The shy romantic : portrayal of love in Hindustani classical music

Navarasa gana madhuram.

Music beautifies  the rasa or the emotion potrayed in the song.

Music is magical . Any music can sway us into the mood it has been created for .

In Carnatic i classical music , the focus is more on Bhakti rasa , which  speaks of the devotion to the Almighty.

In Hindustani classical  music  Bhakti /Devotion is  sung of in Bhajans. Here , though , I would like to mention why Sringara rasa , or the emotion of Love in all its aspects is portrayed very beautifully.

Love is such an universal theme , that no aspect of love has been left untold . What is it , that makes the portrayal of  love  unique in Hindustani classical music ?

What is it that imparts its unique appeal to a rendition that speaks of two lovers ?

In Hindustani classical music , when the artiste performs a bandish or  khayal , he /she  is given  great freedom to perform the musical piece . Khayal , which  actually means , a thought , is the way the artist renders the piece , while staying within the boundaries of the raga it is being performed in and  in correct rhythm to the accompanying music .

The freedom given to perform , is a great asset . That is because, the artist , can perform,and colour the song with her/his own style of thoughts and feelings.

For instance let us focus on the lyrics of the khayal given below , set to a raga called Pooriya Dhanashree, and set to the rhythm of tritaal , which is a 16 beat rhythm .

Payaliyaa Jhanakaar mori ,(pronounced more-e)

Jhanana Jhanana Baaje Jhanakaari ,

          Antara

Piya samajhaoo samajhat nahin

Saas nanand mori deegii gaaari

Payaliyaa : anklets with little bells on them , which are worn by most women ,and are traditional jewellery

Jhanakaar : the sound these anklets make

Mori : mine , belonging to me .

Jhanana Jhanana: the sound of these anklets as one moves

Baaje : sing , sound

Jhankaari: the sound of the anklets once again

Piya : my love ,

Samajhaoo: I try to explain to you

Samajhat : understand

Nahin: does not

Saas-nanand: mother- in- law and sister-in-law

Mori: mine

Deegi : will dole out

Gaari: scoldings

The meaning of the song , is so simple , upfront .In it , the wife laments with her husband:

Love of mine , listen to me . Do not be stubborn . Your mother and sister will grumble if they hear the noise made by my anklets.

Simple , na ?

And an accomplished artist who can portray emotions thru the song , will pause at just the right places, and repeat the words changing their tune ,

all the time singing only in Pooriya Dhanashree to the rythmof  teentaal ,in this fashion:

Payaliyaaa   (pause) , janakaaaaaaaaaar mori ,(pause )

Jhanana Jhanana …..baje…… jhanakaari,

Piya  samajhavu , sa-ma-jha-tha  nahin,

Aye , piyaaaaaaaaaa (lamenting the words within the framework of the raag)

Piya  sa-ma-jha-vu  sa-ma-jha-tha- nahin? And inflicts irritation into the words , as if she is asking her husband , “do you not understand ?”

The artist once again changes the tone of the words and the tune too (of the words piya samajhavu samajhat nahin),and pleads “ love will you not listen to me please ?”

And repeats the words with an inflection of angry dissent to mean “will you now listen to me or not?”and so on and so forth. The  same words are sung , only the tune is varied , and we begin to wonder why is the girl so very insistent to make her husband listen to her, what is it that he is bent on not listening..

The artist then beautifully blends in a few words from the first line “paayaaliyaa” and

Words from the second line , “jhanana jhananna” –“jhana-jhanana-jhana-jhana”

Followed by the words “saas-nanand mori degi gaaari”

And we then comprehend “ oh , so she is scared that she will disturb the rest of the family with the sound of her anklets .”

But then why is she so scared , or should we say perturbed?

The singer , now sings” Piyaa samajhavu samajhat nahin , payaliyaaaaa jjhanakaar mori; saas-nanand mori degi gaari “

The artist now completes painting the picture. So , then , we conclude , “It is that way she says it is it ?”And enlightenment draws upon us . When  even a mere shake of the leg makes the anklets jingle , what is it that is making them go jangle , jangle ,jangle ,and  that too so that the sound made by the anklets is bound to disturb the  family? And thereby ,embarrass the girl ?

Psychology , defines love as caring , attachment and intimacy.

And it is this third component of love that is being potrayed here.

Most of the picture painted is left unsaid .The singer-performer in his/her  innovative style , paints the picture of these two lovers , by leaving a lot unsaid , but a lot of it very  well understood.

That is the magic of the khayal gayaki. The person who sings the khayal or the thought , the person who weaves the story for us and lets us conclude.

I remember reading somewhere , that when we are in love , the entire universe , conspires with us , and the feeling of love that we experience is this universal light energy radiating through us .It is this light that binds us to those two lovers through the song sung by the performer. And it is a wonderful feeling , for we say it best , when we say nothing at all.

It feels lovely to be part of this rich cultural experience that is called  Khayal in Sringara rasa.

In todays world where , every thing is stated explicitly , the subtlety with which  romance is depicted  in our classical music is a refreshing change.