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.
