Last week, this column featured interpretations of kajri, a seasonal folk song-form that was included in concerts by thumri-dadra singers.

Jhoola, also called hindola, is another seasonal folk song-form that is connected with the monsoon and has been similarly added to the Hindustani repertoire. This song-form usually describes amorous scenes of Krishna and Radha swinging on a rope-swing tied to a branch of the Kadamb tree during the monsoon. According to scholar Radha Vallabh Chaturvedi, the hindola is a song-form particularly popular in the Meerut and Bulandshahar districts, where it is also referred to as Malhar.

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Such songs are an integral part of the folk repertoire from the Gangetic basin, but their interpretation by vocalists trained in art music takes on a different hue. The melodic elaboration in the latter case involves exploring shades of different raags without losing sight of the song-text. Often, the tabla introduces laggis or quick and short rhythmic phrases that are reminiscent of dancers’ footwork.

The first track in this episode is a jhoola sung by Ghulam Mustafa Khan, the doyen of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. The song-text is by Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), Sufi poet and scholar, whose contribution to the evolution of Hindustani music is widely recognised. The composition is based on the raag Des and is set to Kaherva, a cycle of eight matras or time-units. This recording was made for the BBC.

Girija Devi, thumri exponent of the Banaras gharana, sings a jhoola set to Kaherva. Her exploration involves a juxtaposition of free-flowing melodic elaboration and more rhythmically inclined phrasing with changing syncopation.

The concluding jhoola is sung by Chhannulal Mishra, also a well-known thumri singer from Banaras. This popular composition is based on the raag Tilak Kamod, but has traces of Manjh Khamaj. It is set to Kaherva.