Dhanashree Pandit Rai promotes this dying genre of light classical Indian music through a recent concert in Auckland
“I arrived in Auckland, quite literally, with a thunderstorm. My first thought was: hope I manage to create a similar thunderstorm on stage!,” says Dhanashree Pandit Rai, who showcased her vocal skills recently at the Mt Albert War Memorial Hall in Auckland organised by Migrant Heritage Charitable Trust Inc. The event was sponsored by East Tamaki Healthcare, Relianz Forex, Chasers Foods and Snacks, Eco Travel, ASB Community Trust, Creative NZ and COGS.
Trained in “fully-grounded” Indian classical music under the tutelage of Pandit Firoz Dastur, Rai specialised in thumri under the able-guidance of the legendary Shobha Gurtu. Dhanashree holds a master’s degree in Hindustani classical music from University of Mumbai. Dhanashree is one of the leading exponents of the thumri form of music and her repertoire, besides khayal, consists of thumri, chaiti, hori, kajri , sawan, jhoola and the likes.
Rai aspires to give thumri its rightful place on the concert stage today since it definitely faces the risk of extinction with the dominance of khayal. “Thumri stands in between pure classical and light classical forms of music. It can be comparable to jazz music in western classical,” explains Rai. “I want the public to appreciate its special flavour and charm. This form of music has fewer specialisations and so its not taken seriously.”
Rai attempts to give thumri a contemporary touch by comparing the love and romance expressed in braj bhasha, to the canteen language among teenagers. “Language could be a barrier for the music form to not appeal to younger people,” says Rai. “Thumri’s job is to preserve heritage. The emotions can be relived in the contemporary world.”
In fact, Rai has combined her thumri vocals with jazz music played by New York City-based pianist Richard Bennett. Named ‘Mumbai Masala’, the fusion album is expected to be released end of the year. She plans to teach the nuances of thumri to students of classical music and also organise for a master class in Auckland.
“Thumri is not getting the respect it deserves,” laments Rai. However, her rendition of this light classical music style at Rangarasiya, as the concert in Auckland was named, was lapped up by the audience that had gathered for the concert.
An appreciative Rai says, “The people were attentive, appreciative, enthusiastic, receptive and interactive - everything that an artiste secretly wishes for in an audience. Besides the coterie of lay people, there were singers and knowledgeable people who asked some questions to which I didn’t even have an answer. It reminded me of the audience at NCPA in Mumbai.” Rai, who was accompanied by Manjit Singh of Rhythm School of Music on tabla and Samir Bhalodkar on the harmonium, admitted to enjoy clicking personal photos with the audience.