Thumri is a type of Indian music that uses the voice to express emotions. The word comes from the Bhojpuri language, where "thumak" means a dance-like movement that causes ankle bells to ring. This style of music is linked to dance, expressive body movements, gentle expressions of love, and poetry about love and devotion, especially from the region of Uttar Pradesh.

The lyrics of Thumri are often written in Awadhi, Bhojpuri, or Brij Bhasha. This music is known for its sensuality and the way it allows performers to change melodies freely to better express feelings (called "rasa").

Thumri is also a general term for other musical forms, such as Dadra, Hori, Kajari, Sawani, Jhoola, and Chaiti. Each of these forms has its own unique structure and content, whether in lyrics, music, or both. These styles share connections with traditional Indian music and folk traditions.

Thumri differs from the strict and serious styles of Hindustani music, such as dhrupad and khayal. It became popular in the 19th-century court of Wajid Ali Shah. Thumri is connected to ancient songs described in Bharata’s Natyasastra, an old Indian text. Specifically, it reflects the features of a form called "prasadiki dhruva," which is a medium-paced style focused on love (shringara rasa) and marked by emotional warmth ("prasada") and joyful melodies ("rangaraga").

In modern performances, Thumri is known for its:

Structure

Thumri, like khayal, has two parts: the sthayi and the antara. It uses talas such as Deepchandi, Roopak, Addha, and Punjabi. These talas have a unique sound that is rarely found in the talas used in khayal. Thumri compositions are often written in ragas such as Kafi, Khamaj, Jogiya, Bhairavi, Pilu, and Pahadi. A key feature of these ragas is that they give the artist more freedom to create music. This is because they do not rely on fixed musical patterns to define their identity, no matter what composition is being performed. In fact, these ragas allow the artist to blend different ragas or move away from the main raga to add variety and richness to the music.

Origins

Thumri began in the time of Jayadeva, Ramanuja, and Ramanand. It became most popular during the time of Shri Chaitanya, who lived around the 16th century AD. His religious songs, called Nagar Kirtan (Hare Krishna Hare Rama), made people feel very emotional. Thumri developed because of the Vaishnavism religion, especially the love for Krishna, which showed deep spiritual feelings. Later, ideas from Vaishnavism and Sufism helped shape Thumri and Kathak. Thumri singing started from folk songs connected to festivals and seasons, such as Holi, Chaiti, Sawan, Kajri, and Dadra, which came from eastern Uttar Pradesh.

In the 19th century, Thumri was linked to Kathak, a classical dance. This style was called bandish ki thumri or bol-baant, and it was widely supported in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah in Lucknow. At that time, Thumri was sung by tawaifs, who were trained singers. Historical records say a new version of Thumri appeared in the late 19th century. This version was not connected to dance and was much slower. It was called bol-banav and developed in Varanasi.

Thumri and khayal

The khayal style focuses on carefully developing a raga, while thumri focuses on showing many aspects of love and beauty by combining melody and words. The structure of a khayal is more flexible and wide-ranging. This allows a khayal singer to express many different feelings. A thumri singer directly connects with the main emotion of a song and carefully shows details of love and nuances of feeling. Khayal aims for balance and grandeur, while thumri has a quick and smooth tone and is deeply romantic. A thumri singer needs a sensitive heart and a flexible, expressive voice that can show many different shades and tones to highlight its beauty.

Noted thumri artists

Well-known artists of the 'purab ang' thumri of the Benaras gharana, also known as Banaras gayaki, include Rasoolan Bai (1902–1974), Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), Girija Devi (1929–2017), Mahadev Prasad Mishra (1906–1995), Chhannulal Mishra (b. 1936), and PURNIMA CHAUDHURI (1945–2013).

Other singers of thumri include Gauhar Jan (1873–1930), Begum Akhtar (1914–1974), Shobha Gurtu (1925–2004), Noor Jehan (1926–2000), and Nirmala Devi (1927–1996). The bol banao style has a slow tempo and ends with a laggi, a faster section where the tabla player can improvise.

Naina Devi (1917–1993) was a respected figure in thumri. She was married to a royal family but later chose to dedicate her life to singing the songs of Tawaifs. At that time, it was difficult for someone from a royal background to make such a choice, as it often led to social challenges. However, her husband supported her decision.

Some khyal singers also performed thumri in their own style, including Abdul Karim Khan, Faiyaz Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, Madhav Gudi, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Barkat Ali Khan, Jagdish Prasad, and Prabha Atre.

Today, thumri is sometimes performed at the end of khyal concerts as the final piece. In addition to the tabla and tanpura, other common instruments used in thumri are the sarangi, harmonium, and swarmandal. Thumri is often performed at the end of events because it leaves a strong emotional impression on the audience.

Lyrics

Thumri singers focus carefully on the lyrics, even though they can be challenging to understand because of the detailed way they are spoken. This is especially true when the lyrics describe love, and many songs talk about separation or longing, known as viraha. Stories about Krishna's love play, called ras leela, with Radha and other gopis in Vrindavan are often included in these songs. For example, a thumri written by the medieval poet Lalan describes how Krishna's flute music deeply affects Radha. These songs take place in Braj, also known as Vrindavan, where Radha is referred to as the "Girl of Braj."