Holi : Five Shades

Holi is one of India's most vibrant and fun-filled festivals and it has a unique style and form in each part of the country that is reflected in the music that is associated with the festival. The musical forms associated with Holi vary from region to region as one travels from the north-west to extreme east of the country, down to the southern region. Primarily though, the compositions are based on the mythological references and tales from folklore.



Abida Parveen - Holi Khelan Aaya Piya :  (Download)



Shobha Gurtu - Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Hai Rasiya :  (Download)



Channulal Mishra - Rang Darungi :  (Download)



HoRi is the most popular type of Dhrupad sung on the festival of Holi. The compositions here describe the spring season. These compositions are mainly based on the love pranks of Krishna and Radha. Interestingly it has both classical as well as semi-classical connections. Horis sung as a concluding portion of a Dhrupad recital are classical in nature as well as treatment. Those Horis, which are sung in semi-classical form, are in ragas like Khamaj, Kafi etc. Significantly, these horis are also set to a tala of 14 beats called Deepchandi.

Girija Devi - Udat Abir Gulal :  (Download)



Girija Devi - Ankhan Bharat Gulal :  (Download)



Comments are welcome.

P.S : I did not find the Abida Parveen song anywhere else on the web, so I presume it is a rare one.

Enjoy !!