Compilation of Eight Immortal Thumris

Immortal Thumris
EMI India - ECLP 2811 - P.1981

Add caption

Side A

A1 Abdul Karim Khan • Piya Ke Milan Ki Aas 4'35
A2 Barkat All Khan • Tum Radhe Bano Shyam 6'43
A3 Girja Devi • Nahak Laye Gawanwa 6'48
A4 Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan • Lage Tose Nain 4'58


Side B

B1 Bade Ghulam Ali Khan • Kate Na Biraha Ki Raat 3'35
B2 Begum Akhtar • Jab Se Shyam Sidhare 6'47
B3 Bhimsen Joshi • Kaun Albeli Naar 5'03
B4 Prabha Atre • Kaun Gali Gayo Shyam 7'45

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan

Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Urdu: استاد عبدلکریم خان) (November 11, 1872 - 1937), was an Indian classical singer of the Kairana gharana.

Abdul Karim Khan was born in Kairana (Uttar Pradesh, North India) in to the Kairana musical family which traced its roots to musician brothers Ghulam Ali and Ghulam Maula. His father, Kale Khan was the grandson of Ghulam Ali. Karim Khan received training under uncle Abdulla Khan and father Kale Khan. He also received guidance from another uncle Nanhe Khan. Apart from vocals and sarangi, he also learnt Veena (Been), Sitar and Tabla.
According to a story, he was initially a sarangi player, but decided to switch to vocals because of low status of sarangi players. In early years he used to sing with his brother Abdul Haq. The Baroda ruler was impressed by this singing duo and made them the court musicians. This is where he met Tarabai Mane, who was the daughter of Sardar Maruti Rao Mane, a member of the royal family. When they decided to get married, they were ousted from Baroda. The couple settled down in Bombay. In 1922 Tarabai Mane left Abdul Karim Khan, which apparently had a major impact on his music - making it pensive and meditative. Karim Khan's first wife, Gafooran was the sister of another Kirana master Abdul Wahid Khan, who was also his cousin.

Ustad and disciple Pt. Sawai Gandharva
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was invited to the Mysore court where he met famous Carnatic music Carnatic masters which also influenced his music. In particular the singing of his Sargam was a direct influence of Carnatic practice. He became a frequent visitor to Mysore Darbar which conferred on him the title Sangeet Ratna. On the way to Mysore he used to stay with his brother in Dharwad where he taught his most famous disciple Sawai Gandharva. In 1900 for eight months he taught Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar. Kesarbai Kerkar would go on to be one of the 20th century’s most renowned vocalists. In 1913 he founded the Arya Sangeet Vidyalaya in Poona to teach students. He would wholeheartedly teach all his students unlike other family ustads of the era. He finally settled down in Miraj till his death in 1937 when returning from a concert tour of the south. Every year in August commemorative music concerts are held in Miraj.
The innovations he brought to his vocal style distinguishes Kirana style from others. The slow melodic development of the raga in Vilambit laya slow tempo was the most characteristic aspect of his music. He worked hard to maintain his voice to be sweet and melodious which shaped his music. The thumri style he developed as also quite different from the poorab ang or Punjabi ang. His thumri progresses in a leisurely languor with ample abandonment. He was also the first Hindustani musician to seriously study Carnatic system and probably the first to be invited to sing all over the south. He has even recorded a Thyagaraja Krithi. He was also influenced by Rehmet Khan of the Gwalior gharana and adopted the direct style of presentation Bhairavi of Rehmat Khan used to be bright and cheerful Karim Khan perfected it and was able to present an equally bright and cheerful rendering.

See coming posts for individual albums by him.


Ustad Barkat Ali Khan

Barkat Ali Khan : four Thumris
Ustad Barkat Ali Khan (1905-1962) has left a lasting impression on various genres of Hindustani light classical music. He was younger brother of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. By several accounts Barkat Ali Khan was a superior Thumri singer but had to content himself by playing second fiddle to his elder brother.
After partition of India, Barkat Ali Khan migrated to Pakistan and concentrated on the lighter aspects of Hindustani classical music. He made a great contribution to North Indian light classical music. He was acknowledged as one of the greatest Thumri, Dadra, Geet and Ghazal artists. His outstanding rendering techniques of Purab and Punjab Ang have no match. He captured the audience all over India and Pakistan with his unique style of music.
Ustad Barkat Ali Khan's famous disciples include Ghazal singers Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, actress singer Noor Jehan, Begum Akhtar and many more. He died a premature death at the age of 57.

Quoted from the blog Indian Raga here:

where you can also find these pieces by Barakat Ali:

Ras Ke Bhare Tore Nain, Kahe Satavo Mohe Sanwariya, 

Lagi Naheen Chhootay, Torey Naina Jadu Bhare

Girja Devi  (b. 1929 - )
see previous post on her here...

Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan (1920s-1984) & 
Ustad Salamat Ali Khan (1934-2001)
see previous posts

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (c. 1902 – 25 April 1968)
see previous posts

Begum Akhtar (October 7, 1914–1974)
see this previous post and coming posts for more info on her

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi (February 4, 1922 - January 24, 2011)
see previous posts for individual albums




Prabha Atre 

(b. 13 September 1932) 

Prabha Atre was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atre in Pune. As children, Prabha and her sister, Usha, were interested in music, but neither of them planned to pursue music as a career. When Prabha was eight, Indirabai was not keeping good health, and at a friend's suggestion that classical music lessons would help her feel better, she took a few lessons. Listening to those lessons inspired Prabha to learn classical music.


Prabha learned classical music first from Pandit Sureshbabu Mane, and after his demise in 1952, from Smt. Hirabai Barodekar. Both Sureshbabu and Hirabai were children and disciples of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. While studying under Hirabai, Prabha accompanied her on her musical concert tours in different parts of India.


While studying music, Prabha finished college courses in science and law to receive degrees in both of those disciplines. She later also earned a Ph.D. in music. Her doctoral thesis was titled Sargam, and pertained to the use of sol-fa notes in Indian classical music.

read more from the Wikipedia here

see also coming posts for individual 

albums and more info on her.

The Thumri, known for its sensuous romanticism, has been aptly described as the expression of the singer's soul. Unlike in Khayal, the expressive aspect of the song is basic to its delineation. The charm of Thumri thus lies in the singer's skill in portraying its lyrical subtleties with a subtle musical imagination. To facilitate full expression to the poetic mood enshrined in the chosen theme, the artiste is allowed freedom to resort to a variety of voice modulations and appealing articulations in presentation.

The Thumri was once the exclusive preserve of female singers, as it lent itself naturally to their temperament and the feminine voice. Though the contemporary Thumri came into vogue, in Uttar Pradesh, towards the close of the 18th century, its genesis and close association with dance can be traced to ancient times.

The traditional Thumri compositions are all woven in Poorbi and Brij Bhasha, the two dialects of Uttar Pradesh, and are always sung in the traditional style. So tremendous was the impact of this music on the North Indian styles that several classical maestros of different "gharanas" made this art-form a part of their performing repertoire. The names of Abdul Karim Khan and Bade Ghulam All Khan, pioneers, respectively, of the Kirana and Patiala gharanas, immediately come to mind in this context.

On this LP you'll hear Bhimsen Joshi and Prabha Atre mould their Thumris in the clear Abdul Karim Khan manner; while Barkat All is an interpreter par excellence of the style pioneered by Bade Ghulam All Khan. Barkat All Khan can even be said to have given a new elan to Thumri singing by his own individualistic touch to the Patiala accent. The Punjab-ang Thumris by the duo. Nazakat Ali Khan and Salamat All Khan have excitement of their own. Although Girja Devi is the present-day reigning queen of the blue-blooded Benaras "Thumri", the happy mingling of lineaments of Punjab and Lucknow styles in Begum Akhtar's depictions bring home the greatness of one of the India's great singers.

The collage of eight "Thumris" heard in this disc, provide charming facets of the great tradition of light classical music from Uttar Pradesh. This album is bound to become a "Collector's Item".

quoted from the liner notes of the record sleeve

Music ▼ +

Bhimsen Joshi - Memorial posts - Recorded in his home on his 65th birthday!

Indisk Konstmusik - Gammal tradition i en ny värld

(Indian art-music - Old Tradition in a New World)

Caprice - CAP 2022 - P.1987

Prof. Debu Chaudhuri, sitar

Side A

A1 Raga Bagesri 21'30

A2 Raga Maund 7'55

A1, A2 recorded in the home of Debu Chaudhuri, New Delhi, 87.01.28

recorded 23 years ago on the day!

Dr. S. Balachander, veena

Side B

B1 Raga Varali - Ne pogoda kunte - Thyagaraja 28'45

B1 recorded in Bani Center, Madras 87.01.03

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, vocal

Side C

C1 Raga Todi - Aaj more mana logo langarawa - Khayal 14'59

C2 Raga Bhairavi - Thumri 12'32

C1, C2 recorded in the home of Bhimsen Joshi, Poona 87.02.06

recorded on his 65'th Birthday!

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, flute

Side D

D1 Hariprasad Chaurasia - Raga Mishra Khamaj - 12'46

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, santur

D2 Pandit Shivkumar Sharma - Raga Chandrakauns 12'50

D1 recorded in the home of Hariprasad Chaurasia, Bombay 87.02.03

D2 recorded in the home of Shivkumar Sharma, Bombay 87.02.03

This is the final memorial post of Bhimsen Joshi for at least a week or so. Not because I ran out of records to post but we really should not have so much of the best at the same time.

The good friend Arvind reported in at the last moment with these reading fruits from studying obituaries to Bhimsen Joshi the whole day.

He writes:

This one by Deepa Ganesh in The Hindu I found most interesting. Though its short, there is a considerable amount of insight, into the man and his music, and many good anecdotes. I think she tells the story (which will now enter legend) of how the young Bhimsen ran away from home and ultimately found his way to Sawai Gandharva and the Kirana gharana, in a very interesting way:

A wanderer both in life and in music, Bhimsen would often go missing from home, to his parents' great worry. From the age of three, he was wont to wander off — following the muezzin's prayer of Allahu Akbar as he tried to grasp its notes, or listening to the musicians in a nearby temple. As if in a trance, the little child would follow bhajan mandalis and wedding processions, completely tuned to musical notes and switched off to all else. His father would often lodge complaints with the police, only to find that a Good Samaritan had brought the boy back home. However, at 11, the boy left home for good after quarrelling with his mother, because she could not afford to serve him ghee with rice. He stomped out, leaving his food untouched. This turned out to be the turning point in his musical journey too. Listening to the gramophone recording of Raga Jhinjoti sung by the maestro of the Kirana Gharana, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, in a nearby teashop, he set his heart on learning from him. He stood at the Gadag station and took a train heading north. The penniless lad gave ticket collectors the slip by moving between compartments, singing songs for fellow passengers and begging for food. He stopped at Pune, Bombay and finally, after three months, reached Gwalior. He met and learnt from various maestros, but was not satisfied. He then went from Kharagpur to Calcutta, and on to Delhi, finally reached Jalandhar, where the Gwalior maestro, Vinayak Rao Patwardhan, advised him to learn from Sawai Gandharv in Kundagol, Karnataka. - It continues here

These recordings were made in connection with the India Festival '87, a comprehensive presentation of Indian Culture in Sweden in 1987. Bhimsen Joshi held several concerts in Stockholm and I was fortunateley able to attended all of them. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate any recording from these concerts but maybe if we are lucky, someone sees this post and points me to some location where I can search. Better yet, someone has a recording and shares it with us! There are indeed other very well known artists on this record , and I may come back later with individual post of the these artists but the reason I don't dwell upon them is because my main reason to post this double LP is because of the C-side with Bhimsen Joshi recordings. Again we can thank my good friend his Excellency who kept this record away from the dents of time. The recording with Debu Chaudhuri is made in his home in Bombay 23 years ago on the day! The recording of Bhimsen Joshi is made on the 6th of February in 1987, in his home in Poona, and on his 65th birthday! In little more than a week, that is 23 years ago!

Music ▼ +

Bhimsen Joshi - Memorial posts - Devotional 2

Bhimsen Joshi - Daaswani - Kannada Bhajans

EMI India - ECSD 2899 - P.1982

Side A

A1 Bhaagyada Lakshmi Baaramma

A2 Tungateeradi Ninta Suyaivara - Pt.Bhimsen Joshi

A3 Kailasavaasa Gaurisha Isha

Side B

B1 Koruni So Ranga

B2 Yake Mukanandyo Guruve

B3 Yadav Nee Baa

During the 13th century, there arose in Karnataka a new religious-cum-literary movement called the Dasa Vangmaya or the Haridasa Sahitya. Through songs written in simple and quite often colloquial Kannada, it sought to bring to the people the message of the newly founded Vaishnava Bhakti School, the Dasakuta.

Through the songs started as a popular expression of the Bhagawata Dharma and the theistic Dwaita Siddhanta, they succeded in attaining a wider appeal not only because of their ethical and devotional content but also because of their penetrating and critical observations of human nature, its follies and foibles.

Pioneered by Shri Naraharitirtha and Sripadaraya, the movement reached great heights during the 16th century through the efforts of Shri Vyasatirtha and two of his most illustrious diciples, Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa.

Vadiraja, Raghavendratirtha, Vijayadasa, Prasanna Venkatedasa and Jagannathadasa are some of its later exponents. The theistic and mystical touches of their songs raised them to the stature of spiritual literature; while their music made them a rousing expression of devotional sentiments. The central theme of these songs is the realisation of the supreme nature of the god Narayana, or Shri Hari, through the twin routes of "Bhakti" and "Vairagya".

Purandaradasa, the most prominent among the deciples of Vyasatirtha was said to have been a greedy, miserly and mean-minded rich merchant before he became a Haridasa, and a member of the "Dasakuta". Vithala is the central deity of all his devotional songs, and forms a spiritual link between the Dasa Sahitya of Karnataka and the Sant Vani of Maharashtra.

It is to Purandaradasa that this new movement owes its most mature achievements. He pioneered "Carnatic Music" and was a major source of inspiration to the well known composer of the South — Thyagaraja.

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, in his glorious voice fully recaptures here the spirit of this grand tradition of devotional songs. Through his highly evocative rendering of the worlds, which communicate more than their literal meaning, he brings to life the most endearing features of the Dasa Vangmaya — the intimate and affectionate terms in which God is addressed by the devotee, as also the unique equation that exists between the two.

Listening to these songs and their soul-stirring music is a profound experience.

Yashwant Chittal

One of the leading Kannada fiction writers, Yashwant Vithoba Chittal, born on August 3, 1928 in Hanehalli in Karnataka's North Kanara District.

Sri Vyasa Tirtha (1460-1539)

Purandaradasa - Srinivasa Nayaka (1484 - 1564)

"Father of Carnatic Music"

Music ▼ +

Bhimsen Joshi - Memorial posts - Devotional 1

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi - Abhangwani

EMI India - ECSD 2793 - P.1977

Side A

A1 Maajhe Maaher Pandhari - Sant Eknath

A2 Maajha Bhaav Tujhe Charni - Sant Namdev

A3 Sukhache He Naam Aavdeeney Gavey - Soyrabai

Side B

B1 Kaaya Hi Pandhari - Sant Eknath

B2 Gyaniaancha Raja Guru Maharao - Sant Tukaram

B3 Aata Kothe Dhave Man - Sant Tukaram

Music by: Ram Phatak

All these previous posts feel incomplete without a few of Bhimsen Joshis devotional records, especially if we are to understand his enormous popularity in India. Here is a record that was given to me by a woman friend who also studied bhajan singing. She bought this and some devotional songs by M.S. Subbulakhsmi when she visited Madras in 1984 and liked it very much. This is not typical, as the many friends I have here in the occidental countries, have often frowned when I played them some of his devotional music and they often find it too simplified and usually wave it away as superfluous and as being too light music. One of my friends, a well known composer, who really love Bhimsen Joshis classical vocal, even forced me to stop playing one of Joshis devotional records once, and said that he found it below Bhimsen Joshis dignity to sing such "kitchy" music and he was seriously disturbed by it. I hear similar sentiments often and for sure, I agree that there exists some rather dismal devotional music and much that is being produced especially contemporary should better remain unheard, but Bhimsen Joshi was definitely one to elevate it. Fortunately not all feel like my composer friend, and I for one, get very excited by his songs and find myself in a most exuberant mode upon listening to this record. Hope it will please you also.

My good friend Arvind in Madras, with whom I share much of my musical taste, who kindly helped me to transcribe the names of the tracks, wrote me the following most informative note upon discussing this record:

"Some thoughts on the record and the music. Pandit Bhimsen's incredible popularity can be attributed to a large degree to his devotional music, especially the abhangs in Marathi (featured on this record) and the Dasara Padagalu (songs by Purandara Dasa) in Kannada. Abhangs are devotional hymns by Marathi saint-poets of the bhakthi tradition, like Tukaram, Eknath etc, and they're all written in praise of Lord Vitthal, a form of Vishnu and the presiding deity of Pandharpur. Its my opinion that Bhimsen's popularity would have been restricted to the usual circle of classical aficionados, had he not made these highly successful records and cassettes with Abhangs and other devotional music. His popularity in the hindustani tradition can be suitably compared to that of M.S. Subbulakshmi's in Carnatic music, who also sang lots of devotional songs and bhajans, and is known for these by many thousands of people, most of whom don't follow classical music. So these were really stalwarts, and they deserved their Bharat Ratnas in every way!"

He also contributed this elucidating note on Abhangs,

"Abhangs are a sublime form of Indian Music whose origin can be traced to the spiritual ideologies of the bhakti saints of Maharashtra. Essentially these compositions are bhajans in Marathi sung in praise of Lord Vitthala (also known as Vitthoba) of Pandhrapur. They are characterised by simple appealing tunes and meaningful words. The meaning of the word Abhang can be derived from its root “A-bhang”(that which has no bhanga or hindrance). Abhang literally translates into “that which does not stop”. There is no stoppage between the verses or the main line and the verse; an abhang does not pause until it actually ends. Abhang also means “compositions that would never be wiped off the face of the earth.” It is eternal, ever new and always full of life."

One of the major saint-poets that wrote abhangs was

Sant Tukaram.

You can hear two abhangs by him in this record.

in the back of the picture you can see

Lord Vitthal.

On the pictue below you can see

Ram Phatak

seated at the harmonium

together with

Bhimsen Joshi

.

Music ▼ +

Bhimsen Joshi memorial posts - Finding the CD's

Click on the image to make it bigger

My good friend the critic over at Panchamkauns, has kindly checked on what CD's one can find certain tracks from all of those hard to obtain LP's just posted here with songs of Bhimsen Joshi, and made a concordance in the shape of a diagram showing all the tracks known to be reissued, and on what CD they have ended up.

Thanks a lot to him for this useful help, and if anyone else has some more information please leave a quote in the comment.

Bhimsen Joshi - Ragas Darbari, Abhogi, Misra Kafi, Mian ki Todi, Jogiya, Bhairvin

Bhimsen Joshi in Memoriam

1922 - 2011

Bhimsen Joshi - Darbari, Abhogi, Misra Kafi, Mian ki Todi, Jogiya, Bhairvin

EMI India • ECSD 2779 • P.1977

Side 1 - Evening Melodies

A1 Jhanhak jhanakva - Raga Darbari

A2 Charan dhar aayo - Raga Abhogi

A3 Piya to manat nahin - Thumri Misra Kafi

Side 2 - Morning Melodies

B1 Aeri main aaj - Raga Mian ki Todi

B2 Piya milan ki aas - Thumri Jogiya

B3 Jo bhaje hari ko sada - Bhairvin

Music ▼ +