Gharanas of Tabla

This article has been extracted from the Platinum Jubilee Souvenir of the Suburban Music Circle (Year 2012) Gharanas of Tabla By: Pt. Sadanand Naimpalli [Born in a family of music-lovers, Sadanand Naimpalli was motivated to take up some form of musical expression. Gifted as he was, with an uncanny sense of rhythm, made him take up a liking to a percussion instrument viz: "Tabla." He found an ideal perceptor in Pandit Taranathji who lent free rein to his inherent capabilities. It was not long before Sadanandji blossomed into an accomplished Tabla player and was rightly hailed as a "Child Prodigy." He won the President's award for standing first at the National A.I.R competitions in 1963, when barely sixteen years old. He also began participating in various music conferences alongside with recognised stalwarts. He holds a first class degree with distinction in Metallurgical Engineering and has successfully ran his Pt. own enterprise, manufacturing high quality Non Ferrous Castings, before reverting his energies to Sadanand Naimpalli his first love "Tabla". A "TOP" graded artist of A.I.R. (Akashvani) and T.V. (Doordarshan), Nadkarni Sadananji’s tabla solos are eagerly awaited and listened to by an ever growing fan following.] (Note: All alphabets with an apostrophe represent the Phonetic sound of that alphabet) Indian Music is tradition based. Printing Information Technology being a recent phenomenon, this Art has been preserved and propagated by person to person contact and teaching. This is what is called ‘Guru-mukhi Vidya’ i.e. knowledge through the mouth of a Guru or Ustad. Thus, this art was passed on from a Guru to his sons or disciples, who in turn, passed it on to their progeny and disciples, thereby establishing their identity or stamp on the style of performing and/or the Compositions that were passed on. Because this was on the lines of a ‘Family Tree’, it was referred to as ‘Gharana’, which is the Hindi equivalent of family or lineage. Most of the disciples of a Guru definitely follow the tradition which they have learnt from their Guru. But once in a way, there comes a disciple, who besides following his Guru’s tradition, takes a few bold steps outside the path laid down by his mentor. He lets his imagination wander a bit and experiments some. Within a span of a few years, his students and later, their students are seen and heard to be playing the same compositions a little differently or suitably amended. Art is not static and keeps evolving because it comes from the heart and soul of a performer. Every artist has the privilege of putting forth his/her expression of a composition. Hence, any composition need not sound the same when presented by two or more artists. Gharanas have been named after the places where the Gurus/Ustads resided and carried on with their work of spreading the Art. There are six recognized Gharanas in Tabla viz; Delhi Gharana, Ajradaa or Merut Gharana, Lucknow or Poorab Gharana, Farrukhabad Gharana, Benares Gharana and Punjab Gharana. By consensus, Delhi Gharana is considered as the parent Gharana because it was in Delhi that Tabla first took roots under the Mughals in their courts. Although Tabla is believed to have come into existence in the period 1200 –1300 A.D. the Gharanas came about much later. Solo Tabla playing may have begun in the late 15th/early 16th century in Delhi. During Amir Khusro’s period, i.e. 1196 –1316 A.D., Tabla was mainly used to accompany the ‘Khayaal’ style of Vocal musical compositions. But side by side, it evolved independently and reached a stage where it could be played as a Solo instrument and heard and appreciated as well. It was after this stage that various Gharanas, such as those mentioned above, developed. The development of Khayaal singing and Tabla went on almost at the same time and on similar lines. Hence, we find that Tabla Solo recitals are presented in almost the same format as that of Khayaal singing. The term ‘Baaz’ comes from the Hindi/Urdu word ‘Baajaa’, which means musical instrument. Baaz is the style of playing an instrument. In Tabla, there are two distinct styles of playing viz; ‘Khulaa Baaz’ and ‘B’ndh Baaz’. ‘B’ndh Baaz’: In this style of playing, the sounds produced from the Tabla (treble) and Baayan (base) have a limited resonance. One of the important aspects of Tabla playing is greater the speed of playing, lesser is the resonating time and vice versa. When one stroke has been played, another is played before the resonance of the first subsides. In this style of playing, the hand on the Tabla must have a compact look with fingers close together. Kaidas and Relas are two important compositions that can be played at high speeds with skillful coordination of the fingers on the Tabla and Baayan. In the B’ndh Baaz, strokes on the ‘Chaanti’ (the border strip on the Tabla top [pudi]), the ‘L’v’ (the area between the ‘Chaanti’ and ‘Shaayee’) and the ‘Shaayee’ are prominent. ‘Khulaa Baaz’: In this style, exactly the opposite holds good. Khulaa means open- handed, i.e. the fingers are spread out, and the hand never rests on the Tabla or Baayan giving enough scope for them to reverberate to the fullest after a stroke has been played. One finds the influence of the Pakhavaj on this style of playing. In contrast to the B’ndh Baaz, in this, the full palm is used and sounds are produced more by fingers joined together rather than individual fingers. This results in reduced speed of playing, giving more scope for the instruments to resonate. In this style, compositions such as G’ths, G’th-Parans, G’th-Todas, Parans and Chakkardaars abound. B’ndh Baaz is associated with Delhi and Ajrada Gharanas and Khulaa Baaz with Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Benares Gharanas. Delhi Gharana: Among the Gharanas prevalent today, Delhi Gharana is considered to be the oldest or the first one. Delhi being the highest seat of the Mughal emperors and having great wealth and musicians of the caliber of Amir Khusro and Miyan Tansen, became an attraction for musicians from all over India. They came and settled there, trying to catch the eyes and ears of influential courtiers and also earn a living. Hence, the beginning and initial advancement of Tabla took place in Delhi, especially during the reign of emperor Akbar. At about this time, Khayaal singing started gaining in popularity as the Dhrupad-Dhamaar style of singing had started to decline. The accompaniment for Khayaal singing was given by Tabla because of its softer tones. Delhi Gharana style of playing Tabla is called the Delhi Baaz. It is also referred to as the Chaanti Baaz because of the preponderance of that stroke sound and also the ‘Do Ungli’ or Two-Fingered Baaz. In this Gharana, there is a surfeit of Peshkaars, Kaidas and Relas. Also, most of the compositions are in ‘Chaturasra’ jaati, i.e. in counts of four and multiples thereof per Matra or beat. Sidaar Khan Dhaadhi is acknowledged as the founder of the Delhi Gharana. Some of the other stalwarts of this Gharana are Ustads Chaand Khan (younger brother of Sidaar Khan), Bugra Khan, Ghasit Khan and a third one (name unknown), who later founded the Lucknow Gharana, Kallu Khan, sons of Sidaar Khan, etc. Recent well-known Tabla players of Delhi Gharana are Ustads, Gaami Khan, Inam Ali Khan, Naththu Khan and Latif Ahmed Khan. Lucknow Gharana: This is also known as the Poorab Gharana, and the style of playing is known as Poorab Baaz or Khulaa Baaz. This Gharana came into being within about a hundred years of the birth of the Delhi Gharana. The Nawabs of Lucknow were well known for their patronage of Arts, especially, Music and Kathak dance. The Pakhawaj was used to accompany the Kathak Dancers. But certain compositions/movements in fast speeds could not be reproduced with clarity on the Pakhawaj, thereby leading to its place being taken by the Tabla, whose softer tones were also found to be suitable for the lilting tunes, matching steps and expressions. But the Pakhawaj always scored over the Tabla insofar as the resonance and gravity was concerned. The Tabla players of this Gharana tried to combine the outstanding characteristics of the pakhawaj with those of Tabla, thereby giving rise to the Khulaa baaz. The Lucknow style of playing is also known as the ‘Thapiya Baaz’, because the entire palm is used to produce sounds as against the B’ndh Baaz, where only fingers are used. Eminent stalwarts of this Gharana are Ustads Modu Khan, Bakshu Khan, Waajid Hussain Khan, Aabid Hussain Khan, Afaaq Hussain Khan, and Jehangir Khan. Two other stalwarts of this Gharana are Pandit Ram Sahay, a disciple of Ustad Modu Khan and Pandit Biroo Mishra, a disciple of Ustad Aabid Hussain Khan. Both later laid the foundation of the Benares Gharana. Ajrada Gharana: This Gharana is recognized as the ‘Shaagird’ Gharana of Delhi Gharana. It is named after a small village in Merut District of Uttar Pradesh, barely 50 km from Delhi. Broadly speaking, there is not much difference in the playing styles of Ajrada and Delhi Gharanas. Just to make its own impact, to show something different from Delhi Gharana, most of the Kaidas were composed in the Tisra Jaati, or counts of three per Matra or beat. Also, the protagonists of this Gharana made some changes in their playing style to enable them to play compositions much faster than those of the Delhi Gharana.

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