In
Hindustani music, there are 10 main forms of styles of singing
and compositions: Dhrupad, Dhamar, Hori, Khayal, Tappa,
Chaturang, Ragasagar, Tarana, Sargam and Thumri. Nowadays
Ghazals have become very popular as the 'light classical' form
of music.
DHRUPAD
The word
'Dhrupad' is derived from 'Dhruva' meaning fixed
and 'pada' meaning words or song. Therefore, the term
dhrupad means "the literal rendering of verse into music"
and so the songs have a particularly potent impact. Dhrupad is
the oldest and perhaps the grandest form of Hindustani vocal
music. It is said to have descended from older forms like the
Prabandha and the Dhruvapada. Dhrupad was
essentially devotional in essence. In fact, prior to the reign
of Akbar it was performed almost exclusively in temples. Dhrupad
reached its pinnacle of glory during Akbar's reign when
stalwarts like Swami Haridas, Baba Gopal Das, Tansen and Baiju
Bawra performed it. By the 13th century AD, Dhrupad as a
form of music was well developed. It was adapted for court
performance during the reign of Raja Man Singh Tomar (1486-1517)
of Gwalior. Swami Haridas and his disciple Tansen have also
greatly contributed in its development.
Haridas Haridas and his disciple
Tansen have also helped in its development. Dhrupad has
been in decline since the 18th century. Dhrupad is essentially a
poetic form incorporated into an extended presentation style
marked by precise and orderly elaboration of a raga. The
exposition preceding the composed verses is called alap,
and is usually the longest portion of the performance. Dhrupad
compositions have four parts or stanzas. A dhrupad
recital typically consists of one or two male vocalists
accompanied by the Tanpura and Pankhawaj. Dhrupad
compositions are usually written in Braj Bhasha, though
sometimes Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bengali and Urdu are also used.
Originally, the compositions were written in Sanskrit. The
Sangeeta Ratnakara of Sarangadeva (12th century A.D)
contains a detailed description of five major styles or
geetis, of Shastriya Sangeet - 'Shuddha', 'Bhinna',
'Ghodi', 'Sadharani' and 'Vesura'. Of these the only
one surviving in its original form today is the 'Sadharani
geeti' which is the Dhrupad sung by the Dagars. There
are four forms of Dhrupad singing: Dagar Bani, Khandaar Bani,
Nauhar Bani and Gauhar Bani. The Dagar Bani, which is the
leading school today, has survived changing musical patterns and
presents this art form in all its originality. At present, the
only renowned exponents of this genre of music are the Dagar
brothers (Rajasthan) and Pandit Ram Chatur Mullick (West
Bengal). Other important exponents of this form of singing are
Bhavani Shankar Majumdar, Phalguni Mitra, Siyaram Tiwari, Abhay
Narayan Mallick and Vidur Mallick from Darbhanga.
KHAYAL
Khayal
literally means ‘a stray thought’, ‘a lyric’ and 'an
imagination'. This is the most prominent genre of Hindustani
vocal music depicting a romantic style of singing. Khayal
originated as a popular form of music in the 18th
century AD and was ultimate in the blending of Hindu and Persian
cultures. Its origins are a mystery. Some people trace its
origins to 'Sadarang' Nyaamat Khan, a beenkaar in the
Mughal court of Muhammad Shah 'Rangila'. Others believe that
Khayal singing was the invention of Hussein Shah Sharqi. The
most important features of a Khayal are 'Tans' or the
running glides over notes and 'Bol-tans' which
distinguishes it from Dhrupad. Khayal is dependent to a large
extent on the imagination of the performer and the
improvisations he is able to incorporate. Khayals are of two
varieties: Vilambit (slow tempoed) and Drut (fast tempoed). A
Khayal is also composed in a particular raga and tala and
has a brief text. The Khayal texts range from praise of kings or
seasons, description of seasons to the pranks of Lord Krishna,
divine love and sorrow of separation. The texts contain rhyme,
alliteration and play on words. Generally composed in the
archaic Hindi dialect known as Brij Bhasha, khayal songs are
also found in languages like Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Urdu, Rajasthani,
Marathi and occasionally Sanskrit. Essentially, the tanpura
and tabla accompany khayal performances. Other ensembles include
the sarangi, harmonium, violin and swarmandal. There are
six main gharanas in khayal: Delhi, Patiala, Agra,
Gwalior, Kirana and Atrauli-Jaipur. Gwalior Gharana is
the oldest and is also considered the mother of all other
gharanas. The Agra Gharana was founded by Haji Sujan Khan,
the Jaipur-Atroli Gharana was founded by Ustad Allaudin Khan and
the Kirana Gharana was pioneered by Ustad Abdul
Wahid Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Among the other eminent
khayal singers, mention may be made of Faiyaz Khan, Amir Khan,
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Kishori Amonkar, Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit
Jasraj, Sawai Gandharva, Sureshbabu Mane, Balakrishnabuwa
Kapileswari, Roshanara Begum, Hirabai Barodekar, Feroz Dastur,
Gangubai Hangal, Manik Verma, Saraswati Rane and Prabha Atre.
Some of the renowned khayal singers are C.R.Vyas, Rashid Khan,
Shubha Maudgalya, Ajoy Chakraborty, Shahid Parvez, Shruti
Sadolikar, Ashvini Bhede Deshpande, Mukul Shivputra and Meeta
Pandit.
THUMRI
Thumri
originated in the Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh, mainly in
Lucknow and Benares, around the 18th century AD and
was believed to be first patronised in the court of Nawab Wajid
Ali Shah of Lucknow. Thumri was developed by the famous musician
Sadiq Ali Shah. It is believed to have been influenced by
hori, kajri and dadra, popular in Eastern Uttar
Pradesh. Some people consider that an older musical
presentation called chalika, described in the
Harivansha (400 AD), to be the precursor of Thumri. Thumri
is supposed to be a romantic and erotic style of singing and is
also called “the lyric of Indian classical music”. The song
compositions are mostly of love, separation and devotion. Its
most distinct feature is the erotic subject matter picturesquely
portraying the various episodes from the lives of Lord Krishna
and Radha. They are usually sung in slower tempo, giving more
importance to the lyrics with short alaps. Thumris are
composed in lighter ragas and have simpler talas. Thumri
is generally written in Braj Bhasha, Khari Boli and Urdu. A
Thumri recital typically consists of one or two male/female
vocalists accompanied by sarangi and/or harmonium, tanpura and
tabla. A Thumri is usually performed as the last item of a
Khayal concert. There are three main gharanas of thumri
-- Benaras, Lucknow and Patiala. Qadar Piya, Sanad Piya, Lallan
Piya, Kenwar Shyam, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and Rang Piya are some
well-known thumri singers of the Lucknow Gharana. Rasoolan Bai,
Siddeshwari Devi and Girja Devi are exponents of the Benaras
style of thumri. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, one of the most
famous thumri singers, belonged to the Patiala Gharana. Shobha
Gurtu is a renowned contemporary singer of thumri.
DADRA
Dadra
bears a close resemblance to the Thumri. The texts are as
amorous as those of Thumris. The major difference is that
dadras have more than one antara and are in dadra
tala. Singers usually sing a dadra after a thumri.
DHAMAR-HORI
These
compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated
with the festival of Holi. Here the compositions are
specifically in praise of Lord Krishna. This music, sung in the
dhamar tala, is chiefly used in festivals like
Janmashthami, Ramnavami and Holi. Hori is a type of
dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here
describe the spring season. These compositions are mainly based
on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna.
TAPPA
The
tappa is said to have developed in the late 18th Century AD
from the folk songs of camel drivers. The credit for its
development goes to Shorey Mian or Ghulam Nabi of Multan. Tappa
literally means 'jump' in Persian. They are essentially
folklore of love and passion and are written in Punjabi. Its
beauty lies in the quick and intricate display of various
permutations and combinations of notes. The compositions are
very short and are based on Shringara Rasa. It is rather
strange that even though the Tappa lyrics are in Punjabi, Tappa
is not sung in Punjab. Varanasi and Gwalior are the strongholds
of Tappa. Bengal has also been greatly influenced by the Tappa
style, where Ramnidhi Gupta created a special kind of songs,
called Bangla Toppa, after the same kind of music from
Punjab called Shori Mia's Toppa. He set his romantic
lyrics on melodies, which were based on Hindustani classical
music. Later his songs became popular as Nidhubabur Toppa.
Even today this kind of songs are heard in Bengal, especially in
Calcutta. But the numbers of both the exponents and audience of
this kind of music are waning fast. Chandidas Maal is one of the
last few performers of these songs. Others persons who created
the same kind of songs in Bengal include Sridhar Kathak, Gopal
Ude and Amritolal Basu to name a few. Some of the eminent tappa
singers include Krishna Rao, Shankar Pandit, Nidhu Babu, Mian
Gammu, Shadi Khan, Babu Ram Shai, Nawab Hussain Ali Khan, Mammi
Khan, Chajju Khan, Sher Khan and Girija Devi.
RAGASAGAR
Ragasagar consists of different parts of musical passages in
different ragas as one song composition. These compositions have
8 to 12 different ragas and the lyrics indicate the change of
the ragas. The peculiarity of this style depends on how smoothly
the musical passages change along with the change of ragas.
TARANA
Tarana
is a style consisting of peculiar syllables woven into
rhythmical patterns as a song. It is usually sung in faster
tempo.
CHATURANG
Chaturang denotes four colours or a composition of a song in
four parts: Fast Khayal, Tarana, Sargam and a "Paran" of Tabla
or Pakhwaj.
GHAZAL
The ghazal is mainly a poetic form than a musical form,
but it is more song-like than the thumri. The ghazal
is described as the "pride of Urdu poetry". The ghazal
originated in Iran in the 10th Century AD. It grew out of the
Persian qasida, a poem written in praise of a king, a
benefactor or a nobleman. The ghazal never exceeds 12
shers (couplets) and on an average, ghazals usually
have about 7 shers. The ghazal found an
opportunity to grow and develop in India around 12th Century AD
when the Mughal influences came to India, and Persian gave way
to Urdu as the language of poetry and literature. Even though
ghazal began with Amir Khusro in northern India, Deccan
in the south was its home in the early stages. It developed and
evolved in the courts of Golconda and Bijapur under the
patronage of Muslim rulers. The 18th and 19th centuries are
regarded as the golden period of the ghazal with Delhi
and Lucknow being its main centres.
