Blog III

I wrote the last blog on June 18^th 2010.Thereafter, I did write a four page blog and lost it when I touched some key of my computer.I got frustrated and gave up. I am trying again and I hope I succeed.

Last time I said ,I would write about Tabla SOLO Rendering.Solo rendering can be broken into four main groups ,namely selection of taal,pitch of the dayan,duration of a concert and sequence of presentation.

Selection of TAAL:

TEENTAAL is the most favoured taal by all old Ustaads.The reason is that nearly all compositions such as Gaats, Kaydas,relaas have been composed in teentaal.Teentaal does use some compositions done in 7,5,6,9,matras.This is done by accommodating these in 8  matras.Teeshra,khand,mishra,sankirna Jaatis in teentaal are often used in teentaal rendering.

Note:group of 3 matras {like waltz) is teeshra jaati. Group of 4 matras Chatushra,group of five matras khand,group of 7 matras mishra,group of nine matras sankirna.

Since there are hardly any compositions specifically composed fro rupak,zaptaal,matttaal,they use teentaal compositions by suitably adding or subtracting a matra or two from teentaal compositions.

From the point of audience interest,teentaal is easier to keep a track of. On other taals you barely get to know the SUM.

Note: I understand that Pandit Vinayakbuwa Ghangrekar had specialized in Zaaptaal by composing kaydas,gaats etc.I am told that many well known players(Suresh Talwalkar,Bhai Gaitonde) have taken lessons from  Ghangrekar only for Zaaptaal).

Pitch of the DAAYAN:

To be able to produce full repertoire of tabla language a wide mouth dayan is suitable.The most preferred pitch is black 4 on harmonium scale or G sharp.The diameter is 6 inches.This is suitable for both bandaa baaz(Delhi gharana )and khulaa baaz( Lucknow gharana).The note ‘DHIRDHIR’ is more impressive with its depth and clarity on a wide mouth dayan.Some players prefer black 5(A sharp) but it’s diameter is 5.25 in.hindering the production of DhirDhir.(It must be acknowledged that there are senior players who can produce good notes on any dayans other than those mentioned above.With superhuman riyaaz anything is possible.)

Notes such as Gadigana,Dingin,Kdan,Ghdan,Tingnag,Thun thun,Titakatagadigana are difficult to produce on a narrow mouthed dayan.In modern day playing, KaLI 1(c SHARP) ,Kali 2 (D sharp) in upper octave is used. The dias are 5.5 in. and 5.25in. respectively.These are suitable for producing sounds such as na na,tit tit,Tirkit,kddhatit etc.The performer invariably insists on amplification system because the production of sound without it is not discernible even in the 2^nd line of the audience.The sound of Dhirdhir sounds like the flutter of a bird’s wing and excessive use of Nana,tirkit,dhatdhagena sounds like a nagara (Temple drum played with sticks).

I once listened to a lecture by Pt. Birjumaharaj, great exponent of Kathak.He is also adept at tabla and vocal singing.He commented on the difference between old Tabla Ustaads and Modern day tabla specialists .He said in hindi:

Purane zamanemein mike nahin tha. To Bhi Tabla doortak sunai detaathaa.Jab Thaap maartethe,to diwalonki dhili pophdian gir jatithi our almarihke shisein zarr zarr awaz kartithi.Abke zamaneinme mikeke samne bajanese aisa lagtaa hai key eh kya laad rahen hai. Assal me yeh tableko khurach rahen  hai”

Translation:In the old days,before the advent of mike system notes played could be heard by the last man in the audience.When a THAP (heavy stroke of the palm)  was hit,loose plaster on the walls would be dislodged and the glasspanes of the almirahs would make a hissing sound.

With the modern day performers,(n front of the mike), it appears that they are almost fighting a battle with great vigour but in reality they are scratching the surface of the tabla.”

This observation of Pt. Birju Maharaj truly describes the state of the modern day art.

Duration of a good concert:

One can render the art of solo performance in a period varying from 30 mts to 60 mts.Anything more will involve a lot of repetitions or unattractive improvisations.Ustaad Thirakwa would say that while practicing improvise by using permutations and combinations.but in a performance use 5 to  10

Phrases which are unusual and which are likely to surprise a learned listener and end with a short teehai or a phrase which is not a teehai.(Riyazmein bal khol do.magar solo mein panch che mushkil bal bajao our chota tihaise khtm karo.)

He was fond of lout-palat in his rendering.Normally all gurus tell  us to open up a kayda in a progressive fashion.e.g.dhata dhagena dhatirkit ,X 3,dhata dhage tinagina.And then ½ viram,full viram etc.

Thirakwa would often use Palat and play:dhat dhagena dha tirkit,dhatirkit dhat dhagena etc.  Another example: Dhagena dhatirkit dhati ,dhatirkit dhati dhagena. Etc.

Sequence of presentation:

I have listened to a lot of Tabla solo recordings by Pakistani and Indian performers.The player starts with Uthan in drut laya and continues to unravel a kayda in ati-drut.The intention is not to reveal the beauty of the kayda but to impress with TAYYARI.The phrases are repetitive and end tihai is LAMCHAD ie very long.This presentation is in line with every aspect of life.We want display of speed and strength in everything we do. For example in tennis we want to attain high speed serve(120 mph),we want to engage in slugging match from the base line.The artistry of the bygone years is missing.This rendering is not ART,it is CRAFT.Ustaad Habibuddin of the old school was known to practice speed.Thirakwa would say,’RIyazi hai,Taleem nahin dikhai deti’.

In my opinion,Ustaad Thirakwa was an ideal example of solo presentation. He used a sequence which could be compared to a good vocal rendering.

My understanding is that he introduced vilampit laya for PESHKAR.Earlier peshkaar was played in Madhya laya as a kayda.It naturally followed the rules of kayda namely expansion will conform to the  words of the kayda.Peshkaar introduced by U.Thirakwa used the basic 

Structure of peshkaar kayda but left room for improvisation in the last 8 or four matras.This rendition could be compared with aalapi in vocal music.

He would then proceed with kaydas and very often convert them into Relaas.

He would next play Gatis and gatkaydas,

He would next play tukdas.I donot think he was interested in chakradhars.

While going through the above sequence,he would progressively increase the speed of the lehra.

Towards the end he would play his favourite FARUKHABADI CHALLAN with gats and relas associated with it.

One of his most favourite piece was development of a rela- Dha tirakit dhage tag dingdinagina.This he would play at anytime after peshkar depending on his mood.

His 60 minutes performance could be broken down in following durations:

1  Peshkar(Farashbandi/rang)                    12

2  kaydas                                                              20

3  Relas and gatis                                              20

4  tukdas                                                              8

5  Farukhabadi challan                                    6

                                                Total                      66 mts.

This is just an observation, There was no hard and fast rule.I came to the above conclusion after analyzing some 10 odd  one hour performances.

As promised earlier, I will give one gat for you:

Teentaal,chatushra jaati

Dha takddha  S dingana tirkit Dhet dinakedin Dingana titakata S   dinakedin Dhin kddhata Dha kddhata Ta kaddhata Dha

S represents gaps where in this gat a beat falls.If you count the number of beats shown by capital letters,they are nine. D S D D S D D T D

 In the next blog I will give you some interesting end pieces used by Ustaad Thirakwa.

Suresh Mulgaonkar