Suryabeej: Created page with "{{Music of India|state=collapsed}} {{Hindustani Classical Music infobox}} '''Thumri''' (Hindi: '''ठुमरी''') is a vocal Music g..."

2021-06-26T08:47:35Z

Created page with "{{Music of India|state=collapsed}} {{Hindustani Classical Music infobox}} '''Thumri''' (Hindi: '''ठुमरी''') is a vocal Music g..."

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:17, 26 June 2021
(No difference)

imported>Finney1234: Remove a dupicated suggested book.

2021-02-20T17:09:12Z

Remove a dupicated suggested book.

New page

{{Music of India|state=collapsed}}
{{Hindustani Classical Music infobox}}
'''Thumri''' ([[Hindi]]: '''ठुमरी''') is a vocal [[Music genre|genre]] or style of [[Music of India|Indian music]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/South-Asian-arts|title=South Asian arts – Musical forms and instruments|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=September 1, 2020|quote=The thumri is another North Indian vocal form and is based...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/thumri|title=Thumri {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=September 1, 2020}}</ref> The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumakna'' (''ठुमकना''), which means "to walk with dancing steps so as to make the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is thus, connected with dance, dramatic gestures, mild eroticism, evocative love poetry and folk songs especially from [[Uttar Pradesh]], though there are regional variations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hindustani Music|last=Ranade|first=Ashok Da.|publisher=National Book Trust, India|year=1997|isbn=81-237-2199-4|location=India|pages=66}}</ref>

The text is romantic or devotional in nature, the lyrics are usually in [[Uttar Pradesh]] [[dialect]]s 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 (music)|Hori]], [[Kajari]], [[Sawani|Saavan]], [[Jhoola music|Jhoola]], and [[Chaiti]], even though each of them have their 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.

==Structure==
As in ''[[Khyal|khayal]]'', ''thumri'' has two parts, the ''sthayi'' and the ''antara.'' It favours ''tala-s'' such as ''Deepchandi'', ''Roopak'', ''Addha,'' and ''Punjabi.'' These ''tala-s'' are characterized by a special lilt, nearly absent in the ''tala-s'' used in ''khayal''. ''Thumri'' compositions are mostly in ''[[raga]]-s'' such as ''Kafi'', ''Khamaj'', ''Jogiya'', ''Bhairavi'', ''Pilu'' and ''Pahadi.'' A common feature of these and other such ''raga-s'' is the free movement they allow the artist, since they do not depend for their identity on rigidly formulated tonal sequences, irrespective of the compositions involved. In fact, one may say that they have a built-in provision for mixing ''raga-s'' or for moving out of the ''raga'' actually presented in order to add colour to the proceedings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hindustani Music|last=Ranade|first=Ashok Da.|publisher=National Book Trust, India|year=1997|isbn=81-237-2199-4|location=India|pages=67}}</ref>

==Origins==
The exact origins of thumri are not very clear, given that there are no historical references to such a form until the 15th century. The first mention of Thumri goes back to the 19th century, with a link to the classical dance form [[Kathak]]. This was the ''bandish ki thumri'' or ''bol-baant'' and it evolved mostly in [[Lucknow]] in the court of nawab [[Wajid Ali Shah]]. At that time, it was a song sung by [[tawaif]]s or courtesans. According to historical records, a new version of thumri arose in the late 19th century, which was independent of dance, and much more slow-paced. This form was called ''bol-banav'' and it evolved in [[Varanasi]].

==Thumri and khayal==
Unlike the [[Khyal|khayal]], which pays meticulous attention to unfolding a raga, thumri restricts itself to expressing the countless hues of shringar by combining melody and words. The contours of a khayal are most definitely broader and fluid. Thus, a khayal singer is capable of encompassing and expressing a wide range of complex emotions. A thumri singer goes straight to the emotional core of a composition and evokes each yarn of amorous feeling, each strand of sensuous sentiment, with great discretion. Khayal aims at achieving poise and splendour; thumri is quicksilver in tone and ardently romantic in spirit. It needs a delicate heart, and a supple and soulful voice capable of expressing several shadings and colours of tones to bring out its beauty. To draw an analogy from the world of painting, khayal is closer, in form and spirit, to the unrestrained and energetic world of Renaissance masters like Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian – forcefully executed brush strokes are seen on a broad canvas; whereas thumri, with its affinity for finer points and shades of feeling, emotion and mood, is closer to the finely-detailed still-life paintings of the Dutch masters of the 17th century.

==Noted thumri artists==

===Purab ang===
Well-known artists of the 'purab ang' thumri' of the [[Benaras gharana]] or Banaras gayaki include [[Rasoolan Bai]] (1902–1974), [[Siddheshwari Devi]] (1908–1977), [[Girija Devi]] (1929–2017), [[Mahadev Prasad Mishra]] (1906–1995) and [[Chhannulal Mishra]] (b. 1936).

Some other singers of thumri are [[Gauhar Jan]] (1873–1930), [[Begum Akhtar]] (1914–1974), [[Shobha Gurtu]] (1925–2004), [[Noor Jehan]] (1926–2000) and [[Prabha Atre]] (b. 1932). 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 (singer)|Naina Devi]] (1917–1993), 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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mazumdar|first=Subhra|url=http://www.timescrest.com/culture/naina-devi-and-the-nautch-girl-3599|title=Naina Devi and the nautch girl|access-date=25 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024090733/http://www.timescrest.com/culture/naina-devi-and-the-nautch-girl-3599|archive-date=24 October 2013}}</ref>

===Classical thumri===

Some [[khyal]] singers took an interest in thumrī and sang it their own way, as in the case of [[Abdul Karim Khan]], [[Faiyaz Khan]], [[Bade Ghulam Ali Khan]], [[Bhimsen Joshi]], [[Madhav Gudi]], [[Rajan and Sajan Mishra]], [[Barkat Ali Khan]], [[Jagdish Prasad]] and [[Prabha Atre]].

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]], [[harmonium]] and [[swarmandal]].

==Lyrics==

Thumrī singers pay considerable attention to the lyrics, though they may be difficult to follow in the ornamented enunciation. This is especially where the focus is on love, and many lyrics deal with separation or ''viraha''. Krishna's ''ras leela'' or love play with [[Radha]] and other gopis of [[Vrindavan]] appear frequently. As an example, here are the lyrics of a thumrī composed by the medieval poet [[Lalan (poet)|Lalan]], celebrating Krishna's flute – how its tunes are driving Radha mad. [[Braj]] or Vrindavan is where Krishna is indulging in this love play; Radha is the "girl of Braj".

{|style="border:1px; border: thin solid white; background-color:white; margin:10px;" cellpadding="6"
|-
|
:ab naa baajaao shyaam
:ba.nsuriyaa naa baajaao shyaam
:(e rii) vyaakul bhaayii brajabaalaa
:ba.nsuriyaa naa baajaao shyaam
:nit merii galii.n me.n aayo naa
:aayo to chhup ke rahiyo
:ba.nsii kii terii sunaaiyo naa
:ba.nsii jo sunaaiyo to suniye
:phir shyaam hame.n aapnaaiyo naa
:aapnaaiyo to suniye laalan
:phir chhoDo hame.n kahii.n jaaiyo naa
:ba.nsuriyaa naa baajaao shyaam
|  |
:Enough! Now stop
:playing on your flute, dark lover
:this Braja girl's heart is aflutter,
:I ask you, please stop playing
:don't come to my lane all the time
:and if you have to come,
:just don't play your flute
:I am warning you now:
:if you have to play that flute
:then you'll have to be mine
:you won't be able to go elsewhere
:so will you please stop playing now?
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Dance in Thumri'', by Projesh Banerji. Published by Abhinav Publications, 1986. {{ISBN|81-7017-212-8}}.
* ''Thumri in Historical and Stylistic Perspectives'', by Peter Lamarche Manuel. Published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1989. {{ISBN|81-208-0673-5}}..
* ''Thumri, Tradition & Trends'', by Ramanlal Chhotalal Mehta, Published by Indian Musicological Society, 1990.
* ''Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre: Thumri Lyrics'', by Lalita Du Perron. Published by Routledge, 2007. {{ISBN|0-415-39446-5}}.

==External links==
*[http://www.chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/thumri.html Article: Semi-classical song]

{{Hindustani Classical Music page end}}

[[Category:Thumri| ]]
[[Category:Indian classical music]]
[[Category:Hindustani music genres]]
[[Category:Hindustani music terminology]]

Thumri - Revision history

Suryabeej: Created page with "{{Music of India|state=collapsed}} {{Hindustani Classical Music infobox}} '''Thumri''' (Hindi: '''ठुमरी''') is a vocal Music g..."

imported>Finney1234: Remove a dupicated suggested book.