Rajendra Sijuar conveyed the nuances of the Banarasi ang on the Thumri-Kajri Utsav
Apart from offering respite from warmth, monsoon ushers in a celebratory temper, greatest expressed via music. Many Hindustani music festivals, such because the Malhar Festival and people that concentrate on thumri, dadra and chaiti, are timed throughout this season. And there are raags sung particularly throughout monsoon.
Thumri, the most well-liked style of Hindustani music, is a fantastic mix of the classical and people. Under it, seasonal people genres like Kajri, Chaiti, Hori and many others have additionally developed, of which Kajri is the soul of the rains. With its leisurely and summary strategies just like the ‘Bol-Banaav’, which conveys the which means of the textual content musically, thumri is immediately interesting to listeners who will not be steeped within the classical custom. It’s no surprise, due to this fact, that the annual Thumri-Kajri Utsav organised by Kala Prakash in Varanasi is remarkably standard amongst music lovers. This yr too, the organisation’s founder-chairman, Ashok Kapoor, determined to carry the competition just about.
The competition showcased Rajendra Sijuar, a disciple of Pt. Rajan-Sajan Mishra, streamed reside from Gaya, a metropolis well-known for its thumri custom, just like the Purab ang and Punjab ang thumris. One anticipated the Gaya flavour in Rajendra’s live performance, however being groomed underneath the Mishra Bandhus, he introduced Banarasi thumris and kajris.
An uncommon selection
Opening with a standard thumri in raag Tilang, ‘Deejo mohe nai chunari mangay’, set to Deepchandi taal, Rajendra impressed together with his uncommon number of raag. Normally, thumri live shows start with Mishra-Khamaj, the place the ‘Mishra’ signifies the potential of taking liberties with Khamaj. Here was a thumri singer who began with Tilang and handled it faithfully.
The sluggish tempo of Deepchandi taal helped him elaborate, develop and embellish the song-text. The leisurely elaboration maintaining in rhythm of the theka performed on the tabla had imaginative ‘bol-banaav’, the place the singer selected phrases and phrases from the thumri and regularly adorned them with quite a lot of swara combos.
After the ‘Sanyog Shringar’ thumri, celebrating togetherness, with the nayika requesting her beloved for a vibrant chunari, got here the ‘Viyog-Shringar’, the pathos of separation, conveyed via the favored thumri, ‘Mora saiyan bulave aadhi raat, nadiya bairan bhai’, in raag Desh, set to Addha Theka of Teentaal.
The thumris have been adopted with a standard dadra, ‘Kaise bedardi se pale pade hain, mose bharaave gagaria’, in Manjh-Khamaj, set to the lilting gait of Dadra taal.
To conclude, Rajendra sung a few kajris describing the fantastic thing about badariya — darkish rain clouds. The kajri, ‘Barsan lagi badariya sawan ki, mori dhani chunariya bhij gai’ in Pilu was adopted by the favored ‘Barsan lagi badariya room, jhoom ke’.
Rajendra’s open-throated singing and delicate therapy of the repertoire impressed. Each piece led to a superb laggi, with the tabla artiste Dinesh Kumar bringing in superb rhythmic variations. The harmonium accompaniment by Sarvottam Kumar matched the subtleties within the compositions and vocals. Rajendra Sijuar devoted his live performance to the late Pt. Rajan Mishra.
The Delhi-based author focusses on Hindustani music.
