The Lyrics of Thumn: Hindi Poetry in a Musical Genre Lara Mirene (Lalita) du Perron A thesis submitted to the University of London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Department of the Languages and Cultures of South Asia School of Oriental and African Studies January 2000 ProQuest Number: 10731628 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10731628 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract Thumri is a vocal genre in North Indian (Hindustani) art music. It was traditionally used in songstress-courtesan performance, in the early nineteenth century as an accompaniment to interpretive dance, and later as a lyrical and emotive song form. TTiumri is now one of the most popular genres in contemporary art music. The lyrics of thumri have not been the subject of extensive academic enquiry. This dissertation examines thumri texts from two perspectives: linguistic and contextual. It is primarily based on song texts collected during field work in North India in 1996-97, as well as on material transcribed from commercial recordings and printed sources. The detailed linguistic analysis carried out in chapter two provides an overview of the idiosyncrasies of the language of thumri texts, and explores their stylistic consequences. Chapter three examines the formal structure of the texts. Chapter four discusses the main themes that occur in thumri, and their literary antecedents. Thumri's contextual element is salient: in the process of negotiating the gradual move from courtesan's salon to modem concert stage, awareness of the relevance of thumri's historical role has been eroded to such an extent that we can speak of a 'reinvented' tradition. Chapter five locates thumri within the milieu of North Indian music culture, and examines how changes in the genre's context have affected its lyrics. Chapter six addresses issues of authenticity, as the ramifications of how genres respond to changing performance environments are considered. The conclusion is followed by three appendices. Appendix one contains the main corpus, the 108 texts upon which the dissertation is based. The texts are given with their variant versions where known, resulting in a total of 180 texts. These are translated, and problematic points of grammar and translation are briefly discussed. Appendix two consists of five charts which overview the use of rhyme and other poetic devices in thumri. Appendix three comprises a glossary of technical terms used in the thesis. 2 Table of Contents Abstract...................................................... 2 Table of Contents * .......................................................... ...............................3 Notes on transliteration and references ............ 8 Abbreviations occurring in the text ......................................... ......9 Select List of Collections ................................................................................. 9 Dictionaries ................................................................................................9 Other abbreviations ......................... 10 Acknowledgements.................................... 11 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................... 14 1.1 The study of thumri .................................... 14 1.2 Context ................... 16 1.3 Overview of the thesis .............................................................................18 1.4 Methodology ............................................................................ 24 1.5 Musical aspects of thumri ...................................................................... 26 1.6 Musical and textual parallels ..................................................................28 1.7 Thumri as an instrumental genre ...........................................................30 1.8 The main corpus ......................................................................................31 1.9 Anthologies ..............................................................................................32 1.10 Press reviews..........................................................................................34 1.11 Perspective of the thesis: constructing meaning .....................36 Chapter 2: The Language of Thumri ............ 39 2.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................39 2.2 Analysis .....................................................................................................41 2.2.1 Verbs.........................................................................................42 Subjunctive-present................................................................42 Subjunctive-present with subjunctive force .........................42 Imperfective........................... 43 Bol banav thumri .........................................................43 Bandis thumri..............................................................43 Imperfective participles with auxiliary ................................43 Non-finite imperfective participle constructions ................44 Perfective................................................................................. 44 3 Perfective participles with intransitive verbs ......................44 Perfective participles with transitive verbs ..........................44 Non-finite perfective participle constructions .....................45 Intensifies/ verb stems ending in -o ....................................45 Passive ........................................ 45 Conjunctive participles ..........................................................46 Imperatives ................................................... 46 Verbal nouns/ infinitives ......................................................46 Future................. 47 Compound Verbs ....................................................................47 2.2.2 N ouns .........................................................................................47 Oblique plural with postpositions .........................................47 Oblique plural without postpositions ...................................47 2.2.3 Pronouns ...................................................... 48 Possessive ................................... 48 Object.................................................... 49 Oblique.................................................................................... 49 Interrogative ....................................................................... 50 Indefinite................................................................................. 50 Reflexive ..................................................................................50 2.2.4 Postpositions .............................................................................. 51 2.2.5 Adverbs......................................................................................52 2.2.6 Lexicon .................................. 53 Tatsama .......................... 53 Perso- Arabic ........................................................................... 53 In Hindi form ................................................ 53 Unmodified ............. 53 Eastern Hindi......................................... 53 Bol banav thumri .........................................................53 Bandis thumri.................... 54 2.2.7 Diminutives.............. 55 Bol banav thumri ...............................................................55 Bandis thumri......................................................................... 56 2.2.8 Chap ..........................................................................................56 Bol banav thumri .................................... 56 Bandis thumri..........................................................................57 2.2.9 Summary ..................................................................................58 2.3 The Use of Diminutives ................................................ 61 2.4 Influence of Khari Boll ..........................................................................64 2.5 Linguistic formulae ..............................^.................................................67 t 4 J! 2.6 Distinctions between bol banav and bandis thumri texts .................... 69 2.6.1 Language................................................................................... 69 2.6.2 Chap..................... ..................................................................... 71 2.7 A comparative appraisal .........................................................................73 2.8 Analysis of four sample texts ..................................................................75 2.9 Conclusion .............................. ........... .....................................................80 Chapter 3: The Form and Structure of Thumri ................................................... 81 3.1 Introduction ..............................................................................................81