Khayal
Khayal is a word of Persian origin meaning “imagination”. It is believed to have developed out of the qawwal style of singing and through the period of Amir Khusro became an important part of the Hindustani music tradition.
The arrival of the khayal, which slowly displaced the old dhrupad style of singing, effected a revolutionary change in the Hindustani classical music tradition. The khayal’s structure requires a high order of improvisational skill in the musician at several levels and layers of the raaga. The range of human experience from the mystic to the frontiers of mathematical and intellectual exploration. It is among the most challenging musical forms in the raaga inheritance of the subcontinent. The tradition uses all forms of musical expression such as alaap and sargam, bol and boltan, gamakas and khatkas, asthayee and antara. The curious paradox in the tradition of the khayal is the circumstance that the level of the art is rarely the level of musical accomplishment of the musician but a measure of the human essence. This makes the art piquant in a novel way. Khayal also implied dhyana which means meditation.
Reviews
“…What was most delightful was the sobre rendering of the ragas forms and moods besides the neat and bold vocal forte…”
“…Her rendering of tana, bol-tana and paced sargams is excellent… She was sailing along smoothly, without any pretension, with her soul partaking of the joy of creation all along…”
“Banishree enthralled with her khayals… What a dedicated guru the low profile keeping Vasant Thakar is, could be judged by Banishree’s performance. The guru has sparked the talents in his disciple and widened her musical horizon with no need for looking back now.;;”
“…Endowed as she is with a highly musical voice, she has cultivated it to a high degree of perfection…The tans were always pleasing and sometimes overpowering…”
“…Gifted with a bold and refined voice… Her clear enunciation of the set and composed part (bandish) is most commendable…”
“…Banishree has a tranquil style of singing, rich in texture and vocal control, and for the morning raagas, a serenity of spirit that did her performance proud. Layakaris, swara, prastharas, taans… she had them all and most impressive of all, a delicate lyrical perception that was a delight to the ears….”
“…Her command of taans and her achievement of creating the mood of the raga were both remarkable…”
“…The fast teental khayal was briskly rendered and there was an animating display of quick-moving roulades… She sang with great enthousiasm…”
Banishree Falisse 