A two-day workshop on Purab Ang Thumri Gayaki was conducted by Vidushi Malini Awasthi at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy on 4th and 5th July, 2024. The scholars of the Academy got together at the Academy’s auditorium to study the genre in detail.
Malini ji began the first day’s session by shedding light on the history and evolution of Purab Ang Thumri Gayaki. She also emphasised the importance of lyrics in Thumri and demonstrated the techniques of ‘badhat’. She enlightened the Scholars about the importance of pronunciation or ‘kahan’ in Thumri and concluded the day’s session with a performance of the Thumri in Raga Bhairavi, “Babul mora naihar chut hi jay”, a composition by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, by way of demonstration. She was accompanied by Shri Sanjay Adhikary on the Tabla and Smt. Rupashree Bhattacharya on the Harmonium on day one.
The second day’s session was more interactive. Malini ji began the session with a Thumri in Raga Desh Malhar, “Aye sawan ghir aye badarwa”. The Scholars joined her in the alaap. She gradually unfolded the techniques of singing with the ‘laggi’ and also showed how to deliver a sher or a doha in rhythm. In the first half of the second day’s session, Malini ji was accompanied by Shri Gopal Mishra on the Tabla. Shri Bivash Sanghai accompanied her in the second half. Anubhab Khamaru and Sudeepto Chakraborty, both Scholars of the Academy, accompanied her on the Harmonium.
