The music of the seasons, a strong concept in Hindustani music, is a result of the Indian musician's association with Nature and the environment. And in a tradition where the sun has been invested with divine musical powers and is called 'Divya Gandharva' or the Divine Musician, it is easy to understand the evolution of song-types dedicated to specific times of the year. These songs of the Seasons usually in the Brajbhasha, Avadhi, Khari Boli and Bhojpuri dialects, form part of a living tradition that cannot be defined as strictly classical or folk, sophisticated or primitive in the usual sense. Renditions of Hori, Kajri, Sawan, Jhoola, Baramasa and so on are examples of the spontaneous intermingling of folk and classical genres.

Woven into the songs are physical and climatic conditions characterizing each season. Thus riotous colour, and clouds of 'abeer' and 'gulal' find their way into the Horis sung in the month of Phagulna. Rasiya, one of the most enchanting folk songs of the Hori-Phagun repertoire, generally describes the pranks of Lord Krishna during Holi.

The yellow and orange flowers of early spring or Basant colour the songs of this season, whereas the 'Gulabi Chaiti' takes on a rosy hue at times, and at other times carries a whiff of the mango blossom. The languor of a summer afternoon underlies the
sensual text of the Chaiti, whereas the Kajri, Jhoola, and Sawan are all songs of the rainy season, and celebrate the advent of the monsoon.