Here are three detailed articles exploring Banaras' seasonal folk music traditions:
12-06-2025
Back
Folk & Semi-Classical Music
Additional Information
1. Chaiti & Kajri: The Monsoon Melodies of Longing
Nature's Musical Calendar
In Banaras, the changing seasons sing through two beloved folk forms:
Chaiti (Spring songs, March-April)
Kajri (Monsoon songs, July-September)
The Anatomy of Chaiti
Raga Basis: Often Pilu or Kafi with light Dadra tal
Themes:
Radha's anticipation of Krishna's return
Earth's fertility awakening
Women's secret desires
Signature Lines:
"Chait mas mein chaila bijhari, mori akhiyan taras gayi"
("In Chait month, my beloved wanders - my eyes ache with longing")
In Banaras, the changing seasons sing through two beloved folk forms:
Chaiti (Spring songs, March-April)
Kajri (Monsoon songs, July-September)
The Anatomy of Chaiti
Raga Basis: Often Pilu or Kafi with light Dadra tal
Themes:
Radha's anticipation of Krishna's return
Earth's fertility awakening
Women's secret desires
Signature Lines:
"Chait mas mein chaila bijhari, mori akhiyan taras gayi"
("In Chait month, my beloved wanders - my eyes ache with longing")
Kajri's Liquid Poetry
Performance Settings:
Women singing in courtyards as rain falls
Boatmen's songs on the swollen Ganga
Village wells as natural echo chambers
Unique Instruments:
Jhijhiya (rainstick made of bamboo and pebbles)
Ektara tuned to mimic frog choruses
Women singing in courtyards as rain falls
Boatmen's songs on the swollen Ganga
Village wells as natural echo chambers
Unique Instruments:
Jhijhiya (rainstick made of bamboo and pebbles)
Ektara tuned to mimic frog choruses
Living Legends
Girija Devi's classical-Kajri fusion
Mahadev Mishra's 1950s radio broadcasts
The Bhadaini Kajri Utsav where 100 women sing together at dawn
Mahadev Mishra's 1950s radio broadcasts
The Bhadaini Kajri Utsav where 100 women sing together at dawn
2. Hori: The Raucous Rapture of Banaras' Holi
More Than Festival Songs
Hori represents:
Spiritual rebellion (Bhakti movement roots)
Social satire (veiled in double meanings)
Agricultural cycles (linked to spring harvest)
Hori represents:
Spiritual rebellion (Bhakti movement roots)
Social satire (veiled in double meanings)
Agricultural cycles (linked to spring harvest)
The Four Hori Styles
Dhamaar Hori
Temple-based, using ancient Dhamar tal
Example: "Hori khele Raghuveera" about Ram playing Holi
Ang Hori
Body-part songs with erotic wordplay
"Kahe ko bere badariya" teasing about "clouds" covering "mountains"
Phag Hori
Raw street versions with obscene lyrics
Performed with dholak and drunken abandon
Shiv Hori
Bhakti rock style at Kashi Vishwanath
Features damru rhythms and cannabis-inspired poetry
Temple-based, using ancient Dhamar tal
Example: "Hori khele Raghuveera" about Ram playing Holi
Ang Hori
Body-part songs with erotic wordplay
"Kahe ko bere badariya" teasing about "clouds" covering "mountains"
Phag Hori
Raw street versions with obscene lyrics
Performed with dholak and drunken abandon
Shiv Hori
Bhakti rock style at Kashi Vishwanath
Features damru rhythms and cannabis-inspired poetry
The Hori Paradox
While seemingly playful, the best Hori contains:
Hidden Vedantic philosophy
Subliminal yoga instructions
Political protest masked as nonsense verse
Hidden Vedantic philosophy
Subliminal yoga instructions
Political protest masked as nonsense verse
3. Birha & Biraha: The Blues of the Ganga Plains
Songs of Separation
Birha: Male perspective (migrant workers, soldiers)
Biraha: Female voice (abandoned lovers, widows)
Musical DNA
Scales: Microtonal shifts between Asavari and Bhairavi
Rhythm: Free-flowing Dipchandi cycles
Texture: Raw vocals + sarangi weeping + nagara drum heartbeat
Birha: Male perspective (migrant workers, soldiers)
Biraha: Female voice (abandoned lovers, widows)
Musical DNA
Scales: Microtonal shifts between Asavari and Bhairavi
Rhythm: Free-flowing Dipchandi cycles
Texture: Raw vocals + sarangi weeping + nagara drum heartbeat
Three Heartbreaking Subgenres
Ghat Birha
Boatmen's songs about river-as-lover
"Nadiya kinare mora gaon" - "My village sits by the river..."
Rail Biraha
Women singing to departing trains
Uses actual train whistle harmonics
Peepal ke Patte
"Leaves of the Bodhi Tree" lamentations
Each verse ends with a falling melodic line
Boatmen's songs about river-as-lover
"Nadiya kinare mora gaon" - "My village sits by the river..."
Rail Biraha
Women singing to departing trains
Uses actual train whistle harmonics
Peepal ke Patte
"Leaves of the Bodhi Tree" lamentations
Each verse ends with a falling melodic line
Modern Resurgence
Birha 2.0 projects setting poems to electronica
Biraha opera at Bharat Kala Bhavan
Academic studies proving these songs lower cortisol levels
Biraha opera at Bharat Kala Bhavan
Academic studies proving these songs lower cortisol levels