak's evolution began rapidly after dancer Prakashji migrated from Allahabad to Lucknow. His sons, Durgaprasad and Thakur Prasad were employed as dancers in the court of Wajid Ali Shah. Durga Prasad's son, Binda Din Maharaj (1836-1917) contributed immensely to the evolution of Kathak and was responsible for the sensual amalgamation of Kathak with thumri. Binda Din Maharaj, who popularised the Lucknow gharana of music, studied thumri from Sadiq Ali Khan. He first created what are called arth-bhav thumris, which are designed to be rendered through dance. In the early Lucknow tradition, a dancer would sing a line of the song and then interpret it while seated through gestures and facial expressions. This tradition of seated abhinaya was highly popular initially, but as thumri achieved sophistication, thumri exponents chose to specialise in either singing thumri or performing Kathak accompanied by a vocalist. Renowned thumri exponents like Gauhar Jaan, Siddeshwari Devi and Rasoola Bai rendered seated abhinaya occasionally. Shambhu Maharaj, son of Binda Din Maharaj and the guru of his nephew Birju Maharaj, remained the last great exponent of this style.

Gharanas While Kathak and thumri prospered in Lucknow, the Benares gharana lent it a different flavour. Due to its proximity to traditional folk music traditions, the thumri from the Benares gharana remains seeped in it and has less embellishments of classical tools. Though Lucknow experimented with serious ragas like Malhar, Malkauns, and Darbari in their bandish thumris, they are not found in the bol banao thumris of Benares. Kirana gharana vocalist Abdul Karim Khan(1872-1937) though a Khyaliya evolved a new approach to thumri singing. His style displayed a warm devotionalism. It was later picked up by disciples like Sawai Gandharva (d 1952), Suresh Babu Mane (d 1953), and Roshan Ara Begum. The style was then adopted by their disciples like Hirabai Badodekar (b 1905), Saraswati bai Rane, Bhimsen Joshi (b 1922), and Manik Verma. Thumri was sung by other gharanas like Faiyyaz Khan (1886-1950), Pyar Khan, Vilayat Hussain Khan, Latif Khan, and Mohammed Khan of Agra gharana, Mushtar Hussain Khan of Rampur gharana, Rehmat Khan of Gwalior, Kesar Bai Kerkar of Jaipur Atrauli gharana. Renowned ghazal singer Begum Akhtar, who learnt from gurus of Kirana and Patiala gharanas, was instrumental in presenting a style of thumri which was a mix of Purab and Punjab Ang of thumri. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902-1968) contributed in a big way in popularising the Punjab style of thumri, though he always maintained that there was only one 'Purab Ang' to thumri. Son of Ali Baksh Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali belonged to a mirasi family whose traditional occupation was to teach courtesans and accompany them on the sarangi. He was instrumental in further bringing together thumri and khyal forms. Gradually, the up-tempo thumri adopted the taan techniques of khyal and tappa. Though this enriched its style, it also led to bandish thumri being absorbed into Chhota Khyal. The emphasis on Bandish thumri went out of vogue as singers either mastered the larger raga repertoire and technical demands of Khyal, or else concentrated only on the emerging Bol banao thumri of today. A gradual deceleration of tempo, a corresponding increase in emphasis on leisurely Bol Banao thumri and the replacement of classical teen taal with folk-driven metres like Sitarkhani or Deepchhandi took place. Thus Bol bano thumri resembles the strictly classical Bada Khyal due to its slow tempo. As the courtesan's salons and the aristocratic set up gave way to the modern concert halls, it changed not only the patrons of thumri but its basic goals and techniques. The seductive functions of thumri were altered and it became a more pure, abstract art form whose techniques and goals were purely aesthetic.

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