Benares music

By a doyenne and a torchbearer of the Benares Gharana: Vidushi Purinma Choudhury
Accompanied by Debashis Haldar on the Sarangi and Biplav Burman on the tabla.

Vidhushi Purnima Chaudhury is a doyenne of the Benaras Gharana with a repertoire of the traditional Benares fare of Thumri, Dadra, Kaji, Chaiti, Hori and Tappa. Closely following in the footsteps of the great Guru Pandit Mahadev Prashad Mishra of Benares and the valuable guidance of Padmabhushan Smt. Girija Devi, Smt. Purnima Chaudhury has emerged as a torchbearer of the Benares Gharana. She also sings Khayal, having been under the tutelage of Pandit A. Kanan.

A Sangeet Pravin from Prayag Sangeet Samity, Allahabad, she is a top grade Akashvani and Doordarshan artiste and has appeared in many National Programs and Sangeet Sammelans. She has and continues to give concerts in many of the prestigious music conferences in India and Indian music festivals in many parts of the world.

The Thumri presents a bridge between the world of classical and folk traditions. Musicologist Thakur Jaidev Singh traces the earliest form of Thumri to the Harivansh Purana (200 A.D.). This was sung along with the dance that Lord Krishna is believed to have learnt in the celestial court of Indra. Another eminent scholar and musician Dr.
Rita Ganguly states that the Thumri predates the dhrupad and the Khayal. Vidya Rao says:

What distinguishes thumri from other forms is its emphasis on the poetic text: the performance of a thumri involves as much the elaboration of the poetry and the layers of meaning that can be teased out of each line and phrase as it does the delineation and elaboration of the raga.

Among the great Thumri singers are Gauhar Jaan (India’s first recorded voice in 1902), Begum Akhtar, Shobha Gurtu, and from the Benaras Gharana, Rasoolan Bai, Siddheshwari Devi and Girija Devi. Abdul Karim Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Prabha Atre too have sung unforgettable Thumris.

Coming from this rich tradition, Purnima Chaudhury  will be accompanied by Shri Debashis Haldar on the Sarangi and Shri Biplav Burman on the Tabla.

Directions to reach Adishakti: From the Pondicherry – Tindivanam highway, after the toll booth turn right to Auroville, Edayanchavadi road, 4th gate on the left side