Benares Gharana (Thumri)

बनारस घराना (ठुमरी)

Thumri that draws out the words, phrase by phrase, in the eastern style

Vocal Gharana Varanasi Late 19th century

The Banaras gharana of thumri, also written Benares, is the purab ang, the eastern style of Hindustani thumri, centred on Varanasi. It is identified with bol banao, in which the singer draws out the meaning of the words. The style took shape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Origins & History

Thumri first flourished in Lucknow under Wajid Ali Shah, as a song form tied to Kathak dance. Peter Manuel dates the British annexation of Awadh to 1856, after which the court's performers dispersed, many to Calcutta with the deposed nawab. Abhilasha Ojha traces others to Kanpur, Bihar and Banaras. In Banaras, Manuel writes, bol banao thumri emerged and soon spread through Hindustani music circles.

The style has no single founder. Manuel credits Bhaiya Saheb Ganpat Rao (died 1920) and Mauzuddin Khan (1878-1926) with popularising the Benares thumri. Chaitanya Desai counts Vidhyadhari, Shrichand Mishra and Bade Ramdas among the singers, mainly of Banaras, who first developed thumri as an independent composition.

Courtesan singers of the Chowk and Dal Mandi, the tawaifs, kept bol banao and its seasonal songs alive. Manuel treats the years 1870 to 1920 as thumri's transition and dates the mature bol banao thumri from 1920.

"my thumri is fully of the Banaras ang, I incorporate elements of the Khayal"

— Siddheshwari Devi

quoted in Susheela Misra, Great Masters of Hindustani Music (1981)

Cronologia storica

1856

Annexation of Awadh

The British annex Awadh, and the performers of Wajid Ali Shah's court in Lucknow disperse to other cities, among them Calcutta and Banaras.
1920

Mature bol banao thumri

Peter Manuel dates the mature bol banao thumri from this year, after a transition he places between 1870 and 1920.
1957

Akademi award for Rasoolan Bai

Rasoolan Bai receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, whose citation places her in the purab ang tappe ki thumri of Banaras.
1977

Siddheshwari Devi dies

Siddheshwari Devi dies on 18 March 1977. She had described her thumri as fully of the Banaras ang, with khayal elements drawn in.
1983

Akademi award for Mahadev Prasad Mishra

The Sangeet Natak Akademi gives Mahadev Prasad Mishra its award for 1983.
2016

Padma Vibhushan for Girija Devi

Girija Devi, a pupil of Sarju Prasad Misra and Shrichand Mishra, receives the Padma Vibhushan.
2025

Chhannulal Mishra dies

Chhannulal Mishra, singer of khayal and purab ang thumri, dies on 2 October 2025 at the age of 89.

Lineage & Legacy

The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations

Banaras thumri passed through courtesan singers and Mishra family musicians, with no single family at its head. Bade Ramdas of Varanasi taught both Siddheshwari Devi and Mahadev Prasad Mishra, so two 20th-century lines meet in him. Mahadev Prasad Mishra's pupils included Purnima Choudhury. Girija Devi carried the style into institutional teaching.

Early figures

Mauzuddin Khan

1878-1926

Thumri and dadra singer

Named by Peter Manuel as a populariser of the Benares thumri. Chaitanya Desai counts him among the Banaras singers who first developed thumri as an independent composition.

Bade Ramdas

Vocalist and teacher

Varanasi singer whom Chaitanya Desai names among the first developers of thumri as an independent composition. Siddheshwari Devi called him her main guru.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

20th century

Rasoolan Bai

Thumri and tappa singer

A pupil of the tappa master Shammu Khan. The Sangeet Natak Akademi, giving her its 1957 award, placed her gayaki in the purab ang tappe ki thumri of Banaras.

Siddheshwari Devi

1903 or 1908 to 1977

Thumri singer

Trained with the sarangi player Siyaji Maharaj, then with Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas and Inayat Khan of Lahore, before Bade Ramdas. Susheela Misra gives her birth year as 1903, Manuel as 1908.

Mahadev Prasad Mishra

Born 1906 or 1908

Purab ang vocalist

Learned from his grandfather Rameshwar Prasad and then from Bade Ramdas. The Sangeet Natak Akademi gave him its award in 1983.

Purnima Choudhury

Pupil of Mahadev Prasad Mishra

Learned from Mahadev Prasad Mishra and sang his bandish ki thumris. Nicolas Magriel lists dadra, chaiti, kajari and tappa among the Banaras forms she sang.

Girija Devi

1929-2017

Thumri singer and teacher

Began at about seven with Sarju Prasad Misra, a sarangi player and singer, then studied with Shrichand Mishra. Aneesh Pradhan called her the seniormost practitioner of poorab ang thumri.

Chhannulal Mishra

1936-2025

Khayal and purab ang thumri singer

Born in Azamgarh, he trained with his father Badri Prasad Mishra and with Abdul Ghani Khan of the Kirana gharana. Padma Bhushan 2010 and Padma Vibhushan 2020.

The gharana system is rooted in the guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, where musical knowledge and style are passed down through direct apprenticeship over three or more generations.

Key exponents

  • Mauzuddin Khan, 1878-1926, early populariser of the Benares thumri
  • Bade Ramdas, Varanasi vocalist and guru
  • Rasoolan Bai, thumri and tappa singer, Akademi award 1957
  • Siddheshwari Devi, died 1977, disciple of Bade Ramdas
  • Mahadev Prasad Mishra, born 1906 or 1908, Akademi award 1983
  • Girija Devi, 1929-2017, singer and teacher
  • Chhannulal Mishra, 1936-2025, purab ang thumri and khayal singer

Caratteristiche musicali

Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy

Overall Style

Banaras thumri puts the text first: the singer works one short line until its feeling comes through. Susheela Misra lists pure notes, meend, a glide between notes, and voice modulation among the marks of the Banaras style. Aneesh Pradhan heard poise and dignity in Girija Devi's melodic elaboration. A performance often ends with a fast tabla passage, the laggi.

Bol banao

The singer elaborates a short text phrase by phrase, setting single words to changing melodic shapes until their meaning and emotion come through.

A tappa element

Mohan Nadkarni hears a tappa element in the way the Banaras variety unfolds. Rasoolan Bai, a pupil of a tappa master, sang both forms.

Pukaar

Pukaar is a calling phrase. Aneesh Pradhan describes Girija Devi using it to voice the longing of the heroine of the song.

The laggi

In the closing laggi the tempo quickens and the tabla player improvises. Chaitanya Desai notes that the singer pauses and waits for the laggis to finish.

Signature Repertoire

Banaras singers keep allied light and seasonal forms beside thumri: dadra, hori, chaiti, kajri and jhula, with tappa. Thumri texts are mostly in Awadhi and Braj, with Radha and Krishna at the centre and longing as the theme; Sushila Pohankar adds Bhojpuri. Mohan Nadkarni lists Deepchandi, Teentala, Sitarkhani, Chachar, Punjabi theka and Addha as the talas of purab ang singing.

Compare with Similar Gharanas

Understand how Benares Gharana (Thumri) differs from other traditions

Select a Gharana to Compare:

Benares Gharana (Thumri)
(Current)		 Lucknow Gharana (Thumri)
(Comparing)
Tipo Vocal Vocal
Origine Varanasi Lucknow
Era Late 19th century Late 19th century
Stile Banaras thumri puts the text first: the singer works one short line until its feeling comes through. Susheela Misra lists pure notes, meend, a glide between notes, and voice modulation among the marks of the Banaras style. Aneesh Pradhan heard poise and dignity in Girija Devi's melodic elaboration. A performance often ends with a fast tabla passage, the laggi. The Lucknow tradition centres on the bandish thumri, a composition-based type that Manuel analyses as a distinct style. It was designed to accompany Kathak, though it was also sung on its own, usually in teentaal, a cycle of 16 beats, or ektaal, of 12, at medium or fast tempo. Dancers mime their movements to the words, and the texts draw on the Krishna legends of Vraj.
View Lucknow Gharana (Thumri) Details

Influence & Legacy

Bol banao spread well beyond the city, as Peter Manuel notes, and Mohan Nadkarni describes Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's Punjab style as a blend of Punjab folk tunes with the traditional features of purab ang thumri. Nadkarni also wrote that Shobha Gurtu had absorbed the purab ang tradition. Within Banaras, Girija Devi passed the style on through her teaching at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata and at Banaras Hindu University.

Sorgenti

  1. Peter Manuel, Thumri, Ghazal, and Modernity in Hindustani Music Culture (2010)
  2. Susheela Misra, Great Masters of Hindustani Music (1981)
  3. Mohan Nadkarni, Thumri: An Appraisal (1990)
  4. Chaitanya Desai, Thumri During the Ages (1990)
  5. Sangeet Natak Akademi, award citations for Rasoolan Bai (1957) and Mahadev Prasad Mishra (1983)
  6. Aneesh Pradhan, Girija Devi (1929-2017), Scroll.in (2017)

Domande frequenti

What is the Benares gharana of thumri?

The Benares gharana of thumri is the purab ang, the eastern style of Hindustani thumri, centred on Varanasi and identified with bol banao singing. It formed after Lucknow's court performers dispersed in 1856, and it is separate from the Benares tabla gharana.

Who founded the Benares gharana of thumri?

The Benares gharana of thumri has no single founder. It grew as a regional style among courtesan singers and Mishra family musicians. Peter Manuel names Bhaiya Saheb Ganpat Rao and Mauzuddin Khan as popularisers of the Benares thumri, and Chaitanya Desai names Vidhyadhari, Shrichand Mishra and Bade Ramdas among its first developers.

Which musicians belong to the Benares gharana of thumri today?

The most recent major Banaras thumri singers are Girija Devi (1929-2017) and Chhannulal Mishra, who died in October 2025. Purnima Choudhury, a pupil of Mahadev Prasad Mishra, sang his bandish ki thumris.

How does Benares thumri differ from Lucknow thumri?

Benares thumri is bol banao, slow and centred on drawing out the words, while Lucknow thumri was the bandish thumri of Wajid Ali Shah's court, tied to Kathak dance. Peter Manuel ties the Benares form to a break from dance and a slower pace. Read more on the Lucknow gharana of thumri page.

What is purab ang?

Purab ang is the eastern style of thumri, the style the Banaras gharana sings. Purab means east, and thumri has its roots in the folk music of that region, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Singers of the Banaras gharana are described as exponents of purab ang gayaki, its singing style.

What is bol banao thumri and how does it differ from bandish thumri?

Bol banao thumri is thumri in which the singer elaborates a short text phrase by phrase to bring out its meaning and emotion. Bandish thumri, developed mainly in Lucknow, was the earlier form, tied to Kathak dance. Peter Manuel writes that bol banao emerged in Benares and soon spread through Hindustani music.

Is the Benares gharana a tabla or a vocal tradition?

Both, under one city name. The Benares gharana of thumri is the vocal tradition described here; the Benares gharana of tabla is a separate drumming school. A Kathak school, the Benares gharana of Kathak, also carries the name, and a Mishra family khayal line traced to Ram Balak Mishra is another Banaras tradition.

Which forms besides thumri do Banaras singers perform?

Banaras singers also perform dadra, hori, chaiti, kajri and jhula, which are seasonal and light forms, along with tappa. Chhannulal Mishra sang khayal as well. Rasoolan Bai was known for tappa as well as thumri.

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