Girija Devi, the veteran thumri  singer from Benaras, held a  master class last fortnight at the  National Centre for the Performing  Arts. She shared valuable insights  about vocal performances with  a roomful of senior singers and  music teachers. “Each note  has to be laden with meaning  when you sing,” she exhorted.  Devi’s experience of six decades  has been of great benefit to  her students including Malini  Awasthi, who will perform at the  Bhavan’s Cultural Centre Andheri  this fortnight. 

The 44-year-old singer from  Lucknow has been learning from  Devi for the last 15 years. She is  a ganda-bandh student, which  means that Devi has formally  accepted Awasthi’s talent by tying  a piece of thread on her student’s  wrist. “In our Benaras gharana, the  ganda bandhan is equivalent to a  graduation parade,” said Awasthi.  “It is done only after the teacher  is satisfied about the ability of the  student. I began learning from her  in 1998 but my ganda bandhan  was done in 2006.” 

Awasthi will present music  inspired by the monsoons. In  the month of Shravan, which is a  part of the rainy season, various  semi-classical forms of music are  sung such as the thumri, kajri,  and jhoola. “All these forms are  rooted in the folk tradition of Uttar  Pradesh,” said Awasthi, adding  that she will attempt to reveal  facets of this musical culture. 

A part of this culture is the kajri,  a form of folk song sung by women,  particularly when they are sitting  on swings strung from branches of  trees. The name kajri comes from  the kajal which women use to line  their eyes with, as it is believed  that rainclouds are as black as this  kajal. “People are not aware that  there are three types of kajris,”  said Awasthi. “One is called  Mirzapuri, the second is called  Avadhi and the third is Benarasi.  I will present all these types in my  programme,” she said. 

Awasthi initially trained under  Shujat Hussain Khan and Rahat Ali  Khan of the Rampur gharana. She  has a keen interest in promoting  folk forms such as the dadra,  banna, holi and chaiti and has  performed on TV shows such as  Junoon on NDTV Imagine. She  has also toured the US, UK, the  Netherlands and Mauritius for  events organised by the Indian  Council for Cultural Relations.  At the upcoming concert,  she will be accompanied on  the harmonium by Dharamnath  Mishra, on the tabla by Rajesh  Mishra and on the sarangi by  Sandip Mishra.   

Malini Awasthi performs at SPJIMR Auditorium on Sat Aug 11.