Shah of Lucknow. Developed by the famous musician Sadiq Ali Shah, it is a
mix of romantic and erotic style of singing and is known by “the lyric of
Indian classical music”. The subject matter of the song is mostly love,
separation and devotion. Its most notable feature is the portrayal of erotic
subject matter from the lives of Lord Krishna and Radha. To make them
more impactful, they are usually sung in slower tempo with short alaps,
giving more emphasis to the lyrics. Lighter ragas and simpler thalas form the
basis of thumris. Languages used for writing thumri are Braj Bhasha, Khari
Boli and Urdu.
    Thumri is typically performed by one or two male/female vocalists with
the accompaniment of sarangi and/or harmonium, tanpura and tabla. Usually
in a khayal concert, a thumri is performed as the last item. Three main
gharanas of thumri are known – Benaras, Lucknow and Patiala. Lucknow
Gharana was enriched and performed by Qadar Piya, Sanad Piya, Lallan
Piya, Kenwar Shyam, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and Rang Piya. Benaras
Gharana was cultivated and adorned by Rasoolan Bai, Siddeshwari Devi and
Girja Devi. One of the most famous thumri singers, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan, belonged to the Patiala Gharana. Shobha Gurtu is a renowned
contemporary thumri singer.
Tappa
Tappa, which in Persian literally means jump, was developed in the late 18th
century AD from the folk songs of camel drivers by Shorey Mian or Ghulam
Nabi of Multan. Written in Punjabi and short in length of composition,
Tappas pertain to folklore of love and passion, and are based on Shringara
Rasa. The beauty of a tappa lies in the quick and intricate display of various
permutations and combinations of notes. Despite the fact that even though the
Tappa lyrics are in Punjabi, Varanasi and Gwalior are the strongholds of
Tappa and not Punjab.
    Ramnidhi Gupta created a special kind of tappa, called Bangla Toppa,
which influenced Bengal in a big way, after Shori Mia"s Toppa of Punjab.
Gupta set his romantic lyrics on melodies based on Hindustani classical
music. Nidhubabur Toppa, which these songs later became popular as, is
heard even today in Bengal, especially in Calcutta. Chandidas Maal is one of
the last few who is holding this bastion. Other people who created the same