Blog V

My facebook friend Dr Sachin Ketkar is feeding me with interesting subjects for my blogs.He wants me to comment on an essay provided on “bulletproofmusician.com discussing ‘How many hours a day should you practice? This essay deals with the subject in relation to western music.

I do not profess that I am an authority on the subject but I have spent enough summers in discussing few..Pt Laljee Gokhale,Pt Arvind Mulgaonkar, Pt Bapu Patwardhan,Ustaad Amir Hussein (all tabla players}.Friend Nana Rajyadhyaksha (Ust.Khadim Husein’s student),Pt Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale,Pt Ganpatrao Devaskar,Pt Sharatchandra Arolkar,Captain Joshi,Pune. ( all vocalists).It will be interesting to know, nearly all senior vocalists have fund of knowledge in tabla. In fact many good tabla players have turned into good vocalists/instrumentalists (Pandit Jasraaj,Pt Shivakumar Sharma).

The amount of practice depends mainly on following factors:
1. Inborn talent
2. Parental encouragement
3. Availability of a proper Guru preferably closer to a gharana of your choice at primary level.
4. Availability of a Senior Guru necessarily of a gharana of your choice at an advanced level. This will often involve a GANDABANDHAN ceremony where the Guru agrees to accept you as a student and the student agrees to learn with this Guru and nobody else.

1. Inborn talent We come a across a lot of youngsters (5 to 9 yrs) Who are incredibly talented. In Tabla they understand the language and reproduce the phrases with ease,they understand sidhi and AAD laya.In fact at their age, they are at a 15 yrs stage of an average person.(Uderstand that this observation applises to both sexes).But talent is only half the battle won.Unless it is accompanied by proper guidance and REEYAZ,you will end up as an average player. In fact many average persons who have no special skills can surpass a talented player with guidance and reeyaz. Pandit Kumar Gandharva,Ustaad Zakir Hussein are examples of talent and Riyaaz.(Andre Agassi in tennis) This writer Suresh Mulgaonkar is an example of talent but no Reeyaz.

2. Parental encouragement
Normally,in our society greater stress is given on academic studies. Pursuing any art or sport is tolerated as long as one gets good grades in school. I do not suggest that only arts and sports be nurtured to the detriment of studies,but parents should give sufficient encouragement and show appreciation of the efforts put in by their wards.This will ensure that any time devoted to practice will be more productive.

3. Availability of a proper Guru at primary level:
The Guru should be such that he teaches the language and production of notes ,padhant (recitation,memorizing),basic taals,simple teehais, encouragement to perform in front of an audience etc.If the student has shown inclination towards a particular gharana,it will be good to select a Guru from that gharana.These days Zakir Hussien and Tendulkar have become roll models.So if you like Zakir Hussein, Pick a Guru whose style is from Panjab gharana.
We say ‘haat Kadhne’ in Marathi or’ haath nikalna in hindi’(to mould one’s hand) to describe success of primary training.If you are unfortunate a Guru can spoil the hand in the formative days.It will be difficult to undo. Above teaching needs to be done between the age of 7 to 15 yrs.
At this stage one has to positively determine which Gharana one wishes to pursue.

4. Search for a Guru From the Gharana of your choice:
The Gharanas are:

1. Delhi/Ajrada gharana-exponent Sudhir Saxena
2. Farukabad- Ustaad Thirakwa,Ustaad Amir Hussein and many good exponents from Mumbai pune region.
3. Lucknow-Pandit Sapan Chowdhury and many renowned exponents from Calcutta region
4. Punjab-Zakir Hussein,Yogesh Samshi and many students of Usd Allarakha and Zakir Hussein.
5. Benaras-Samta Prasad and many accomplished artists from Benaras.

Presently the most popular gharana appears to be Punjab to which Zakir Hussein belongs. But in my opinion,a good gharana to follow is Farukhabad.This gharana has accommodated the best of Delhi, Ajrada,and Lucknow Gharanas.
Panjab gharana is mainly derived from pakhvaj style. It was made popular by Ustaad Allarakha. He modified it to suit the requirements of instrumental accompaniment.He was extremely good at calculations (Hisaab).Also Speedy and clear production of phrases is their speciality.Ustd Zakir Husein has gone a step further.He has imbibed good compositions from other Gharanas.For average Indian and Western audiences he plays attractive nontraditional Tabla with a lot of gimmicks (such as playing saregama on Bayan.The performance is full of surprises.But in front of a gathering of tabalchis he plays extremely pure traditional tabla.
The Benaras gharana was mainly developed to accompany dancers and thumri/dadra singers. Their playing is amazingly speedy with not much variations.Their lagginada is exquisite.

The hours of practice:
For a talented student (also pursuing studies) one hour per day is sufficient. Children who do not have talent or liking should not be forced by the parents to learn tabla. At any stage the decision to learn tabla must be made by the student himself. If he shows urge to learn and practice under proper guidance he will succeed. I know students who have started learning at 20 yrs of age, have surpassed talented players.The only reason: passion,a good Guru and Reeyaz. Between the age of 16 and 30 ,3 to 4 hours of reeyaz is necessary.This is a peak period of your learning.You are young,healthy,passionate,competitive and prepared to put in hardwork.If you miss out on this, you will be an average player good enough to help out on social occasions. Many performers of yester years used to practice CHILLA. It is a process where a student stays isolated and practices certain phrases for nearly 24 hrs till his fingers bleed.Thirakwa did it when he was 17 yrs old. Assuming that you have put in the hard work,it is now necessary to keep your body and mind in readiness to perform. Therefore you can put in 2 hrs a day between age of 30 and 55. After 55, one hour a day is sufficient to keep flexibility of your fingers in good shape till say 75 yrs I may mention here that Ustaad Thirakwa gave half hour performance on Mumbai television at 96 yrs .

Some tips on dos and don’ts:

• Practice in front of a mirror.Observe finger movements ,compare with your Guru’s instructions and correct.
• Some teachers ask you to keep a heavy cloth on Dayan and practice.Please avoid it.
• Some teachers will ask you to wear heavy copper rings on the fingers. Avoid it.
• A renowned tabla player, Pt Nana Mulye,whose production of notes on Bayan is exquisite,demonstrated the use all five fingers on the Bayan with nearly equal strength.Ustaad Ghame Khan told him to play a kayda only with fingers on the Bayan.Students can try this.
• Do not use excessive powder on the tabla.Some students think that it is a must. If you do not sweat on the palm it is preferable to use a pinch of powder on the tabla before starting your play but avoid afterwards.It spoils the tabla because the powder enters inter crystalline gaps and deadens the sound.
• The most important suggestion is ,you must spend your spare time in CHINTAN (contemplation).You get time when travelling, waiting for a bus or a Doctor’s appointment. Spend it in mentally reciting a composition,try to improvise,try teehais etc.

These are only ballpark figures.They will vary for individuals. Again I stress that I am not an authority. A student will have to chart his own course with the help of a Guru.

Now a gat:
Teentaal,teeshra,anaghat.

Takita takita Tak dhin tak Tak dhin tak Titakatan
Dhatraka dhikitaKatgadigana Ghenteran Ghenteran
Tak tinagina Taktinagina Taktinatage Titakatan
Dherdherkat dherdherKitatak takdan Dha ss Ta ss (Dha)

The capital letters indicate the beat. Thus we have:
T T T T D K G G T T T T D K D T D total 17 beats
My next blog will be explanation on Rela and Rav with examples.

Suresh Mulgaonkar
Sunnyvale,Cal.
BLOG V

Blog IV

I posted blog III on Sept. 4th 2013.I mentioned there that Ustaad Thirakwa would end a Kayda with a short teehai. I missed telling you that very often he would end up with a phrase other than a teehai which would delightfully surprise you. I thought it would be interesting to know these with following examples of some kaydas: (The phrases are marked in bold letters)

Example 1: teentaal, teeshra jati, atidrut laya.
Dhin dhagena dha dhagena dhatak ghetak dingdinagena
Tage tirkt dhin dhagena dhatak ghetak dingdinagena
Tin takena ta taken tatak ketak tingtinakena
Dhin dhagena tin dhagena dhin dhagena tin dehagena dhin;

Example 2: teentaal, chatushra, Madhya laya
Dha ghegenak dhingin dhagetrak
Dhina ghegenak dhingin dhagetrak tinagin
Ghenag tin gina tagetrak tina gin
Tagetrak dhina ghegenak dingdinagin
Ghenag ghenag gin dha ghegenak gin dhatunna dhatunna kdan s,dhatunna dhatunna kdan s, dhatunna dhatunna kdans (dha)

Example 3: teentaal chatushra,ladi
Dhagenatunana ghinatuna dhagenatunana
Takenatunana ghinatuna dhagenatunana
Dhagenatunana ghinatuna dhagena tuna dha s,dhagena tuna dha s,dhagena tuna dha

Example 4: teentaal,chatushra,madhyalaya doubled
Tagdhin tagetirkt tagedindinagin tagetit tage tingtinagin
Tagetirkt tage dingdinagin tagetirkt tagetit tage tingtinagin
Tagtin tagetirkt tage tingtinagin tagetit tage tingtinagin
Dha s tagetit tage tingtinagin dha s tagetit tage tingtinagin dha<

Example 5: teentaal,madehyalaya doubled,chatushra
Dhakd dhatit dhage titakd dhatit dhage kddhatit dhagetit dhage tingtinagin
Titkd dhatit dhage titkd dhatit dhage kddhatit dhagetit dhage dingdinagin
Tingtinagin take titkd dhatit take kddhatit take tit take tingtinagin
Titkd dhatit dhage, titkd dhatit,titkd dhatit,titkd dhatit,titkd dhatit(dha)

Now a new gat:

By Ustaad Bolibax,teeshre,teentaal

Dhagat takit Dhagenage dhin
Dhagetrak dhin Ghidnage dhin
Tagdhinna Dhin ghidnag
Tirkt tage Tit dhin sss
Takit dhad Dhagenage dhin
Dhagetrak dhin ghidnage dhin
Taketrak tin Kidnagetin
Dhin ghegenak Dingananagen

More in my next blog.
Suresh mulgaonkar
Sunnyvale, Cal.

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

tabla musings II

Tabla As an accompaniment:

Tabla is basically an instrument of accompaniment to a Vocalist or an instrumentalist.It provides a time cycle of rhythm within which an artist performs.

The requirements of a tabla accompanist for a Vocalist is different from those for instrumentalists.I propose to elaborate on both.

The accompaniment to a Vocalist should be supportive, non-intrusive and devoid of one-upmanship.In present times it is common to hear an accompanist play practically a solo performance with a total disregard to the requirements of the Vocalist.Very often the audience applauds the Tabla Player and ignores the main performer.

Supportive roll:

This means that the Theka should be cleanly played with minimum embellishments.The use of Dayan and bayan should be balanced and complimentary.The aim should not be to scuttle the thought process of the vocalist but to enable him to confidently expand the nuances of a bandish.In old times I have witnessed Senior Performers reprimand an accompanist by just a stern look which was enough to make him play a Seedha Theka.

Some good players will beautifully merge a shadja note with that of a vocalist when he reaches the shadja of the upper octave . This usually happens when the sum of the antara is reached.

Non-intrusive :

While the singer is in a contemplative mood, the accompanist should not try to embellish his theka.Some good performers vary the loudness of their theka to suit the mood of the singer.

One upmanship:

The mohra ( tail piece ) used to reach the sum should be uncomplicated and not designed to fox the singer so that he misses the sum. ( A good vocalist never misses a sum but a crafty accompanist can deliberately make him miss the sum).The accompanist should sit facing the Singer and not the audience.He should not strive to encourage audience to applaud him but help vocalist to perform admirably.

The tempo of the Theka depends on the requirements of the singers. I n old times the tempo of the thekas used by Gwalior,agra,atroli gharanas were reasonably fast tempos. ( listern to krishnarao pandit,Fayyaz khan, kesarbai kerkar).But I think (I may be wrong) Amir khan introduced a very slow theka, In recent times I observe that Pt Jasraj,Gulam Mustafa Khan, Rashid khan-are using a slow theka.

In old days, the time distance between two beats was no more than the length of vibration of a note strck on tabla.The present day practice of using a slow tempo negates the very concept of providing a time cycle for the bandish.Moreover,for a performance to be successful, audience participation is necessary. A balanced interval theka can be comprehended by an average listener.You will observe that many listeners are inquisitive about the taal used and they will try to keep beats coinciding with the theka. With a very slow ( ati vilambit) theka, an average listener is lost.

The mohra (tail piece) used to reach the Sum (starting point of a bandish) should be specially composed and not a part of a kayda or rela.It should preferably cover not more than one avartan,It should not be a kayda or a chakradhar.Use of pakhawaj notes such as ‘titakatagadigana’are useful.Some time in my future blogs I will give the notations of Mohras.

AT THE END OF EVERY BLOG I PROPOSE TO GIVE A ‘GAAT’

To indicate the position of the beats, I will show the alphabet in capital.

Teentaal,chatushra jaati.

Tirakitatakta Ghina ghina Dhatraka dhaGin dha,Kad-dhet ghiNak ghina Gheghena tiraKitatak tuna,

Ghegena tiraKitatak dha, (S) ghe(E)nta.Ghinak ghiNak dha ,Gheghena tiraKitatak tuna—Dhi dhin dha,Dhi dhin dha,ti tinta,dhi dhin dha

Above S represents a pause and E represents abeat between e and n.

I hope you will be able to decipher this gat.

In the next blog I will discuss tabla as a solo instrument.

Suresh Mulgaonkar

18^th June 2010

about suresh mulgaonkar

I am 78 yrs old,Indian,mechanical/electrical engineer by training ,a die and tool engineer/entrepreneur by profession.
Trained under Pandit Lalji Gokhale (a senior desciple of Ustad thirakwa) and later with Ustad Amir Hussein .
acoompanied Shobha Gurtu,Kishori Amonkar, Pandit Jasraj and many other senior artists from Maharashtra.Presently practicing under the guidance of pandit Bapu Patwardhan,again a desciple of Ustad Thirakwa.

I am alittle disturbed with the present trend in national and international approach towards trditional tabla playing.

Through this blog I wish to present my thoughts which may radically defer from many other renowned practicing percussionists in the field.

I will briefly state my view point and over a long period elaborate and convey some useful information,compositions, secrets on NIKAAS which may be of help to some students learning this art.

The origin of the word TABLA is not very clear. The original gharana namely DELHI was started sometime in the 15th century.Tabla was mainly used as a supportive instrument to a vocal singer or to players of stringed instruments. Simultaneously, the families specialising in this art composed some delightful compositions for their own pleasure and also for practice or RIYAAZ.Competing families,I imagine must have indulged in displaying their compositions with some pride,but never offered them freely to any member of other family.. It was very common to offer as dowry (DAHEJ),composigions of one family to other family at the time of inter family marriages.In the 19th and 20th century some performers started displaying their art in a chamber concert form. Munir khan,habibuddin khan,Thirakwa,Amir Hussein, Shaikh Dawood, Karamatulla Khan,Anokhilal,Chaturlal,Kishen Maharaj, Allah Rakha and many others presented their art in the form of Tabla SOLO ( different from an accompanist).
Initially,the performers received patronage from Royal Families which were holding small kingdoms under the british, The royalties of lucknow,patiyala,Rampur,gwalior,Baroda,Kolhapur and many others were known to be patrons of these artists ( and also artists amongst singers and instrumentalists-I will however limit my comments to the tabla players). They were well looked after with housing,food, salary etc. They were expected to entertain the Royalty,their friends and their citizens. They were also expected to teach promising young students mostly men.
After Indian independence in 1947, the Royalties were integrated with india and their capacity to support artists,sportsmen etc was non existant. Thus these artists were released from the patronage of Royalties and Indian common citizens started patronising them through music circles, annual conferences. etc. In my times, Sur singar parishad in Bombay, Tansen samaroh in gwalior,sawai gandharva festival in Pune, and some major conferences in Jullunder and Calcutta were and are very popular.
To be continued.
Suresh Mulgaonkar