Banaras has seen myriad cultures and is considered to be the “udgam sthal” or the point of genesis for many performing arts like Thumri, Kathak, Tabla and Sarangi. The spirit of Banaras is evident in its galis and koochas, in its ghats and its timeless music. A concert titled “Best of Banaras” was held at the India International Centre, New Delhi on 25 January 2009. Kumud Diwan presented the famed Banaras Thumris and Dadras. Her pure Banarasi rendering summoned the lure of an evening in Banaras, where the strains of Thumri emanating from the boats on the banks of the Ganges leave that city spellbound. A Kathak recital by the duo, Sharada and Shyam Kartik, depicted the finest of the classical dance traditions of Banaras, and Jay Shankar Mishra on tabla showed his true Banarasi origins. |
Thumri is a song of love and pining depicting Shringar Rasa and various moods of the Nayika (heroine). The foundation of Sanskrit aesthetics was codified in “Natya-Shastra” by Bharata Muni who classified heroines into eight types (Bhedas),creating a framework for subsequent dramas and poems, including Thumri lyrics. At a concert at the India Habitat Centre in October 2008, the jugalbandi with Padmabhushan Uma Sharma, the renowned Kathak dancer, was a skillful interpretation of "Nayika-bhed” to present the heroine in these moods, as Vasaksajja, Abhisarika, Swadheenpatika, Khandita, Virhotkanthika, etc. Kumud Diwan's singing and the Kathak nrityabhinaya by Uma Sharma were in complete tandem and created magic. Pandit Dinanath Mishra of Kolkata presented Thumris of Nayak-bhed. |
