How Purab Ang Gayaki Utsav keeps alive the thumri tradition in Bengal through a concert series

At a time when Bengal is screaming ‘We Need Justice’ towards the atrocities meted out to girls , one couldn’t assist however take into consideration the skilled girls singers, who had been stigmatised for hundreds of years as tawaif or baiji until the early Fifties. These actual custodians of Hindustani music together with the classical dhrupad dhamar, khayal and so on, had been popularly related to thumri even after Independence. The decline of thumri was accompanied by the marginalisation of its achieved practitioners, until the Indian authorities’s insurance policies remained shackled by the double requirements of the Victorian worth framework.

The latest ‘Barkha Bahaar’ session, that includes thumri, kajri, jhula and tappa types , noticed many younger vocalists flip up as eager members and viewers, as if to avenge the ache and frustration of these Nayikas. Held for 2 days on the upscale Chowdhury Home, it was offered by Aniruddha Chowdhury’s group, Calcutta Performing Arts Basis, and assisted by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

However, because of the efforts of legendary musicians equivalent to Girija Shankar Chakraborty, Prasun and Meera Banerjee, Girija Devi, Sipra Bose, and Purnima Chaudhuri, thumri and its allied types are nonetheless practised in Bengal. However, many of those types, with all of the riches of the indigenous attraction of people music of Ganga-Yamuna area, are both getting distorted or diluted now.

In 2011, two years earlier than Purnima Chaudhuri’s premature demise, a collection of Purab Anga Gayaki Utsav was held in numerous Indian cities. It was organised by Vinod Kapur, a music-loving businessman from Grurugram. “VSK Baithak took the initiative to rescue this Gayaki from the darkish nook, and produce it again to centre stage by giving this heritage a brand new title ‘Purab Anga Gayaki’ (PAG); and have a good time it by a collection of Baithaks held in Delhi, Varanasi and Kolkata,” says Vinod Kapur, the particular person behind PAG’s revival. And ‘Barkha Bahar’, a pageant to have a good time monsoon, has been happening in Kolkata, as a part of the PAG utsav.

These quarterly Utsavs had been organised to evaluate the chosen artistes from throughout India and encourage the members by honouring the highest three with ‘Girija Devi Puraskar’. In response to Vinod Kapur, he found ‘the vocalists of Bengal who’ve essentially the most acceptable attributes – the sensitivity, high quality of voices and femininity to successfully specific the nuanced emotion of this Gayaki.’

Apparently, until 2018 all of the awards had been received by Bengalis. By then Appaji had left for her heavenly abode. Vinod Kapur was distressed to see that the goldmine of PAG is disadvantaged of gurus who might familiarise the learners with the dialects, literature, way of life and tradition of Hindi heartland. He, subsequently, began the Purab Anga Gayaki Venture and entrusted the noble work of disseminating the vidya to a number of erudite gurus throughout the nation. However, later narrowed it all the way down to Vidushi Manju Sundaram of Benaras and Vidushi Dalia Rahut of Kolkata. They’re nurturing the khayal and thumri artistes of various calibre, enabling them to understand the that means of a phrase that carries layers of unexpressed feelings, that deliver us nearer to our roots, which serves because the lifeline of this rustic but advanced gayaki.

The Occasion

From these angles, the country fantastic thing about Abanti Bhattacharjee’s alluring ‘Piya to maanat nahi’ (Kafi) and the desolate ‘Tarape bin baalam’; and vocalist-sitarist duo Debapriya-Samanwaya’s advanced and uncommon tappa in raag Purvi adopted by a lilting jhoola set to Megh, stood out. So was the easy free circulate of Jhumpa Sarkar’s Pilu thumri ‘Saiyan nahi aaye’, adopted by a swinging jhoola.

Santa Kundu‘s Kafi-based thumri, with wealthy lyrics describing the great thing about the divine couple soaked in rain, was soothing and he or she concluded with a perky Mirzapuri kajri. Bishnupriya Chakrabarty’s conventional thumri was adopted by a sohar, congratulating Nand-Yashoda on the arrival of their child (Krishna). Set to Shivranjani and dipchandi, it turned out to be the one ritualistic tune of the fest. She concluded with an excellent talferta swaying from kaherwa to dadra and again. Dipanjana Bose Chanda took it upwards whereas rendering a Desh thumri and a uncommon jhoola set to Rupak. Madhumita Chattopadhyay couldn’t do justice to her melodic ideas because of a nasty throat.

The PAG artistes had been accompanied by Ashoke Mukherjee, Pran Gopal Bandopdhyay, Emon Sarkar, Pritam Polley and Aurobinda Bhattacharjee on the tabla, and Debasish Adhikari and younger Dilip Biswas on the harmonium. Additionally they supplied assist to the younger performers.

Deblina Ray’s Majh Khamaj bore the stamp of her guru.
| Photograph Credit score:
Prashant Arora

Younger brigade

There have been many younger artistes who debuted on the PAG utsav. They carried out earlier than an viewers consisting of very senior musicians, friends and eclectic listeners. The pageant opened with Deblina Ray, a disciple of vidushi Suranjana Bose, a scholar with PAG Venture underneath Manju. Deblina sensitively interpreted the delight of union and pangs of separation in two compositions in Majh Khamaj, paying homage to her Grand Guruma’s model.

Moupali Choudhury embellished her chosen thumri and kajri with wonderful kahan.
| Photograph Credit score:
Prashant Arora

Vidushi Subhra Guha’s singing model got here to the fore, when her disciple Moupali Choudhury embellished her chosen thumri and kajri with wonderful kahan. Dalia’s younger disciple Sagnik Sen, properly educated in Patiala’s Khayal Gayaki, sang Desh thumri and a kajri, composed by Appaji. His adherence to PAG’s format of placing a stability between talent and feelings was extremely commendable.

Sagnik Sen, disciple of Dalia, is well-trained in Patiala’s Khayal Gayaki.
| Photograph Credit score:
Prashant Arora

Anjan Majumdar, a maverick, has a singular model. His experiment with Appaji’s ‘Ghir aayi hai’ sounded refreshingly new in Ritisha Mukherjee’s voice. However her ‘Kadar na jaane’ displayed a satisfying voice utilised properly in a cusp of previous and new. Amrita Dutta, one other disciple of Majumdar, sang thumri in Ramdasi Malhar. She might do higher by understanding this advanced raga first. The next kajri and jhoola with spontaneous phrases had been fulfilling.

The Dialogue

The subject was ‘Evolution of Thumri in Bengal’. Moderated by vocalist Supriyo Dutta, it developed right into a confluence of assorted views , particularly centered on Appaji’s instructing methodology as many of the eminent members: Guru Dalia Rahut , Manasi Majumdar (Director, Bengal Music School), Suranjana Bose (eminent vocalist and guru), Debapriya Adhikary and Samanwaya Sarkar (celebrated vocal-sitar duo), had been groomed by her.

Whereas they highlighted ‘kahan’ as an important side of thumri, or spirituality throughout the seemingly plain lyrics, Punjab Anga, really Purab Anga with Patiala nuances, had tappa of Purab Anga that differed vastly from the unique tappa of the camel riders of Punjab and Sindh.

Tapasi Ghosh (HOD, Music with Bengal Music School), a disciple of Pandit DT Joshi, defined the salient options of her model of PAG that merges Lucknow, Agra Gharana’s Rangeele side with Benares; and Anjan Majumdar, disciple of A Kanan and Malabika Kanan, emphasised the modernisation of the lyrics together with progressive melody of PAG. These current on the session, led by Pt. Tejendar Narayan Majumdar, opposed this. Additionally they desired for added session of this type.