Kajri - Rasoolan Bai of Benares

Rasoolanbai of Benares (1902-74) was one of the legendry classical singers from Benaras(Varanasi). Her severely enchanting manner of singing Thumri, kajri and dadra enthralls music enthusiasts today even decades after her death.




Kajri: According to a folk tale of Mirzapur, there was woman called Kajli whose husband was in a distant land. Monsoon arrived and separation became unbearable. She began to cry at the feet of the Kajmal Goddess and these cries took the form of the popular Kajri songs.
Come monsoon... and it brings relief from the sizzling hot summer.
Come the black clouds... and separation from the beloved become unbearable.
Each bolt of lightning hits straight at the heart and makes it beat faster.
Kajri, the songs of longing are the outbursts of a woman overwhelmed by desire.

Derived from the word Kajal meaning Kohl, Kajris are sung by classical and semi classical musicians. There are two forms of Kajri singing in UP, one that is sung on a performance platform and the other sung by women dancing in a semi-circle, the 'Dhunmuniya Kajri'.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• rasoolanbai
• rasoolan
• bai
• Kajri
• UP
• thumari
• thumry
• utter
• pardesh
• monsoon
• Varanasi
• Hindustan
• classical
• shastriya
• thumri
• dadra
• rag
• raga
• Banaras
• gharana
• agra
• benaris

[arifkhan100]

bohatkhoob!

enchanting indeed. good choice of images as well.

good wishes

[saqibtahir]

Thanks Arif Sahib.

[saqibtahir]

Thanks Sheikh sahib.

[jyotsnarathor]

bilkul sahi 

[listeningforpleasure]

Superbly rendered! A big thank you to you.

[banauli]

kaya bat hai...maza aa gaya

[Enjay2002]

thank you for posting this! SUBHAN ALLAH!

[Enjay2002]

wah! thank you for posting this! Subhan Allah!

[abiehakhawaja]

albiet more mature and trained but her voice resembles the voice of Kajjan bai a lot

[Brahmoham]

Wow - I hope I can find some CDs... what a gorgeous voice...

[prajjwalit]

Saqib, the story about Kajri is as enthralling as the song. Great.

[eyejoy4me]

Jiyo :-) What voice, what rendering :-) Thank you for posting it, Tahirsaab.

[rpshahi]

क्या बात है....सही में बरसात का मजा आ गया,

क्या आवाज पाई है ?