Introduction
Thumri stands out as one of the most popular forms of vocal music today, often serving as the concluding item in a classical performance. This improvised vocal form of the semi-classical genre is a short amatory text with devotional overtones. Until recently, Thumri was typically performed by courtesans as an accompaniment to interpretive Kathak dance, featuring spectacular action, rhythmic movements, and gestures.
17th-century texts such as Rag Darpan and Tofat-ul-Hind mention Thumri as merely a dance song. Later, it evolved into a solo vocal form in its own right. Following the decline of the Mughal Empire, Lucknow emerged as a promising center of arts and culture, adorned with distinctive characteristics. Both Thumri and Ghazal played pivotal roles in shaping this neo-elite culture, surpassing Dhrupad and Khayal. Lucknow bred a culture that led composers like Qadar Piya, Sanad Piya, Lallan Piya, and Bindadeen Maharaj to compose and popularize Bandish Thumri—a blend of Khayal and the amatory songs of Braj.
Lucknow's very own vocal music form incorporated Teental as the rhythmic frame, moved away from folk modes to a range of ragas, and elaborated through ‘splitting the word’ (Bol Bant), instead of sargam or tans used in medium or fast tempo Khayal. Lucknow Thumri soon became as famous as Lucknow’s melons throughout India.
Stylistic Features of Thumri
The three Devanagari alphabets that constitute Thumri—‘Thu’, ‘Ma’, and ‘Ri’—embody its inner significance and meaning. ‘Thu’ signifies ‘Thumuk’ or the ‘Chal’—the graceful, dignified, and leisurely movements of the dancer who accompanies the music. ‘Ma’ stands for ‘Mana’, meaning both mind and heart, while ‘Ri’ stands for ‘Rijhana’, meaning the enchanting quality of such dance and music. This interpretation is generally accepted within the music and dance fraternity.
Thumri developed after the form ‘Khayal’ came into practice, driven by the artistes' desire for more freedom from the musical restrictions of adhering to a particular raga. From its inception, Thumri emphasized poetry and artistic freedom, allowing the mixing of one or more ragas into one composition. Thumri compositions evoke the romantic or shringara rasa, though there are also Thumris of pathos or Karuna rasa. They are adorned with musical ornaments like Vistar, Bol Bant, Murki, and Khatka, directly emphasizing the poetry, unlike Khayal, which is adorned with tans and sargams. Thumri songs are embedded in rhythmic cycles like Deepchandi, Chachar, Punjabi, Ektal, Jhaptal, and occasionally Teental when the melody is doubled. Thumri is mostly sung in ragas like Desh, Tilak Kamod, Pilu, Kafi, Khamaj, Bhairavi, Jhinjhoti, and Tilang, indicating its close affinity with the regional musical forms of Braj.
Edwin Arnold, the Marquis of Dalhousie’s Administration of British India, commented that "Oudh was the garden, the granary and the queen province of India. The ruler was a Mussalman, but essentially it was a Hindu realm." Captain Augustus Willard's 1834 ethnographic work on Indian music mentions Thumri as an established musical form written in ‘an impure dialect of Brajbhasha’. Although patronized by the Muslim Nawabs of Lucknow, Thumri was clothed in the ‘Hindi of the region’—a mixed jargon of the Hindus of Lucknow and other eastern districts.
Like stobhaksharas in Sama Vedic music, Thumri has its own syllables of exclamation, such as Haan Haan, Haaye, Arey Haan re, which play an important role in the presentation of a song. These syllables heighten the effect of the sentiment portrayed and aid in the repetitions and variations of the tune.
Thumri provides a link between classical and light music. Broadly, there are two distinguished styles of Thumri singing—the PuravAng, comprising those of Lucknow and Benaras, and the Paschimi Gharana, that of Patiala. This essay focuses on the Bandish Thumri tradition of Lucknow, primarily developed by Kathak dancers in the Lucknow court and still sung exclusively in accompaniment to Kathak dance.
Projesh Banerjee, in his seminal work ‘Dance in Thumri’, laments that Kathak dancers often dwell on the rhythmic dexterity of intricate time measurements of the tala and its permutations and combinations, making the entire performance a splendid, acrobatic polished feat. Traditional Kathak dancing involves body movements, hand and facial gestures, even while sitting, without necessarily involving footwork. Singers like Janki Bai, Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi, and others pioneered this amalgamation of dance and singing.
Historical Development of Bandish Thumri
Thumri originated in Uttar Pradesh, its iconic structural form carved from several regional vocal forms of Braj. Major figures responsible for popularizing Thumri were dancers who sang Thumri with abhinaya, incorporating eye and hand gestures, postures, head and body movements, and dance steps typical of Kathak. Dancing was essential to Thumri, enhancing the romantic lyricism of the composition. The performance usually begins with a melodic elaboration of the Thumri accompanied by dance movements and gestures while sitting. At the end, the singer/dancer stands up and steps rhythmically, allowing the tabla player to showcase their excellence. Eminent Kathak dancers like Lachhu Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Achchan Maharaj, and presently Birju Maharaj, often followed this progression.
Peter Manuel, in his seminal work on Thumri, acknowledges Sadiq Ali Khan (1800-1910) as the single most important figure in the development of Lucknow Thumri. He refined Bandish Thumri and introduced it to the Lucknow court. Sadiq Ali had several prominent students who continued to compose and sing this unique style of Thumri, contributing significantly to its repertoire. Notable among them were Qadar Piya, Bindadeen Maharaj, and Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, who also composed several Bandish Thumris and popularized them.
Qadar Piya (1836-1902), grandson of the second emperor of Oudh, chose Bhakha (Urdu corruption of Bhasha) to compose Thumri, as it was the dialect spoken in the Hindu households of Lucknow and neighboring villages. V. N. Bhatkhande’s ‘Kramik Pustak Malika’ features several of his Thumris.
The pioneers of Thumri-dancing were Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and his chief court dancer Bindadeen Maharaj, who composed numerous Thumris and danced in accompaniment. During Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s time, music and dance flourished in Lucknow. Thumri as a vocal form and Kathak as a dance form gained status among other classical forms of music and dance. Dhrupad lost ground, and Khayal was unsuitable for dance and drama music, necessitating a new style that Thumri fulfilled.
The famous female Thumri singers in Wajid Ali Shah’s court were Rahiman Bai of Charkhari, Luttan Bai, Dhanna Bai, Jai Singh Bai, and Khurshid Bai. Male dancers and singers included Lallooji, Prakash Kathak, Durga Prasad, Man Singh, Ramzani Naqqual, Husein Baksh, Quayam Ali, Mirza Wahid Kashmiri, and Kanhaiya Naqqual. The king himself composed under the pseudonym ‘Akhtar Piya’ and ‘Ali’. Most of his Thumris are forgotten or lost, except for a few. Bindadeen Maharaj, according to his grandson Birju Maharaj, composed more than five thousand compositions, including bhajan, geet, thumri, and dadra. His Jode-ki-Thumri compositions, featuring two contrasting lyrics within the same melodic framework, remain a signature element of Bandish Thumri.
Conclusion
Despite its lyrical and musical richness, Bandish Thumri remains unheard in the mainstream musical circuit, confined as a form of Kathak dance accompaniment. Many traditional compositions are lost or circulate unknowingly as drut Khayal bandish. For example, the Bandish Thumri in Raga Bhairavi, ‘Bat Chalat Nayi Chunari Rang Dari’, is often taught as a Khayal bandish. Bandish Thumri, alternatively known as Dhanakshari Thumri, literally means its true worth (dhan) is preserved within the letters (akshar) of the composition, highlighting its uniqueness.
Bandish Thumri of Lucknow exemplifies the intricate blend of music and dance, preserving a rich cultural heritage that continues to enchant and inspire, even as it awaits wider recognition and appreciation.
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