Geet (song or lyrical poetry) (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

:गीत) (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

set to

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

that can be sung alone or as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

or in

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. It has remained popular in all parts of the

Indian sub-continent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

particularly in the

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Sthayi Sthayi or Asthaayi is an initial phrase or line of a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani music. It's a way of systematizing the parts of a composition. The Sthayi part of a Dhrupad is the first of four stanzas and uses the middle octave's first ...

Antara Antara is an Indonesian news agency organized as a statutory corporation. It is the country's national news agency, supplying news reports to many domestic media organizations. It is the only organization authorized to distribute news material ...

, Dhrupad etc.; and Anga that comprises etc. Therefore, it has a beginning part known as Prabandha which is followed by an Udgraah or Dhruv which is its part that is repeatedly sung and cannot be left out, the ending part is known as Aabhog and that part of the geet which is between Dhruv and Aabhog is called Pada or Antara.

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

Khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

and

Ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

are the accepted forms of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. The legendary singers Mian

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...

and Raja

Man Singh Tomar Man Singh Tomar (IAST: Mānasiṃha) was a Tomar Rajput ruler of Gwalior who ascended the throne in 1486 CE. History Maharaja Man Singh Tomar was born to Raja Kalyanmall, the Tomar Rajput ruler of Gwalior. He ruled for over 30 years. In hi ...

were Dhrupad singers. Geets are a significant part of Indian folk-literature meant for all memorable occasions, then they are known as ''lok-geets'' sung by different communities and sections of society. These ''lok-geets'' include

Chaiti Chaiti are semi-classical songs, originating from the Indian subcontinent, sung in the Hindu calendar month of Chait. These songs are rendered during the Holy month of Sri Rama Navami in March/April. It falls under light classical form of Hindusta ...

Kajari Kajari is a folk song and dance genre of India. It is a Hindustani classical music genre, performed during the rainy season usually late June to September when lush greenery reappears and agricultural labor begins again. It is often used to de ...

, Hori and Sawani. However, the boundary-line separating folk songs from classical songs cannot be easily traced and re-drawn. Geets are also central to many cultures and communities across the globe and are used in a variety of contexts and purposes. Frequently, religious communities employ geets to not only express devotion but also to transmit knowledge of their faiths. For instance, in the Satpanthi Ismaili communities of South Asia (also known as

Khoja The Khojas ( sd}; gu, ખોજા, hi, ख़ोजा) are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people originating in Gujarat, India. Derived from the Persian Khwaja, a term of honor, the word Khoja is used to refer to Lohana Rajput ...

s), geets of devotion are composed and sung by community artistes. The Geets Portal at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Library is a digital curation of the Ismaili community's devotional tradition of geets.

Context

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

its roots are found in

Dakhani Deccani (also known as Deccani Urdu and Deccani Hindi). https://knowledgehubadda.blogspot.com/2022/02/blog-post_74.html? m=1 or Dakni, Dakhni, Dakhini, Dakkhani and Dakkani (, ''dekanī'' or , ''dakhanī''), is a variety of Urdu language, Hin ...

Shairi whose most important feature is its Indian ethos with the strain being feminine, and the tone, delicate and elegant; Urdu Geets mainly speak about feminine anguish.

Dakhini Deccani (also known as Deccani Urdu and Deccani Hindi). https://knowledgehubadda.blogspot.com/2022/02/blog-post_74.html? m=1 or Dakni, Dakhni, Dakhini, Dakkhani and Dakkani (, ''dekanī'' or , ''dakhanī''), is a variety of Hindustani spoken ...

or Hindavi forms part of what is known as proto-Hindi Literature whose origin can be traced to a far earlier period that produced the great historical lyric

Prithviraj Raso The ''Prithviraj Raso'' (IAST: Pṛthvīrāja Rāso) is a Braj language epic poem about the life of Prithviraj Chauhan (reign. c. 1177–1192 CE). It is attributed to Chand Bardai, who according to the text, was a court poet of the king. Th ...

written by

Chand Bardai Chand Bardai was an Indian poet who composed ''Prithviraj Raso'', an epic poem in Brajbhasa about the life of the Chahamana king Prithviraj Chauhan. The poem presents him as a court poet of Prithviraj. According to it, after Prithviraj was defea ...

. In

Hindi poetry Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃś ...

that has its roots in the

Avadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, ...

and the

Brij Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

the

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

movement amalgamating the more ancient forms of Sanskrit and Persian poetry brought to the fore the wide range of rasas from love to heroism that later on in the Ritikal introduced erotism in a big way. Urdu geets are basically found written in the Hindustani language that took shape after the colonization of India by the British and had subsequently become the court language in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Avadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

whereas Hindi geets have retained the flavour drawn from earlier compositions in Rajasthani dialect,

and

Maithali Maithils (Tirhuta: মৈথিল, Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the ...

References

{{reflist Indian poetry Indian music