Ghazals and Thumris: From the Musical Heart of Budapest

Ghazal and thumri are wonderful poetic sung genres from northern South Asia, emerging out of 19th-century courtesan and Muslim traditions and exemplifying the sophisticated Indo-Islamic culture of the time. That both of these also had a huge influence on early South Asian film music is perhaps appropriate given the settings presented here. Classics of both genres have been given the Western-orchestra treatment by Deepak Pandit (performed here by The Budapest Symphony) to accompany the playback singers Pratibha Singh Baghel and Kavya Limaye.

Does it work? I am not sure. There is nothing inherently wrong with these types of ventures, and no one could fault the playing or singing, but the arrangements err on the side of schmaltz rather than romanticism. One excellent addition to the disc that is to be applauded, however, comes in the form of the notes supplied by Jameela Siddiqi, with a background to the genres and detailed descriptions of each piece.