| 1930s poster of Krisna and gopis (cow herdesses). The love of the gopis for Krishna is the subject of thumri. |
First of all, for those of
you who absolutely have to have MP3 files the recent Evening with Mohd. Rafi album is now available in that format from
the relevant post.
Tomorrow is one of those all
too rare mid-week public holidays. ANZAC day, which for non-Antipodians is the
Down Under equivalent of Memorial Day. Big parades of bemedalled old soldiers,
usually quite a bit of rain and moments to remember those who were brave enough
to put their lives on the line for their country. It is also the occasion for a major football
match (in Melbourne at least) which the sports media love to drum up as the
moral equivalent of Gallipoli.
Tonight’s post has not a
thing to do with either of those events. Which is not to say war and football
and soldiers are not worthy of being toasted by the Washerman’s Dog. Not at
all. Simply, I’m in the mood for an
album I’ve had for some time and which I’m eager to share with you.
I’ve mentioned the thumri before. But just to refresh the
old grey matter, here is a concise summary: Thumri is a common
style of light classical music. The text is romantic and devotional in
nature, and usually revolves around a girl's love for Krishna. The
language is a dialect of Hindi called Brij bhasha. This style is
characterized by a greater flexibility with the raga. The compositions are
usually set to kaherava of 8 beats, addha tal
of 16 beats, or dipchandi of 14 beats. It arose
in popularity during the 19th century. (http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/thumri.htm)
The singers tonight are Nirmala Devi and Laxmi
Shankar. Nirmala Devi is the mother of the Bollywood dancer-par-excellence,
Govinda, and is a classically
trained singer of the Patiala gharana.
Nirmala, born a Muslim, who converted
to Hinduism and changed her name enjoyed a brief acting career of her own in
Bombay in the 1940s and was married to the actor, Arun Ahuja. Unfortunately, his career was less than stellar and he
died young leaving Nirmala a single
mother. She is regarded as one of the
finest thumri singers of her
generation.
Laxmi
Shankar is a classically trained South Indian dancer. She fell in with the dancer/musician Uday
Shankar, older brother of Ravi,
in the 1940s and eventually married another brother, Rajendra (Raju). When her dancing career was derailed by illness
she became a disciple of khayal
singer, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, and
found a new facility and passion for thumri,
khayal and bhajan.
The four thumris
on this 1966 EMI release were composed by Laxmi
Shankar’s teacher, Ustad Abdul
Rehman Khansahib. Two are sung by
both women and then each diva gets a chance to explore the music on her
own. Both have delicate, diaphanous
voices which match the lyrics especially well.
This album is a real gem and evidence of the
depth of Hindustani music beyond the big names. The title track Sawan Beeta Jaye (Should Spring Pass) is
the standout number with the two voices rising repeatedly like a swirl of birds
high in the sky. But the remaining three tracks are very nice too. Singing in
Braj-Hindi, which is the mother tongue of neither artist, both singers bring a
precision and ease to the pronunciation of the lyrics that is allows them to
really soar vocally.
And of course, I can’t help but point out (yet
again) how wonderful it is to have music from a distinctly Hindu tradition being
composed and performed by those from the Islamic tradition. This is the sort of world I like and pray
for, where we just get on with beauty and forget the boundaries and walls.
A perfect way to wind down for the mid-week
break!
Track
Listing:
01. Naina More Taras Rahe Hai
02. Kare Manmani
03. Sawan Beeta Jaye
04. Na Mane More
Baat
Listen here (MP3).