Thumris

Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that 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.

The text is romantic or devotional in nature, the lyrics are usually in Awadhi and Brij Bhasha. Thumree is characterized by its sensuality, and by a greater flexibility with the ''raga''.

''Thumri'' is also used as a generic name for some other, even lighter, forms such as Dadra, Hori, Kajari, Sawani, Jhoola, and Chaiti, even though each of them has 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.

Thumari being a popular form of Indian light classical music, characterized by tenderness and themes of love, separation, or union. It is distinct from folk music and the more masculine dhrupad and khayal styles. One theory attributes its origin to the court of Wajid Ali Shah of Oudh. However, this causal explanation overlooks the continuous evolution of Indian classical music. Thumari's development is best understood within the broader context of India's musical traditions. Thumari is considered an evolution of ''dhruvas'' mentioned in Bharata's '' Natyasastra''. Specifically, it is linked to the ''prasadiki'' or ''prasadini dhruva'', associated with '' shringara rasa'' and characterized by colorful delight (''rangaraga'') and happiness (''prasada''). Bharata recommends ''madhyalaya'' (medium tempo) for this type of ''dhruva.''

Key Characteristics

# Strong emphasis on poetic content.
# Themes primarily focused on '' shringara rasa'' (romantic love), sometimes with dual spiritual and mundane meanings.
# Lyrical form due to the limited range of ''ragas'' and extensive elaboration.
# Emphasis on diversity rather than unity in melodic patterns.
# Requires a specialized vocal quality.
# Historically associated with the Kathak dance style, which initially led to a lower social status for its performers.
# Distinct ''talas'' (rhythmic cycles).
# Embellishments are primarily tonal-verbal, unlike the purely tonal embellishments of orthodox classical music.

Structure

As in 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.

Origins

The origins of Thumri can be traced back to the time of Jayadeva, Ramanuja, and Ramanand. It reached its peak popularity during the era of Shri Chaitanya (circa 16th century AD), whose Nagar Kirtan (Hare Krishna Hare Rama) stirred the masses into emotional ecstasies. The evolution of Thumri was inspired by the Vaishnavism sect, especially the devotion to Krishna, which expressed divine love. Later, the philosophies of Vaishnavism and Sufism played a key role in shaping both Thumri and Kathak. The Thumri style of singing primarily developed from festival and seasonal folk songs such as Holi, Chaiti, Sawan, Kajri, and Dadra, originating from eastern Uttar Pradesh.

A mention of Thumri is found in the 19th century, with a link to the classical dance form Kathak. This was the ''bandish ki thumri'' or ''bol-baant'' and it found great patronage and evolved mostly in Lucknow in the court of nawab Wajid Ali Shah. At that time, it was a song sung by tawaifs 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 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.

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 Nirmala Devi (1927-1996). 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 (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.

Classical thumri

Some khyal singers took an interest in thumrī and sang it their own way, as in the case of Abdul Karim Khan

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