| Indian literature |
|---|
| Ancient |
| Early Medieval |
| Medieval to early Modern |
Geet (song or lyrical poetry) (Hindi:गीत) (Urdu:گیت) inHindi and inUrdu may refer to anypoem set tomusic that can be sung alone or as aduet or inchorus. It has remained popular in all parts of theIndian sub-continent particularly in theHindi andUrdu speaking areas.
In its classical form a Geet conforms to Prabandha, a composition bound by Dhatu that comprisesSthayi,Antara, Dhrupad etc.; and Anga that comprisesswar, taal, pat, birud etc.[1] 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 asAabhog and that part of the geet which is between Dhruv andAabhog is called Pada or Antara. Famous poet and lyricist Golendra Patel, while defining 'song', has said that "Song is the soulful voice generated by the impact of human sympathy on the string between heart and mind, that is, song is the voice of life in its soulful nature."[2]Dhrupad,Khyal,Thumri andGhazals are the accepted forms ofHindustani classical music. The legendary singers MianTansen and RajaMan Singh Tomar were Dhrupad singers.
Geets are a significant part of Indian folk-literature meant for all memorable occasions, then they are known aslok-geets sung by different communities and sections of society.[3] Theselok-geets includeChaiti,Kajari,Hori and Sawani. However, the boundary-line separating folk songs from classical songs cannot be easily traced and re-drawn.[4]
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 asKhojas), geets of devotion are composed and sung by community artistes. The Geets Portal[5] at theUniversity of Saskatchewan Library is a digital curation of the Ismaili community's devotional tradition of geets.
InUrdu poetry its roots are found inDakhani 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.[6]Dakhini 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 lyricPrithviraj Raso written byChand Bardai. InHindi poetry that has its roots in theAvadhi and theBrij Bhasha theBhakti movement amalgamating the more ancient forms of Sanskrit and Persian poetry brought to the fore the wide range ofrasas from love to heroism that later on in the Ritikal introduced erotism in a big way. Urdu geets are basically found written in theHindustani language that took shape after the colonization of India by the British and had subsequently become the court language inDelhi andAvadh whereas Hindi geets have retained the flavour drawn from earlier compositions in Rajasthani dialect,Brij Bhasha andMaithali.