Holi Music



Holi is one of India's most vibrant and fun-filled festivals and it has a unique style and form in each part of the country that is reflected in the music that is associated with the festival. The melodious renditions across the country denote, through musical notes, the spirit of Holi.

The musical forms associated with Holi vary from region to region as one travels from the north-west to extreme east of the country down to the southern region. Primarily though, the compositions are based on the mythological references and tales from folklore.

To understand the genre that is Hori Dhamar, one needs to understand what Dhrupad, on which Hori is based, is all about. The word Dhrupad is derived from Dhruva meaning fixed and pada meaning words or song. Therefore, the term dhrupad means "the literal rendering of verse into music" and so the songs have a particularly potent impact.

Dhrupad is the oldest and perhaps the grandest form of Hindustani vocal music. It is said to have descended from older forms like the Prabandha and the Dhruvapada. Dhrupad was essentially devotional in essence. In fact, prior to the reign of Akbar it was performed almost exclusively in temples. Dhrupad reached its pinnacle of glory during Akbar's reign when stalwarts like Swami Haridas, Baba Gopal Das, Tansen and Baiju Bawra performed it. By the 13th century AD, dhrupad as a form of music was well developed.

It is believed that Emperor Akbar loved the traditional Indian arts and culture in its pristine form. His darbar had several Hindu musicians all of whom performed Hori on the day of the festival with great gusto.

It was adapted for court performance during the reign of Raja Man Singh Tomar (1486-1517) of Gwalior. Swami Haridas and his disciple Tansen have also greatly contributed in the development Dhrupad as well as its related various forms, including Hori.

Dhrupad had been in decline since the 18th century since it is essentially a poetic form incorporated into an extended presentation style marked by precise and orderly elaboration of a raga. The exposition preceding the composed verses is called alap, and is usually the longest portion of the performance. Dhrupad compositions have four parts or stanzas. A recital typically consists of one or two male vocalists accompanied by the Tanpura and Pankhawaj. Compositions are usually written in Braj Bhasha, though sometimes Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bengali and Urdu are also used. Originally, the compositions were written in Sanskrit.

The Sangeeta Ratnakara of Sarangadeva (12th century A.D) contains a detailed description of five major styles or geetis, of Shastriya Sangeet - 'Shuddha', 'Bhinna', 'Ghodi', 'Sadharani' and 'Vesura'. Of these the only one surviving in its original form today is the 'Sadharani geeti' which is the Dhrupad sung by the Dagars. There are four forms of Dhrupad singing: Dagar Bani, Khandaar Bani, Nauhar Bani and Gauhar Bani. The Dagar Bani, which is the leading school today, has survived changing musical patterns and presents this art form in all its originality. At present, the only renowned exponents of this genre of music are the Dagar brothers (Rajasthan) and Pandit Ram Chatur Mullick (West Bengal). Other important exponents of this form of singing are Bhavani Shankar Majumdar, Phalguni Mitra, Siyaram Tiwari, Abhay Narayan Mallick and Vidur Mallick from Darbhanga.

DHAMAR-HORI

These compositions are similar to Dhrupad but are chiefly associated with the festival of Holi. The bucolic quality and the lilt to the word itself, makes a slightly phonetically slur on the alphabet, 'Li' as in 'Ho' Li' change it to a less demanding 'Ri'. Making it easier to enunciate. Thus, Hori finds itself getting more easily accepted than Holi.

Here the compositions are specifically in praise of Lord Krishna and his love for Radha. This music, sung in the dhamar tala, is chiefly used in festivals like Janmashthami, Ramnavami and Holi.

Hori is the most popular type of Dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here describe the spring season. These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Radha-Krishna. Hori is directly related to Holi. Interestingly it has both classical as well as semi-classical connections. When it is sung as a classical piece, it is a sequel to the Dhrupad form. Such horis are set to the tala dhamar, which has 14 beats.

Thus horis sung as a concluding portion of a Dhrupad recital are classical in nature as well as treatment. Those horis, which are sung as semi-classical items, are in ragas like Khamaj, Kafi etc. Significantly, these horis are also set to a tala of 14 beats called Deep chandi. Though horis are supposed to be about the love pranks of Krishna and Radha, there are some delightful exceptions too. One hori in raga Kafi is about Ram and Sita - Ram Siya Phag Machavat being the theme. Towards the conclusion of the hori, laggis are played on the tabla, which adds a bit of excitement after a spell of relaxed singing.