Thumri, dadra, kajri, chaiti, jhoola, savani - these are the timeless songs of the lives and loves of the Indian folk stylized into a performance genre. Songs which paint the myriad colours of romance, longing, separation and union - under the rain-washed skies, on harvested fields, and swinging jhoolas.

In its most stylized contemporary form, the Thumri developed around dance and abhinaya. Abhinaya has been the soul of Indian dance and theatre from ancient times. In angika abhinaya (anga-body) the body speaks, in Satvika abhinaya, the face registers emotions and in vachika abhinaya, music and words come together as a powerful tool for portraying emotions and dramatic situations.

Thus the music of the Gangetic soil merged with the court dances of Luck now to give the World an exquisite music genre where vachika abhinaya came to be the soul of performance.

The Thumri genre is multiplex. The bol-banao thumri set on viambit talas provides the singer an extensive canvas for reposeful improvisation. The pacy bol-bant thumri, popular in kathak, allows rhythmic play. The dadra is coquettish song with a metric cadence. The kajri extols the romantic moments of the monsoons and chaiti the trauma of separation in the post harvest season.

Sipra Bose is today the most popular of the disciples of Begum Akhta. She is gifted with a contralto's voice which is capable of soft lyricism as well as powerful pukar. She is also an accomplished exponent of Khayal and has the privilege of guidance from Pandit Ravi Shankar. In this album Sipra Bose presents a variety of forms including Thumri, dadra, ghazal, phag and barmasa.