'Thumri Festival' begins on a melodious note

The three-day musical event of 'Thumri Festival', one of the renowned annual properties of Sahitya Kala Parishad, kicked off on August 26 at Kamani Auditorium, Mandi House.

The musical festival, representing the melodious journey of Hindustani classical music, saw a great artist line-up on day one. The first performance was by the extremely versatile singer Pandit Bholanath Mishra, who presented 'Nritya Bhaav bandish thumri' with the lyrics 'Hatho jao jao hatho, maano mori baat saaiyan.' His next presentation was a 'Vilambit thumri' in 'Jat taal' and 'Raag Tilak Kamod' 'arre bedardi saiyaan, kahe jaane dil ki baat' followed by a 'Khamaj Dadra' on 'Ladai gaui re piya re mose naina.' He ended his performance with a 'Khajri'.

The second performance was by Madhumita Ray who followed the Gwalior-Rampur format in her presentation. She presented 'thumri' in 'Raag Mishr Maaj Khamaj'; 'Dadra' in 'Raag Pilu Gara'; 'Jhoola' and 'Kajri'. The event came to an end with Indrani Mukherjee's performance.