Gayati. Live. Breathe. Sing! Informal singing by Gauri Varma

I have attempted a favourite Shiv Bhajan, a beautiful version of which has been liltingly sung by Pandit Chhannulal Mishra of Banaras, based on Raag Des. The lyrics in colloquial Hindi (closest to Bhojpuri) are from Goswami Tulsidas' 'Ram Charit Maanas' and describe Shiv endearingly as the paradoxical ascetic-house holder, oblivious of social conventions, with a snake wrapped around his neck, ash-...

Composed by the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar in the 19th century, using his pen name 'Aashiq Rang', this beautiful Bandish pays homage to Sufi Pir Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and at the same time, nostalgically describes the unique beauty of spring in Zafar's beloved homeland of India, a magical time when golden mustard and 'tesu' flowers bloom in lush forests, the mango trees blossom prepa...

I have attempted a haunting love song with tender and sad lyrics. Two people who were deeply in love with an ethereal sort of love are separated by circumstances. But their love stays alive within their hearts and though they will probably never be together in the 'real world', they continue to commune through their thoughts and dreams and remain connected at a subliminal level. Originally sung by...

I have attempted a traditional Christian chant that goes back to the early centuries of the Christian era. It is in Latin and rejoices in the birth of Christ. It was incorporated into the formal Catholic liturgy by Poper Gregory but its early renditions predate his time. The chant says that Christ is born today and therefore the angels and archangels rejoice on earth today. All the just and righte...

I have attempted a beautiful, traditional wedding song which is rooted in the villages of the North Indian Gangetic Plain. Ascribed to 14th century music maestro, poet and Sufi Khwaja Amir Khusrau, the charming, lilting folk melody and lyrics go back centuries and such songs have been sung in the villages of this region for centuries. Amir Khusrau would have been inspired by current rural wedding...

I have attempted a favourite, traditional wedding song, probably sung for centuries by women of the Gangetic plains, especially in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The lyrics describe how that day is an auspicious one for Ayodhya and the joyous preparations that are taking place in that ancient city as Prince Ram is about to become a groom. The inhabitants plaster their courtyards and kitchens wit...

I have attempted a favourite Punjabi folk song with Sufi tones. A simple rustic woman expresses her deep selfless love for her handsome lover or 'soneya'. She says that she prays daily to God for his wellbeing and wants nothing else. Her lover has given her so much joy that she is filled with gratitude and wants nothing but to live and die at his feet. She wants him to fully enjoy the prime of his...

I have attempted a favourite love song written and sung by Neil Diamond in 1972. Its intense lyrics can be varyingly interpreted: is he singing of an exceptional love between a man and a woman, or the soulful bond between himself and his guitar (music) or then the spiritual yearning and love between the soul and Divinity? I could not provide the beautiful guitarwork that enrichens his song, so cho...

I have attempted a favourite song from the Hindi film Junoon (1979), which evokes some.charming scenes traditionally associated with a North Indian monsoon, especially in rural communities. Set to a lilting folksy melody, the lyrics in the colloquial Hindi of Uttar Pradesh describe the feelings that the dark clouds and cool breezes of the monsoon evoke in a young woman, after the searing heat of t...

I have attempted a chant of six sacred Sanskrit verses termed the Nirvana Shatakam or the Atma Shatakam, composed by ancient Indian saint and Guru Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century AD. The verses describe the profound nature of the Supreme Blissful Consciousness or 'Shiv' that is, in fact, identical with the individual Soul or 'Jiva'. A beautiful poetic exposition of the Vedantic philosophy of...

I have attempted a favourite song from the Hindi film Tamaasha' (2015) which has beautiful and unusual lyrics by Irshad Kamil. The song in the film is a duet in which a woman expresses her wish to always be together with her lover because his presence completes her and causes any sorrows that come her way to slip away. She is immersed in her longing to be with him through the daily hustle-bustle o...

I have attempted this haunting Punjabi folk song which draws on the old legend of Soni and her lover Mahiwal. In simple Punjabi with a lilting melody, it recounts how Soni , who used to secretly visit her lover at night by swimming across the river Chenab, using a large earthen pot to carry her across, is faced with a fateful choice one stormy night. Her sister-in-law, learning of the affair, cons...

I have attempted a geet-numa-ghazal (a ghazal sung in light, song form) written by Late Nasir Kazmi (1925-1972). In this romantic poem written in simple Urdu, an ardent lover voices both his longing for his beloved as well as the apprehensions this love arouses in his mind. His fears indicate both the depth of romantic love as well as its fragility. He engages in gentle irony by wondering if he ma...

I have attempted a favourite song from Hindi film 'Taal' (1999) , written by Anand Bakshi with haunting music by A.R. Rahman. Sung in the film by Hariharan accompanied by Sukhvinder Singh, i have modified it for my simple amateur solo rendition accompanied by the electronic Tanpura. A favourite of mine, the song 's melody bears the stamp of Rahman, with its harmonious fusion of Indian semi-classic...

On the auspicious occasion of the ninth day (Navami) of Ashwin Navaratri 2022 I have attempted this energizing ancient Sanskrit hymn to the Devi in her form as Vindhyeshwari or Vindhyavaasini: she who resides in the mountains of Vindhyachal. Vindhyeshwari is a very old form of the Goddess refered to in the Mahabharat and various Puranas. She is also called Vanadevi or the Goddess of the forests. A...

I have attempted a beautiful Sabad Kirtan, comprising of couplets composed by Shri Guru Nanak ji in the 15th century. This traditional Bhajan/Kirtan was featured in Hindi film 'Halla Bol' (2008), sung by Sukhvinder Singh. The couplets, set to the traditional lilting melody of popular North Indian devotional kirtans, are composed in an amalgam of mediaeval, colloquial dialects and nascent veranacul...

I have attempted this famous song which belongs to the Celtic folk ballad genre, lyrics of which were ironically composed by English lawyer-songwriter Frederic Weatherly, in 1910. They were set to the tune of a haunting old Irish melody called 'Londonderry Air' in 1913, which is supposed to have been discovered in the mid-19th century by a collector of old Irish music, Jane Ross, but the roots of...

I have attempted this well -loved patriotic Ghazal composed in 1904 in honour of India by poet Mohammad Iqbal, who was at the time, a believer in a united India, historically a land of many communities. In this 'Taraana-i-Hindi' (Song in honour of Hind), composed as an expression of opposition to British Rule and an expression of pride in India's unique identity and culture, the poet proudly notes...

I have sung a medley of some of my favourite sacred Sanskrit Mantras invoking the Divine. Starting with the popular prayer to Lord Ganesh, remover of obstacles, who allows all tasks to be accomplished, the medley includes selected mantras for blessings, universal well-being and protection addressed to the Mother Goddess, the powerful Gayatri Mantra praying for the Divine Light to illuminate our mi...

I have attempted this lovely song from the film 'Jab We Met'(2007). Sung by Ustad Rashid Ali with music by Irshad Kamil and heart-tugging lyrics by Samir, it is based on Raag Tilak Kamod with variations. A woman awaiting her beloved sings of how the courtyard of her home and her body, too, will bloom when her long-awaited lover finally arrives. The monsoons will shower rain on the couple as they m...

I have attempted this traditional North Indian folk song, a 'Chaiti' (Chait: Indian lunar month of early summer) which was beautifully rendered in light semi-classical style by maestro Pandit Chhannulal Mishra ji of the Banaras Gharaana. It draws on the traditional slow lilting melody and Bhojpuri lyrics of the rural Chaiti which has been sung for centuries in the villages of Uttar Pradesh and Bih...

This ancient Sanskrit hymn to the Goddess is found in the sacred text 'Durga Saptashati' and has been sung for centuries in India by devotees. It is sometimes described as a concise version of the long and powerful Sanskrit epic narrative in praise of the Devi (Chandi Paath) that comprises the Durga Saptashati. This hymn was sung by the Devas to invoke Devi as only she could protect them from the...

I have attempted a folk song from the Awadh area of Uttar Pradesh, India which has very sweet lyrics in the rural colloquial Hindi dialect (Awadhi). It reflects the deep respect for Nature that has been a feature of traditional Indian rural culture. Indian culture views Nature as 'Prakriti', a form of the Mother Goddess (Devi) and all living beings are seen as interconnected and nurtured by Prakri...

My attempt is inspired by the famous semi-classical version of this poignant ghazal sung by Ghazal Queen Noor Jahan. Aptly sung for the first time by her in front of Faiz after his release from a term of political imprisonment in Pakistan, the ghazal is bitter-sweet in its message to the poet"s beloved. He tells her that while he is still drawn to her and loves her, there are many tragedies and in...

I have attempted a lively, traditional song celebrating the colourful festival of Holi. This Hori Bandish (North Indian semi-classical short composition or 'Chhoti Bandish'sung on Holi) is based on Raag Bihag, in playful romantic mood ('Shringar Ras'). In the colloquial rural Hindi dialect of Uttar Pradesh (Khadi-Boli), it describes the youthful Lord Krishna's mischievous antics during Holi in Bri...