Bandish Meanings - Amir Khan

[Damayanti Gupta]

Ustad Amir Khan has made such a huge impact in my life.

However, my Hindi is not too good, and am looking for translations of Bandishes he has used. Particularly his Hamsadhwani and Lalit (well, to begin with). Does anyone have such translations?

Many thanks
Damayanti

[anjana...@gmail.com]

I am happy to translate if you provide the words to me .
Here is my translation of his vilambit Hamsadhwani:
(lyrics obtained from https://www.swarganga.org/bandish_details.php?id=711)
jaya maataa vilama tajata
maaMgana guna deho |
vidya guna amara deho
jananee jaga ke ||

Translation:
O Mother, don't delay any more, and give me the qualities that I seek .
Give me knowledge, says "Amar", O Mother of the Universe .
("Amar" is the pen-name of Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana: the composer of this bandish).

-Anjana

[Damayanti Gupta]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I will find some more lyrics. So is this Hindi, Maithili, or is there some vernacular/dialect being used?

[anjana...@gmail.com]

Hi Damayanti,

Most bandishes are predominantly in Braj Bhasha. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braj_Bhasha.
Most Hindi-speaking people find it hard to understand the language. But most words are derived from Sanskrit, and you can see the link.

"vilama" in the above case, for example, comes from the Sanskrit word "vilamb" (the root of the word used to describe the familiar word for slow-tempo in Hindustani music "vilambit") which means "delay". The word vilamb can be used in regular Hindi also, but isn't very commonly used.

"taja" comes from the Sanskrit word "tyaja" which means to let go of. Again, tyaja can be used in Hindi, but nobody does.

Regards,
-Anjana

[Abhijit M]

Lalit Madhyalay-Drut Teentaal Bandish:
"tarapata hun jaise jal bin meen
ka saiya ham tumro kino
ham tarapata tum manat nahin
kahe ko yeh dhang lino"
[i am restless like the fish without water
what have i done to you, my beloved (for what reason i am suffering for that)?
i am suffering here but you don't have any feeling for that (you don't ready to come to meet me)
why have you taken such step (to ignore me like this)?]

[Damayanti Gupta]

Thank you, both of you, so much. Much appreciated

[Damayanti Gupta]

Sometimes I wonder how important the words are... in Hindustani music. Can a performance be fully appreciated without understanding the words? Is the impact more subliminal, and the words do not matter?

[Abhijit M]

Words are very important to crease the rasa of the raga.

[Damayanti Gupta]

I really am curious what other people think of this??

[anjana...@gmail.com]

From what I hear and see, most performers don't give much importance to the words, many don't understand what they are singing. It is obvious when, for example, somebody sings "Bhaure, mat kar gumaan" (translates to "O honeybee, don't be vain), when in fact, it should be "Baure, mat kar gumaan" (O foolish person, don't be vain). There are many such examples where a slight difference in a word makes the song entirely meaningless... but quite obviously, neither the performers nor their fans seem to care.

[Damayanti Gupta]

The words in a bandish are few, the depth and variety of a performance has many many shades of meaning. So I don't think the words are that important, though it provides some context. Unlike say Rabindro Songeet, where the words are arguably more important than the tune.

[anjana...@gmail.com]

Yes, of course. The words are mere placeholders to help elaborate the raag. But, in my opinion (and I know for a fact that I am in the minority), because the words are there, they should be used correctly. Otherwise, just stick to aakar, sangam, and tarana bols. Why bother with any human language?

[Abhijit M]

You are 100% correct.