Shringar Vol. 4 - The Many Moods of Love (Audio CD)

Of all the rasas those exquisite flavours of emotions and sentiments the permeate Indian art the most celebrated is Shringar the mood of love. It is not just the erotic that is associated with Shringar it is love in all its infinitely varied and subtle aspects from the sensuous to the sublime from the human to the divine. Ancient texts establish that Shringar is of two kinds the rapturous bliss of love in union and the aching pain of love in separation.

In music perhaps no genre is as Shringar rasa pradhaan or evocative of this rasa as Thumri. The lyrics centre around a lover and his beloved or Radha and Krishna episodes. With great delicacy of expression and the aesthetic use of embellishments Thumri unfolds the essence of the lyric through its delineation in musical notes rhythmic patterns and play on words.

Included in this selection is Dadra considered to be part of the Thumri genre. A relatively faster tempo emphasizes the lilt of the rhythm with crisp delineations of the word and melody.