Malshree or Malashree Dhun or Malshree Dhoon (

Nepal Bhasa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surro ...

: मालश्री धून) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Newa Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. ...

artform in which musicians perform

devotional music A devotional song is a hymn that accompanies religious observances and rituals. Traditionally devotional music has been a part of Hindu music, Jewish music, Buddhist music, Islamic music and Christian music. Each major religion has its own tra ...

, based on classical

raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

and taal system. The dhun is incorporated into mainstream Nepalese music as the music of

Dashain Dashain or Bada'dashain, also referred as Bijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. It is also celebrated by Hindus of Nepal and elsewhere in the world, including among the Lhotshampa of Bhutan and the Burmese Gur ...

. It is the tune that announces that Dashain, the biggest

festival of Nepal, has arrived. Malashree dhun is one of the oldest surviving devotional musics of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, with its origin in the 17th century. The Malshree dhun originally belongs to the Newari culture from the Kathmandu valley, and it’s a folk music of Newari culture which later on got amalgamated with the large Nepali culture and has become a traditional music of the biggest festival of Nepal, Dashain. Dashain Ritual

History

Classic devotional music has been in existence in Nepal for more than a thousand years.उपत्यकाभित्रका भक्तिगीत तथा भजनहरू Author: Dr. Saphalya Amatya
/ref> The time period between 11th to 17th century saw an increase in literary activity in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. Numerous devotional music, dances, and plays have been found from this era. Most experts believe that the literary development during this era culminated in the development of

Newa music Newa music, also spelled Newar music, is traditional music developed in Nepal by the Newars. The music has its roots in classic Hindu and Buddhist music. It evolved with incorporation of folk music of the Kathmandu valley and its peripheries. Mu ...

form. The earliest treatise on Malshree dhun found till date is a book in

called ''Sangit Chandra''.Book:Nepalbhasa Sahityaya Itihas, Author:Premshanti Tuladhar, Publication:Nepalbhasa Academy, The book was written as an appendix to

Natya Shastra The ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' (, ''Nāṭyaśāstra'') is a Sanskrit treatise on the performing arts. The text is attributed to sage Bharata Muni, and its first complete compilation is dated to between 200 BCE and 200 CE, but estimates vary ...

by the king of

Bhaktapur , motto = ne, पुर्खले सिर्जेको सम्पत्ती, हाम्रो कला र संस्कृति , lit=Creation of our ancestors, our heritage and culture , image_map ...

Jagat Jyoti Malla and his minister Vanshamani Ojha. The book elaborates on

Bharata Muni Bharata Muni (Hindi: भरत मुनि) was an ancient sage who the musical treatise '' Natya Shastra'' is traditionally attributed to. The work covers ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, especially Sanskrit theatre. Bharata is con ...

and

Abhinavagupta Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 1016 Common Era, CE) was a Indian philosophy, philosopher, Mysticism, mystic and Aesthetics, aesthetician from Kashmir. He was also considered an influential Music of India, musician, Indian poetry, poet, Theatre in ...

Abhinavabharati ''Abhinavabharati'' is a commentary on ancient Indian author Bharata Muni's work of dramatic theory, the ''Natyasastra''. It is the oldest commentary available on the treatise. The ''Abhinavabharati'' was written by Abhinavagupta (c. 950–1020) ...

. This was followed by ''Gayanlochan'', written during the reign of Jitamitra Malla. Gayanlochan focuses more on introduction to raga (and raginis), their characteristics, and performance.

Performance

The

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

, the

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

, the taa and the

dhimay Dhimay, Dhimaya ( new, धिमय्) or Dhime is a traditional Nepalese drum of the Newar people. According to the Hornbostel–Sachs classification, it belongs to the category of double-headed cylindrical membranophone. Description The drum ...

are the mainstays of the spiritually uplifting dhun, with some other instruments like the

sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...

and flute taking a more subdued role. The melody is maintained by the sitar. The Malshree music is performed according to a fixed schedule, which is during the

festival. There are specific pieces of music which are played during the specific season, specific day of the week and specific hours of the day.Book: Kantipur (कान्तिपुर), Author: Basu Pasa (बासुपासा) Seasons, their festivals and music accompanying them are as follows This melodious Malshree or Dashain dhun is played using different musical instruments but the key instruments are sitar and tabla. These two instruments are beautifully combined with the notations that have given birth to this melodious music. Nowadays we can find people using different instruments to play this music, like guitars, drums just to name a few. The music is so freshening and joyful that takes everyone into a mood of celebration which is the beautiful part of this melodious dhun. Therefore, Dashain dhun in Malshree dhun is a beautiful music that is very much important for the most happening and awaited festival of Nepal, Dashain. The different tabs for the Malshree dhunTabs of Malashree Dhun
/ref> are as follows- Tabs malshree dhun

References

{{reflist}

External links

Malshree Dhun

British Library clip of Dapha (1955-56)

Newari Music - Mwe Dyahlhaygu 1952

Asan Dapha Khala performing Dapha

Kathmandu, a valley fertile for music (Himal magazine)
Nepalese musical genres Nepalese songs

History

Performance

See also

References

External links