The Tabla in Perspective

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IN FO R M A TIO N TO USERS

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74-12,474 STEWART, Re be cca M a r i e , 1 9 4 1 THE TABLl IN PERSPECTIVE. U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los A n g e l e s , P h . D . , 1974 Mu si c

University Microfilms, A XEROX C om pany, Ann Arbor, Michigan

©

1974

REBECCA MARIE STEWART

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TH IS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN M IC R O FILM E D EXACTLY AS RECEIVED, R e p ro d u c e d with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without perm ission.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los A n g e l e s

The Tab la in P e rsp e c tiv e

A d i s s e r t a t i o n submitted in p a r t i a l s a t i s f a c t i o n of the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r th e d e g r e e D o c t o r o f P h i l o s o p h y i n Music

by

Rebecca M a rie S t e w a r t

1974

R e p ro d u c e d with perm ission of the copyright owner. F urther reproduction prohibited without perm ission.

The d i s s e r t a t i o n o f Rebecca M ari e S t e w a r t i s a p p r o v e d , and i t i s a c c e p t a b l e i n q u a l i t y f o r p u b l i c a t i o n on m i c r o f i l m .

Kees W. B o l l e

W i l l i a m R„ H u t c h i n s o n 0>

................................................

(Co) on c o n t a c t ...................................................................................... ................................................................................... .

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v iii

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45.

49 49

Punjab Baj 50.

NA (Ao) on c o n t a c t

. .

51.

TA (Bo) b e f o r e c o n t a c t

52.

TA a f t e r c o n t a c t

53.

c—> TI(N)

54.

KA (Dc) on c o n t a c t

. . .

(Co) on c o n t a c t . .

ix

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PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The s u b j e c t o f t h i s s t u d y i s n o t one w h ich le n d s t o t r a d i t i o n a l methods o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n .

i t s e l f r e a d ily

The o b j e c t i s t h e e s t a b l i s h ­

ment o f an i d e n t i t y f o r b o t h a drum and i t s m u s ic a l t r a d i t i o n .

The

problem i s t h e a b s e n c e o f any h e r e t o f o r e a s c e r t a i n a b l e p i e c e s o f know­ l e d g e and th e p r e s e n c e o f a v e r y p o w e r f u l s e t o f t r a d i t i o n a l pre-suppo-r s itio n s.

With t h i s u n d e r s t a n d in g i t must be agreed t h a t no amount o f

I n d ia n m u s ic a l t r e a t i s e j u g g l i n g would have r e s u l t e d i n a r e a l i s t i c a p p r a i s a l o f t h e t a b l a ' s p o s i t i o n i n 2 0 t h c e n t u r y N orth I n d ia n m u s ic . T h e r e f o r e , a f t e r a somewhat l e s s th a n s u c c e s s f u l f i r s t a t t e m p t t o b r i n g order t o a s m a l l segment o f N orth I n d ia n t a b la p r a c t i c e , d e c id e d t o d i s p e n s e w i t h t h e o r th o d o x ap p roach es t o t h e s u b j e c t ,

i t was in d e b t e d

a s t h e y w ere t o S a n s k r t s c h o l a r s h i p , o f t e n a s viewed throu gh t h e d i s t o r tiv e

l e n s e s o f W e s t e r n - o r i e n t e d s c i e n t i f i c m eth od s.

In l i e u o f t h e above

avenue o f r e s e a r c h , t h i s a u th o r h a s s p e n t t h e l a s t e i g h t y e a r s l e a r n i n g t h e m u s ic a l t r a d i t i o n s o f N orth I n d i a . f i n e d t o t h e t a b l a , but as s t y l i s t i c

The emphasis was a t f i r s t con ­

r e l a t i o n s h i p s p r e s e n t e d t h e m s e lv e s

i t was e x te n d e d t o i n c lu d e t h e d h o l a k , naqq ara, p a k h a v a j , v o c a l , i n s t r u ­ m e n ta l and dance t r a d i t i o n s .

A lth o u g h n ot a l l were s t u d i e d w i t h t h e same

t h o r o u g h n e s s , v e r y d e f i n i t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s began t o ap pear b e tw e e n th e t a b l a and o t h e r drumming p r a c t i c e s and b etw een th e t a b l a and t h e d a n c e , i n s t r u m e n t a l and v o c a l t r a d i t i o n s .

As t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s became c l e a r e r

i t became e q u a l l y o b v io u s t h a t , by u s i n g t h e s e i n t e r - r e l a t e d t r a d i t i o n s a s su p p o rt or r e f u t a t i o n o f p o s s i b l e l i n e s o f develop m ent i n t a b l e p r a c ­ tic e ,

i t would be p o s s i b l e t o r e c o n s t r u c t an a c t u a l o u t l i n e o f i t s m u s ic a l

g r o w th .

x

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The p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e was p r e s e n t p r a c t i c e .

However, t o r e a c h

t h i s p o i n t i t was n e c e s s a r y t o become a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t o d a y ' s t a b l a r e ­ p ertory

(th e

s c h o o l s , or g h a r a n a s, c o v e r e d were the D e l h i , Lucknow,

Farukhabad, B a n a r a s , A jr a r a and P u n ja b ), and naqq ara, d h o la k and pakhavaj r e p e rto r ie s

( t h i s n e c e s s i t a t e d th e c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e most o b v io u s

a r e a s o f g e o g r a p h i c p r o x i m i t y t o and s t y l i s t i c

i n f l u e n c e upon th e t a b l a ) .

I t a l s o became o b v io u s t h a t no amount o f r o t e d u p l i c a t i o n o f p a t t e r n s c o u l d t a k e t h e p l a c e o f perform ance i n v a r i e d accom panying s i t u a t i o n s . T h ese p e r fo r m in g s i t u a t i o n s became t h e means by which I was a b l e t o b e g i n t o u n d er sta n d what t h e t y p i c a l t a b l a p l a y e r ' s a t t i t u d e was toward h is in str u m e n ts, i t s a c tu a l fu n c tio n , i t s c o n tin u in g s t y l i s t i c d e v e lo p ­ ment and i t s h i s t o r y .

As a r e s u l t o f som etim es o b s c u r e h i n t s about t h e

t a b l a ' s t r a d i t i o n s , i t s non-pakhavaj e m p h a ses, t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n t e c h ­ n iq u e s and f u n c t i o n s b e tw e e n v a r io u s membranophones, and s o c i a l s t i g m a s , I b egan t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e o r a l t r a d i t i o n , c o u p le d w i t h my knowledge o f c ontem porary m u sic p r a c t i c e , would u l t i m a t e l y be my l i n k w it h t h e p a s t . I t c o u ld n o t , h o w ev e r , c o m p le t e l y s u f f i c e , f o r i t c o u ld o n ly h e l p in t r a c i n g backw ard, not fo rw a r d .

In o r d e r t o p l a c e th e t a b l a i n an h i s t o r ­

i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , i t h ad , a s an a c t u a l in s tr u m e n t w i t h c l e a r l y d e f i n e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t o be p h y s i c a l l y c h a r t e d .

T h is n e c e s s i t a t e d a p p roach in g

t h e in s tr u m e n t from b e h i n d , s o t o s p e a k . In my e f f o r t s t o r e c o n s t r u c t c e r t a i n l i n e s o f develop m en t in the t a b l a t r a d i t i o n , I r e c e i v e d th e h e lp o f some 25 t a b l a p l a y e r s , a l l o f whom w ere a b l e t o t r a c e t h e i r l i n e a g e b ack t o t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e i r r e s ­ p e c tiv e gharanas.

Through t h e t e c h n iq u e o f c r o s s - r e f e r e n c i n g o f t a b la gha­

r a n a s , o f r e l a t e d i n s t r u m e n t a l and v o c a l gharanas and o f th e few v a l u a b l e contem porary a c c o u n t s o f m u sic p r a c t i c e , i t was p o s s i b l e t o t r a c e t h i s xi

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c o n s c i o u s l y p ro p o g a ted t r a d i t i o n back t o a g i v e n p l a c e and p e r i o d . The a s c e r t a in m e n t o f th e age o f t h e in str u m e n t was a l t o g e t h e r a d i f f e r e n t m a tter.

O ral t r a d i t i o n c o u ld t r a c e g e n e a l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s

and r e l a t e myths b u t i t c o u ld n ot p r o v i d e d o c u m e n ta tio n .

N e i t h e r , as i t

tu r n e d o u t , c o u ld l i t e r a r y c h a n n e l s , a t l e a s t not u n t i l some tim e a f t e r t h e t a b l a ' s em er g e n c e.

Court r e c o r d s and c o u r t b i o g r a p h i e s w r i t t e n by

n a t i v e w r i t e r s , numerous d i a r i e s , j o u r n a l s , s c i e n f i c t r e a t i s e s w i t h mar­ g i n a l addend a, w r i t t e n by th e E n g l i s h , F r e n c h , S p a n is h , P o r tu g u e s e and D u tc h , c e n s u s r e p o r t s - - a l l combined t o document th e a b s e n c e , u n t i l v e r y r e c e n t l y , o f an in s tr u m e n t w i t h p r o p e r t i e s a n d /o r name w h ich m ight g iv e a c l u e t o th e tab l a ' s

id en tity .

W ith no l i t e r a r y d o c u m e n ta tio n u n t i l a l a t e d a t e , i t t h e n remained t o e x p l o r e t h e i c o n o g r a p h ic r e s o u r c e s .

Through the medium o f s c h u l p t u r e ,

p a i n t i n g , draw in gs and e v e n e a r l y p h o to g r a p h y , i t was f i n a l l y p o s s i b l e t o e s t a b l i s h a v e r y p l a u s i b l e b e g i n n i n g f o r t h e in s tr u m e n t and one w h ic h , i n t h e f i n a l a n a l y s i s , c o m p l e t e l y su p p o r te d th e e s s e n s e o f t h e b e l i e f p r o p o g a te d by o r a l t r a d i t i o n . t i o n was c i r c u l a r :

In o t h e r w o r d s , the method o f i n v e s t i g a ­

from th e p r e s e n t r e p e r t o r y and m u s ic i a n s t o t h e p a s t ;

from t h e p r e s e n t o r a l t r a d i t i o n t o t h e p a s t . l i t e r a r y and i c o n o g r a p h ic t r a d i t i o n - - a n d b ack t o th e present; f o r com p arison and c o n f i r m a t i o n o f r e su lts. Much o f th e in f o r m a t i o n w h ich r e s u l t e d from th e above approaches t o t h e s u b j e c t c on cern ed th e s o c i a l and m u s i c a l en viron m ent w h ich surrou n d ed , i n b o t h tim e and p l a c e , th e emergence o f t h e t a b l a a s a l e g i t i m a t e i n s t r u ­ m en t.

As t h i s sequent' o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n c o m p rise s an e n t i r e s tu d y in

i t s e l f , p a r t s o f i t a r e b e i n g p u b li s h e d e l s e w h e r e .

H owever, a s many o f

t h e a t t i t u d e s and c o n c l u s i o n s e x p r e s s e d i n th e p r e s e n t s t u d y a r e d i r e c t l y x ii

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r e l a t e d t o t h e r e s u l t s o f t h i s r e s e a r c h , t h e c o n c l u s i o n s w i l l be i n c o r ­ p o r a te d i n t o i t w henever a p p r o p r i a t e . In s u p p o r t o f my c o n t e n t i o n t h a t I was v e r y dependent upon th e g e n e r o u s ly o f f e r e d h e l p o f many In d ia n m u s i c i a n s , i n c l u d i n g drummers, d a n c e r s , i n s t r u m e n t a l i s t s , v o c a l i s t s and m u s i c o l o g i s t s , I p r e s e n t th e fo llo w in g

l i s t o f in form an ts.

I o n l y hope t h a t I may some day thank

them in p e r s o n f o r t h e i r v i t a l p a r t i n t h i s p r e s e n t e f f o r t .

P u r p o s e ly

t h e ord e r i s a l p h a b e t i c a l , t h e d i s t i n c t i o n in. f u n c t i o n u n e x p la in e d ; ✓ With th e e x c e p t i o n o f my f i n a l drumming t e a c h e r , S r i Gopal S in g h , who l i t e r a l l y l i v e d my m u s ic a l l i f e w i t h me f o r months w it h o u t r e l i e f , I am in d e b ted t o each p e r s o n f o r h i s or h e r own s p e c i a l kind o f h e l p . Afaque H usain Khan V in e y K. Agarwala A l i Mud in A l l a Rakha Q u r esh i Babu Khan Alwarwale ' Kishab Chandra B a n e r je e Bibekenanda B h a tta c h a r y a P a r s h u r in Bhorwani K a i l a s Chandra Deva B r a h a s p a t i B rindavan L a i D ebabrata Chaudhury D a l j i t Singh K anai D u tta F a q ir Chand S u r e sh B. G aitonde H irendra Kumar G anguli Tarun Kumar Ganguly Jnan Prakash Ghosh G. S . Sardar H a fe e z Ehmad Khan Trikam ray Gangaram J o s h i

Junus H u ssa in Khan Kanthe Maharaj S . Krishnaswami L a t i f Ahmed Khan Laxman Singh L a i Mani M isra Mohammad Anwar Moolchand Munni Lai Sum ati Mutatkar Panchu Maharaj Sadhu Singh Jagabandhu Sahu S u d h ir Kumar Saxena R avi Shankar S h a tu k la Shukla H ir a S ita r a m ' S ita r a m L a lje e S riv a sta v a

Both i n s i d e and o u t s i d e th e a r e a o f I n d ia n m u s ic a l s c h o l a r s h i p and p e r fo r m a n c e , b e c a u s e o f h er e n v i a b l e p o s i t i o n a s a r e s p e c t e d W estern s c h o l a r o f In d ia n m u s ic , I am d e e p l y g r a t e f u l f o r th e m a t e r i a l and s p i r i t u a l encouragem ent o f my c o l l e a g u e Sara

S ta ld e r .

In a d d i t i o n , how ever

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n o n - c o n t ig u o u s h e r m u s ic a l a r e a , I am e q u a l l y in d e b te d t o Ann B r i e g l e b f o r h e r unw avering p r o f e s s i o n a l and p e r s o n a l s u p p o r t .

To my husband

I m e r e ly g i v e thanks f o r h i s b e l i e f i n and p a t i e n c e w i t h me. he nor our s o n P e t e r e v e r have " t o s h a r e

May n e i t h e r

[me) w i t h a n o th e r d i s s e r t a t i o n . "

F in all}'-, t o my p a r e n t s , Romain and Jane S t e w a r t , I o f f e r my g r e a t e s t th a n k y o u .

No words can e x p r e s s t h e d e p th o f my g r a t i t u d e t o them.

C o n cern in g th e m a n u sc rip t p r o p e r , a few e x p l a n a t i o n s o f a t e c h n i c a l nature are r e q u ir e d .

A l l f o r e i g n words remain u n i t a l i c i z e d , as b o th the

n a tu r e o f th e s tu d y and t h e h i g h p e r c e n t a g e o f su ch o c c u r r e n c e s p r e c lu d e s any n e c e s s i t y f o r su ch o b v io u s l i n g u i s t i c d i s t i n c t i o n s .

S a n sk rt terms

a r e p r e s e n t e d i n a c c o rd a n c e w i t h s t r i c t r u l e s o f t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n . Urdu/ H i n d i - o r i e n t e d terms a r e g i v e n i n a n o r m a liz e d form , n ot in s t r i c t t r a n s ­ l i t e r a t i o n : t h u s , f i n a l s h o r t "a" and, more r a r e l y , m e d ia l "a" are o m itte d when not pron ou n ced . fo r m s .

P roper names are g i v e n in t h e i r sta n d a r d romanized

No t a b l e o f Roman e q u i v a l e n t s t o S a n s k r t , H in d i or Urdu p h o n e t ic

s y b o l s i s g i v e n , a s , a g a i n , t h e n a tu r e o f th e i n v e s t i g a t i o n p r e s u p p o s e s t h i s b a s i c knowledge on t h e p a r t o f th e r e a d e r .

x iv

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VITA

J a n u a r y 2 0 , 1941: b i r t h d a t e

M o d e s to , C a l i f o r n i a : b i r t h p l a c e

1962: B. A . , S ta n fo r d U n i v e r s i t y 1 9 6 2 -1 9 6 4 : E a st-W e st C en ter f o r S t u d e n t - c u l t u r a l Exchange fello w sh ip 1963: B anaras Hindu U n i v e r s i t y 1964: M.Ao, U n i v e r s i t y o f Hawaii 1965: T e a c h in g

A s s i s t a n t , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los

A n g e le s

1965: R e se a r c h

A s s i s t a n t , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los

A n geles

1966: T e a c h in g

A s s i s t a n t , U n i v e r s i t y o f W ashington

1968: D e l h i U n i v e r s i t y 1969: PhD C an d id ate i n M u s ic , U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los A n g e le s 1969: N a t i o n a l t e a c h i n g f e l l o w s h i p i n e t h n i c a r t s , Marymount C o lleg e 1 9 7 0 -1 9 7 3 : l e c t u r e r , N.S.W. S t a t e C o n se r v a to riu m o f M usic PUBLICATIONS "A Com parison o f W estern and I n d ia n P r i n c i p l e s o f Rhythmic C o n s t r u c t i o n ," Madras M usic J o u r n a l , V o l . XXXV, 1 9 6 4 , 6 8 - 7 6 . " I c o n o g r a p h ic E v id e n c e f o r t h e O r i g in o f t h e T a b la ," t o be p u b l i s h e d i n A u s t r a l i a i n 1974 as p a r t o f t h e 1 8 th I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n g re ss o f O r i e n t a l i s t s , c i r c a 50 p p . "The A .M .E .B . System o f Theory and M u s ic i a n s h i p E x a m in a tio n s : a c r i t i c a l a p p r a i s a l , " The A u s t r a l i a n J o u r n a l o f M usic E d u c a t i o n . A p r i l , 1 9 7 2 , 3 i-3 8 . R e view s i n p r o f e s s i o n a l j o u r n a l s .

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ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION The T a b la i n .P e r s p e c t iv e . bY R ebecca M arie S te w a r t D o c to r o f P h i l o s o p h y i n M usic U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , Los A n g e l e s , 1974 P r o f e s s o r M an tle L. Hood, Chairman The b a s i c i n t e n t o f t h e p r e s e n t s tu d y i s t o p l a c e th e N orth I n d ia n t a b l a and t h e m u s ic a l t r a d i t i o n s w i t h w hich i t h i s t o r i c a l and s t y l i s t i c p e r s p e c t i v e .

i s r e l a t e d i n b oth an

Working outward from t h e p h y s i c a l

i n s tr u m e n t t o i t s m u s i c a l c o n t e x t , t h e f o l l o w i n g t h r e e l e v e l s o f approach w ere found t o be most p r o f i t a b l e : 1. The in s tr u m e n t and i t s t e c h n i q u e s .

In c lu d e d a t t h i s

le v e l of in v es­

t i g a t i o n a r e th e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f th e age and th e p r o v e n ie n c e o f th e in s tr u m e n t and r e l a t e d in s t r u m e n t s ; t h e c l a r i f i c a t i o n o f the major c a t e g o r i e s o f t a b l a s t r o k e s and s t r o k e n u c l e i and o f s i m i l a r or i d e n t i c a l m a t e r i a l perform ed on r e l a t e d drum s. 2 . The r e p e r t o r y . d e v e lo p m e n t a l.

At t h i s l e v e l th e prim ary approach i s s t r u c t u r a l and The o b j e c t i s t o p l a c e t h e v a r i o u s t y p e s o f m e t r ic

drum p a t t e r n s a l o n g a s t y l i s t i c continuum: a t one end i s t h a t p a t t e r n t y p e w h ich c l a r i f i e s t h e i n t e r n a l s t r u c t u r e o f a t a l , and a t th e o t h e r t h a t w h ic h a r t i c u l a t e s t h e a b s t r a c t c a d e n t i a l s t r u c t u r e .

The r e l a ­

t i o n s h i p betw een t h e s e p a t t e r n t y p e s and t h o s e o f r e l a t e d drums i s c o n tin u a lly s tr e s s e d . 3.

The c o n t e x t .

At t h i s b r o a d e s t l e v e l , t h e a b o v e -m e n tio n ed p a t t e r n

t y p e s a r e r e - c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d in g t o f u n c t i o n and r e l e v a n t m u s ic a l perform ance s t y l e s . The f i n a l p o r t i o n c o n s t i t u t e s a s t a t e m e n t o f t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and p o t e n t i a l f o r develop m en t o f contem porary N orth I n d ia n c l a s s i c a l

XVi

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m u s ic , a s view ed from t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e t a b l a . The more im portant f i n d i n g s from th e above a r e a s o f r e s e a r c h a r e as fo llo w : 1 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f t h e t a b l a a s a h y b r id in s tr u m e n t: m ix tu r e o f naqqara and p a k h a v a j . 2 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f t h e age o f t h e t a b l a : d e v e lo p e d during- t h e m iddle h a l f o f t h e 18th c e n t u r y . 3 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f d e r i v a t i o n o f s t r o k e s , n u c l e i and p a t t e r n s : from naq q ara, d h o la k and pakhavaj drum t y p e s . 4 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f rhythm ic c o n c e p t s g o v e r n in g t a l s t r u c t u r e s em­ p lo y e d by tabla*. q u a l i t a t i v e h e i r a r c h y o f b e a t s ; d i v i s i v e e la b o r a t i o n o f b a s i c p i t c h - and s t r e s s - o r i e n t e d drum p a t t e r n s , r e s u l ­ t i n g in v a r io u s l e v e l s o f m e te r .

compound d u p l e , t r i p l e and quadruple

C o n tr a s t o f t h i s x^ith t r a d i t i o n a l t e x t - o r i e n t e d m e t r ic

s t r u c t u r e s as perform ed on t h e p a k h a v a j . 5 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f in s tr u m e n t o f g r e a t e s t s t r u c t u r a l i n f l u e n c e : n aq q a ra . 6 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f e s s e n t i a l l y txro major p a t t e r n t y p e s and f u n c t i o n s : t h e g a t , d e r iv e d from th e naqqara and d e v e lo p e d i n the n o r t h w e s t e r n and n o r t h c e n t r a l a r e a s o f N orth I n d i a .

The major c h a r a c t e r i s t i c

o f t h i s ty p e i s conform ance xtfith t h e i n t e r n a l t a l s t r u c t u r e and prim ary f u n c t i o n i s th e c l a r i f i c a t i o n , t o a g r e a t e r or l e s s e r d e g r e e , o f t h i s s t r u c t u r e d u r in g t h e l a r g e s t p o r t i o n o f a p er fo r m a n c e ; th e t u k r a /p a r a n , d e r iv e d from th e pakhavaj th r ou gh t h e medium o f kathak and d e v e lo p e d in th e n o r th c e n t r a l and n o r t h e a s t e r n a r e a s o f North I n d i a .

The major c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f t h i s

is i t s c a d e n tia l

s t r u c t u r e and th e prim ary f u n c t i o n i s t o s i g n a l , t o a l e s s e r or g r e a t e r d e g r e e , t h e approach t o a c a d e n c e .

T h is ty p e o f p a t t e r n ,

d e p en d in g upon t h e s t y l e , may or may n o t be used f o r p a t t e r n , phrase and s e c t i o n a l e n d in g s i n a p e r fo r m a n c e .

E s t a b lis h m e n t o f a movement

away from t h e c a d e n t i a l p a t t e r n t o t h e n o n - c a d e n t ia 1 , i . a l - o r i e n t e d p a ttern . 7 . E s t a b lis h m e n t o f t h r e e major b u t o v e r la p p in g m u s ic a l s t y l e s x^ithin

x v ii

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w h ic h t h e above p a t t e r n t y p e s and f u n c t i o n s are used t o a l e s s e r or g r e a t e r d e g r e e : t h e thumrT, gat and k h y a l .

E s t a b lis h m e n t o f s e v e r a l

s u b - c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s o f s t y l e w i t h i n t h e s e broad c a t e g o r i e s which show th e ta b l a ' s im portance t o have d e v e lo p e d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w ith t h e developm ent o f t h e s e s u b - s t y l e s . 8 . D e t e c t i o n o f a s t r o n g trend toward i n s t r u m e n t a l l y o r i e n t e d s t y l e s and forms o f m usic and away from t e x t - o r i e n t e d s t y l e s , w i t h a c o r ­ r e s p o n d in g i n c r e a s e i n emphasis on s i m p l e , s t r e s s - o r i e n t e d , q u a l ­ i t a t i v e m eters.

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INTRODUCTION In d ia has had tim e t o f o r g e t more m elody th a n Europe has had tim e t o l e a r n . The e le m e n ts o f to n e and rhythm have b een combined and r ecom bined, a n d ' have l e f t th e t h e o r y a t a n g le d mass o f f o r g o t t e n s y s te m s and t h e p r a c t i c e an i n ­ e r a d i c a b l e i n s t i n c t . The v e n e r a t i o n f o r th e p a s t b e c a u se o f i t s r e m o t e n e s s , th e m en tal a t t i t u d e w hich lo o k s away from th e c a t e g o r i e s o f tim e and s p a c e and t u r n s i t s a t t e n ­ t i o n upon t h e e s s e n c e o f th e t h i n g i t s e l f , t h e f a i t h w h ich l i n k s th e p r e s e n t c l o s e l y w i t h th e tim e when th e gods w alked th e e a r t h and s t i l l p o i n t s t o th e v i s i b l e im p r in t s o f t h e i r f e e t - - a l l t h e s e have u n i t e d t o p e r s o n i f y e v e r y e lem en t o f t h e i r m u s ic , and p i o u s l y t o p r e s e r v e names and a t t r i b u t e s which have lo n g l o s t t h e i r m eaning; so t h a t much o f th e t h e o r y i s c l e a r o n ly t o t h o s e who can read m yth.^ The i n c r e d i b l e power o f the myth, t h e v e n e r a t i o n o f th e s a c r e d p a s t , th e b l i n d o b s e r v a n c e o f th e r i t u a l known a s t r a d i t i o n .

. . i s to d a y 's

I n d ia what i t was "when gods walked t h e e a r t h " ; or does t h e Hindu c o n s p i r ­ a c y f l y i n t h e f a c e o f th e ob viou s?

To q u i e t th e murmurings o f i n c i p i e n t

o u t c r y , th e p r e s e n t s t u d y i s not an e x p o s e o f a f a i l i n g c u l t u r e .

I t m erely

a n a l y z e s and d e f i n e s a v e r y s m a l l segm ent o f t h i s c u l t u r e : th e m u s ic ia n and h i s m u s ic .

To be more e x a c t , th e a n a l y s i s b e g i n s w i t h a drum, t h e t a b l a ,

and g r a d u a l l y

expands this,-

drum's t e n t a c l e s o f a s s o c i a t i o n s u n t i l the

e n t i r e area o f th e perhaps n o t - s o - " I n d i a n " c l a s s i c a l music o f N orth India i s in v o lv e d . Very l i t t l e , and most o f t h a t c o n t r a d i c t o r y ,

i s known about th e d e ­

velopm ent o f th e t a b l a i n North I n d ia and i t s p o s i t i o n i n p r e s e n t - d a y p e r fo r m a n c e .

For r e a s o n s t h a t are imbedded i n s o c i a l , r e l i g i o u s and

t h e r e f o r e econom ic s t i g m a s , u n t i l v e r y r e c e n t l y n e i t h e r th e in str u m e n t nor i t s p r a c t i t i o n e r s had e v e r b een t r e a t e d w i t h s y s t e m a t i c th o r o u g h n e s s and o b j e c t i v i t y .

For an in str u m e n t commonly th o u g h t t o be y e t a n o th e r

c r e a t i o n o f t h e p o e t Amir Khusrau ( 1 2 5 3 - 1 3 2 5 ) , t h i s would seem t o be un­ fo rg iv a b le.

The f a c t t h a t a t l e a s t f i f t e e n books i n H in d i ( o f g r e a t l y

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v a r y in g q u a l i t y ) have b e e n x ^ r itte n on t h e s u b j e c t i n th e l a s t t h i r t y y e a r s , o n l y s e r v e s t o em p h asize t h e form er v o i d .

F urtherm ore, u n t i l

1834, when N. A u gustu s W i l l a r d ' s T r e a t i s e on t h e M usic o f In d ia was pub­ l i s h e d , i n w hich he in c lu d e d an e x c e l l e n t d e s c r i p t i o n o f "the t a b l a s " and a t a b l e o f North I n d ia n t a l s , t h e r e was v i r t u a l l y no fe e d b a c k from f o r e i g n i n t e r e s t i n th e s u b j e c t .

Two i s o l a t e d u s e s o f th e e t y m o l o g i c a l l y

c o n f u s i n g term s a t a b l e s and t a b a l e s w ere found i n t h e 17th c e n t u r y , t h e s e by f o r e i g n e r s t r a v e l i n g i n t h e n o r th w e s t o f I n d i a , and one e x c e l l e n t , a l b e i t p r e j u d i c e d , d e s c r i p t i o n and d e p i c t i o n o f t h e in str u m e n t i n a work on t h e Hindus by F . B a l t a z a r d S o l v y n s , p u b li s h e d in 1808.

T h ese

a c c o u n t s were p r i n t e d o u t s i d e I n d ia and t h e r e f o r e l o s t most o f t h e e d u ­ c a t i o n a l v a lu e t h e y might o t h e r w is e have h ad . W ith th e above background i n m ind, t h e i n i t i a l i n t e n t o f t h i s a u th o r was t o s u p p ly t h e e n i g m a t ic t a b l a w i t h a b e g i n n i n g , a d e velop m en t o f a t r a d i t i o n , and an e x p l a n a t i o n o f a c u r r e n t p o s i t i o n .

As m en tion ed

in t h e p r e f a c e , t h e b e g i n n i n g p o r t i o n became an end i n i t s e l f and was t h e r e f o r e r e l e g a t e d t o a s e p a r a t e p u b l i c a t i o n , p a r t s o f which a r e p r e ­ s e n t e d h e r e when p a r t i c u l a r y r e l e v a n t .

The develop m ent o f t h e t r a d i t i o n ,

a s t h e t r a d i t i o n i s c o n s t a n t l y d e v e l o p i n g , became an i n t e g r a l p a r t o f th e e x p l a n a t i o n o f " c u r r e n t" p r a c t i c e .

The e x p l a n a t i o n o f c u r r e n t p r a c ­

t i c e h as i n v o lv e d t a k i n g t h e t a b l a from i t s p o s i t i o n as an a b s t r a c t in s tr u m e n t ( t h i s i n c l u d e s t h e term ; t h e a ge o f t h e in s tr u m e n t; t h e phy­ s i c a l in str u m e n t and i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o o t h e r i n s tr u m e n ts ; th e a r e a s , b o th g e o g r a p h i c a l and m u s i c a l , i n w h ic h t h e t a b l a i s most a c t i v e ; th e b o l s / s t r o k e s and th e b o l / s t r o k e n u c l e i ) , t r a c i n g i t through i t s r o l e a s th e b a s i s f o r a c l a s s i c a l t r a d i t i o n o f perform ance ( i t s t h e k a s , thek a

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v a r i a t i o n s and e l a b o r a t i v e p a t t e r n s ) and, f i n a l l y , p l a c i n g i t

in i t s

normal m u s i c a l c o n t e x t , b oth f u n c t i o n a l l y and s t y l i s t i c a l l y . C o n c e p t u a l l y , and t h e r e f o r e s t y l i s t i c a l l y and t e c h n i c a l l y , t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e above approach c o n s t i t u t e a d e v a s t a t i n g a t t a c k on t h e " In d ian " m u s i c a l t r a d i t i o n .

A lth o u g h f e l t i n such d i v e r s e a r e a s o f

m u s ic a l a c t i v i t y a s c o m p o s i t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e , m e lo d ic s t r u c t u r e , i n s t r u ­ m en ta l c o n s t r u c t i o n , i n s t r u m e n t a l v e r s u s v o c a l b i a s e s and t h e i r r e l a t e d e l a b o r a t i v e t e c h n i q u e s , t h e most a l l - p e r v a d i n g area o f m u s ic a l u p h ea v a l has b e e n t h a t o f rhythm.

In North I n d ia th e e n t i r e b a s i s o f rhythm ic

and m e t r ic p r o g r e s s i o n has changed w i t h i n th e l a s t 1 5 0 - 2 0 0 y e a r s .

In

term s o f I n d i a ' s 2000+ y e a r s o f documented m usic h i s t o r y , t h i s u p h e a v a l i s d e c i d e d l y modern.

B a sic a lly ,

i t r e s u l t s from a p e r io d o f p o l i t i c a l

and s o c i a l t u r m o i l w hich made p o s s i b l e th e mass encroachm ent o f t h e A r a b o - P e r s ia n rh y th m ic s y s te m , w i t h most o f i t s a t t e n d a n t phenomena, on th e I n d i a n .

The e x t e n t o f t h i s u p h e a v a l becomes a p p a r e n t o n l y when i t

i s u n d er sto o d t h a t t h e two s y s te m s a r e d i a m e t r i c a l l y o p p o s e d .

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R e fe r e n c e

1-A. H. F o x -S tr a n g w a y s , M usic o f H in d o s t a n , pp. 7 -8 .

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PART ONE THE INSTRUMENT AND ITS TECHNIQUES

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CHAPTER I THE INSTRUMENT The Term The term t a b l a i s d i r e c t l y t r a c e a b l e t o t h e A r a b ic t a b l , a g e n e r i c term meaning drum; t h i s term was borrowed from t h e Aramaic t a b l a w h ic h , i n t u r n , was adapted from th e Akkadian word t a b a l u or t a p a l u . l

As the

A r a b ic g e n e r i c ter m , i t has a t v a r i o u s t im e s r e f e r r e d , w i t h th e n e c e s s a r y d e s c r i p t i v e s u f f i x , t o th e h e m i s p h e r i c a l ( t a b l a l-m a r k a b ) , c y l i n d r i c a l ( t a b l b a l a d i ) ^ or b a r r e l - s h a p e d

( t a b l duruT)-^ drum.

G e o g r a p h i c a l l y , th e many v a r i a n t s o f the term may be found from n o r t h e r n A f r i c a t o s o u th e r n R u s s ia and from n o r th e r n China t o South America and th e C a r ib b e a n , a f a c t which c l e a r l y a t t e s t s t o t h e age o f t h e w ord, i f not alw a y s t o t h e p h y s i c a l h om o g e n e ity o f t h e many drum t y p e s w hich have adopted i t . g u ises,

However w i d e - s p r e a d the term i n i t s many

i t i s o n l y t h a t area from s o u t h e r n R u s s ia t o n o r t h w e s t e r n China

w hich c o n c e r n s th e p r e s e n t s t u d y .

A lth o u g h th e P e r s ia n term t a b i r a h i s

th o u g h t t o be v e r y o l d , ^ not u n t i l t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f th e C h 'in g d y n a s t y (1 8 1 1 ) i s a s i m i l a r term found on th e o t h e r s i d e o f th e H im a la y a s: a t a p o u l a i s m e n tio n e d , and th e n o n l y as one o f an ensem ble o f in s tr u m e n ts from N e p a l . 5

By t h e secon d q u a r t e r o f t h e 17th c e n tu r y th e names

" a t a b l e s ” and " t a b a le s " are found i n a c c o u n t s o f t r a v e l s th rou gh the P u n ja b ,^

but no i c o n o g r a p h ic c o r r o b o r a t i o n i s g i v e n u n t i l a c e n tu r y

la ter. The Age o f th e Instrum ent The f i r s t a b s o l u t e l y c l e a r i c o n o g r a p h ic d e p i c t i o n o f an in s tr u m e n t w h ich c l o s e l y r e s e m b le s th e p r e s e n t - d a y tab IS i s not found u n t i l 1 8 0 8 . ^

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For a p e r io d o f a p p r o x im a t e ly f i f t y y e a r s b e f o r e t h i s d a t e , h o w ev e r , a v e r i t a b l e f l o o d o f M u g h a l - s t y le m in i a t u r e s show p a i r s o f i n s tr u m e n ts w h ich a t t e s t t o th e p r e s e n c e o f two ty p e s o f h a n d -p la y e d drum p a i r s i n c o n t ig u o u s a r e a s o f n o r t h w e s te r n I n d ia : th e Punjab (wooden p a i r s ) and t h e D e lh i-R a ja s th a n -O u d h area p a ir s).

c y lin d r ic a l

(m e ta l or c l a y h e m i s p h e r i c a l

The f i r s t o f such d e p i c t i o n s d a t e s from c .

1745.

T h is was

p a i n t e d a t th e Punjab H i l l c o u r t o f J a s r o t a by a Mughal p a i n t e r l a t e l y a r r i v e d from t h e c o u r t o f D e l h i , and shows a c y l i n d r i c a l p a i r o f drums.^ D u ring a s l i g h t l y l a t e r p e r i o d , h a n d -p la y e d h e m i s p h e r i c a l p a i r s are found in J a i p u r , D e l h i and F a i z a b a d .9 As s e e n b e l o w , g e n e a l o g i c a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s o f th e s e v e r a l i n t e r ­ r e l a t e d t a b l a f a m i l i e s or gharanas o f i n s t r u c t i o n r e s u l t i n a h i s t o r y o f perform ance w h ic h a l s o s t r e t c h e s back t o 1 8 th c e n t u r y D e l h i .

Whether

th e h y b r i d i z e d in str u m e n t w h ich we r e c o g n i z e t o d a y as "the" t a b l a can a l s o be t r a c e d b ack t o t h i s d a t e i s a n o th e r m a t t e r .

J u d g in g from b o th

p i c t o r i a l and l i t e r a r y d e s c r i p t i o n s , t h i s i n s t r u m e n t , as s e v e r a l o t h e r i n n o v a t o r y in s t r u m e n t s o f t h e 18th and 19th c e n t u r i e s , underwent s e v e r a l minor and n o t s o minor a l t e r a t i o n s d u r in g t h e 100 y e a r s b etw e e n 1750 and 1 850.

The in s tr u m e n t we s e e t o d a y i s p r o b a b ly no more than 75 t o 100

y e a r s o ld a t t h e m o st. P h y s i c a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e T abla and R e la te d Drums Tab IS In N orth I n d ia to d a y th e word t a b l a r e f e r s t o a p a i r o f t u n e a b le h a n d -p la y e d drums.

When spoken o f s e p a r a t e l y , t h e h i g h e r - p i t c h e d , r i g h t -

hand drum may be c a l l e d a t a b l a or a d a h i n a , t h e l o w e r - p i t c h e d , l e f t - h a n d drum a d u g g i , dagga or b ayan.

A lth o u g h t h e t a b l a / d u g g i c o m b in a tio n i s

h i s t o r i c a l l y a c c u r a t e , the term s dahina and bayan w i l l be used i n t h e

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p r e s e n t s tu d y i n o r d e r t o a v o id c o n f u s i o n ov e r t h e word t a b l a , h e r e in u sed t o mean o n l y t h e p a i r o f i n s t r u m e n t s . The d l h in S r e s e m b le s i n shape a m o d ifie d or f l a r e d c y l i n d e r o f a p p r o x im a t e ly 28 cm i n h e i g h t , w h ic h r e a c h e s i t s g r e a t e s t d i a m e t e r , t h a t o f 19 t o 23 cm, a t a p o i n t about 5 t o 6% cm above th e b a s e , c u r v in g i n ­ ward a t th e bottom t o form a s ta n d o f 9 cm i n d i a m e t e r . t h e p l a y i n g s u r f a c e i s from 14 t o 16% cm. wood.

The d ia m eter o f

The in str u m e n t i s made o f

The c o m p o site head i s made o f a s i n g l e s k i n , p a r t l y c overed by a

secon d s k i n , c u t t o form a 2 cm rim around th e c ir c u m fe r e n c e o f the head.

A 7 c m - in -d ia m e te r b l a c k s u b s t a n c e

(sy a h i)

i s p e r m a n en tly p la c e d

i n t h e c e n t e r o f th e f i r s t s k i n ; t h i s h e l p s t o g i v e t h e in str u m e n t i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c to n e q u a l i t y .

W - la c in g i s used t o s e c u r e t h i s head t o

a hoop a t th e bottom o f th e i n s t r u m e n t .

E ig h t c y l i n d r i c a l wooden b l o c k s

a r e wedged betw een t h e l a c i n g and th e drum s i d e s . t u n i n g the i n s t r u m e n t , v a r i o u s l y ,

These a r e used f o r

t o e i t h e r d e g r e e s I , V o r IV o f th e

s y s te m . The bayan d i f f e r s p r i m a r i l y from th e dahina i n i t s shape and m ate­ r i a l o f c o n str u c tio n . may v a r y .

In h e i g h t i t

I t i s a m o d if ie d h e m is p h e r e , th e s i z e o f which i s b e tw e e n 25% and 26% cm; a t i t s

la rg e st g ir th ,

a p o i n t midway betw een th e to p and t h e b a s e , i t m easures betw een 26% and 28 cm i n d ia m e t e r ; th e p l a y i n g s u r f a c e i s betw een 21% and 23 cm i n d i a m e t e r ; and th e b a s e 7% cm.

The p l a y i n g s u r f a c e o f t h e bayan d i f f e r s

from t h a t o f t h e d ahina i n two r e s p e c t s ; i t s s i z e , w h ic h i s about 7% cm w i d e r , and t h e a s y m m e tr ic a l p la c em e n t o f th e s y a h x .

T h is placem ent

a l l o w s th e w r i s t t o a p p ly p r e s s u r e on t h e p l a i n l e a t h e r p o r t i o n o f th e s u r f a c e , g i v i n g r i s e t o one o f t h e most c h a r a c t e r i s t i c bayan s o u n d s, a t y p e o f t o n a l s l i d e or p o r ta m e n to .

Most bayans are now made o f m e t a l ,

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a lth o u g h c l a y i s a l s o s t i l l u s e d .

Tuning b l o c k s are o n l y i n f r e q u e n t l y

added t o r a i s e or lo w e r t h e g e n e r a l p i t c h l e v e l , b ecau se th e bayan was never c o n c e iv e d as an in stru m en t s u s c e p t i b l e t o p r e c i s e t u n i n g .

However,

m e ta l r i n g s (2% cm i n d ia m e t e r ) a r e som etim es used t o make th e g e n e r a l tu n in g p r o c e ss e a s i e r . Jori A lth o u g h s e e n i n s t e a d i l y d e c r e a s i n g numbers, a c l o s e l y r e l a t e d p a i r o f t u n e a b l e h a n d -p la y e d drums i s found in the n o r th w e s te r n p a r t o f I n d i a , from Lahore s o u th w e s tw a r d , c o m p r is in g t h e Punjab H i l l s and th e low er H im a la y a s . t h e S ik h f a i t h

T h is p a i r i s c a l l e d e i t h e r t a b l a o r , among members o f

( p r i m a r i l y when r e f e r r i n g t o i t as an accompanying i n s t r u ­

ment f o r t h e i r r e l i g i o u s son gs or s a b a d s ) t h e j o r i .

T h is " p a ir " has

s e v e r a l s i g n i f i c a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w h ich s e p a r a t e i t from t h e stan d ard c l a s s i c a l in s tr u m e n t:

1) b o th drums o f t h e p a i r are m o d ified c y l i n d e r s

( v e r y s l i g h t l y c o n i c a l , w i t h th e l a r g e s t c ir c u m fe r e n c e near t h e b o tto m ); 2 ) th e dahina h as a head from 15 t o 17% cm in d ia m e t e r , and s t a n d s approx i m a t e ly 28 cm h i g h ; 3) th e b S y a n 's head i s from 25% t o 28 cm i n d i a m e t e r , and t h i s drum s t a n d s betw een 30% and 33 cm h i g h ; 4) th e dahina i s alw ays made o f wood, th e bayan b e in g c o n s t r u c t e d v a r i o u s l y o f wood ( t r a d i t i o n a l ) or m e t a l (or more r e c e n t o r i g i n ) ; 5) u n l i k e t h e stan dard bayaA, which u s e s a s y a h i , th e P u n ja b i bayaA r e q u i r e s a removable wheat p a s t e ( a t a ) w hich i s a p p l i e d t o th e c e n t e r o f th e h e a d ; 6 ) a lth o u g h r a r e l y s e e n t o ­ da y , t h e b ay a n , l i k e th e d a h in a , has t r a d i t i o n a l l y used t u n in g b l o c k s . To add t o th e t e r m i n o l o g i c a l c o n f u s i o n w h ic h surrounds th e t a b l a in g e n e r a l , m u s ic ia n s ( o t h e r than S i k h , who c a l l i t th e dhama) o f t e n r e f e r t o t h e P u n ja b i bayan as a dOggT, g o i n g s o f a r a s t o c a l l th e P u n ja b i s t y l e o f p e r fo r m a n c e , th e dukkar b a j .

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The P u n ja b i t a b l a , a lth o u g h o f o n ly r e g i o n a l i n t e r e s t and r a p i d l y becoming o b s o l e t e , a t l e a s t i n I n d i a , i s o f c e n t r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e i n a s t u d y o f th e h i s t o r i c a l developm ent o f t h e sta n d a r d t a b l a .

The mid 18th

c e n t u r y ic o n o g r a p h ic e v id e n c e m entioned above c on cern ed two b a s i c t y p e s o f drum p a i r s .

The f i r s t o f t h e s e , p r e v a l e n t i n t h e Punjab H i l l s , was

o f t h e c y l i n d r i c a l wooden ty p e d e s c r i b e d h e r e .

The secon d concern ed

p a i r s o f h e m i s p h e r i c a l , p ro b a b ly c l a y , h a n d -p la y e d drums b e l o n g i n g t o th e naqqSra (or n a k k a ra , nagara) f a m i ly and found th ro u g h o u t th e p l a i n s area o f n o r th e rn I n d i a .

T h is t y p e , c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d to d a y w i t h th e

c l a s s i c a l s a h n a i t r a d i t i o n o f B an aras, was a t one tim e e q u a l l y p o p u la r around D e l h i .

Then c a l l e d , a t l e a s t i n one v e r s i o n , t h e dham dhami,^®

but now known a s t h e duggT and som etim es th e khurdak, i t

appears t h a t

som etim e d u r in g th e m iddle o r l a t t e r h a l f o f th e 1 8 th c e n t u r y t h e s e two drum t y p e s were combined: f o r the r i g h t hand, the f i x e d - p i t c h c y l i n d r i c a l P u n ja b i "tabIS" was c h o se n ; f o r t h e l e f t hand, th e v a r i a b l e - p i t c h hem i­ s p h e r i c a l D e l h i "duggT."

I t i s t h i s b r i l l i a n t c o m b in a tio n w h ich s t a r t e d

t o d a y ' s t a b la on i t s road t o prom inence and w h ich was f i r s t d e s c r i b e d and d e p i c t e d by S o lv y n s in 1808 as th e " t u b l a . " "composed o f two tym bals drums]

He remarked t h a t i t was

[here used l o o s e l y t o mean on e-h ead ed c l o s e d

one o f e a r t h e n w are, t h e o t h e r o f wood, b o th o f them c o v e r e d w i t h

a s k i n upon w hich th e m u s ic ia n s t r i k e s w it h h i s f i n g e r s .

Each tymbal

g i v e s a d i f f e r e n t sound , the m ixture o f w h ich p ro d u ces t o l e r a b l e m u s ic . " H Pakhava i Three major drum t y p e s , o f one o f w hich the duggT i s a minor member, have c o n t r i b u t e d , through t h e i r p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , p r o v e n ie n c e and a g e , s t y l e s and t e c h n iq u e s o f p e r fo r m a n c e , t o th e d evelop m ent o f the t a b l a ' s r e p e r t o r y and t h e r e f o r e t o i t s p r e s e n t p o s i t i o n .

As t h e m u s ic a l

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r e l a t i o n s h i p between the r e p e r t o r i e s o f t h e s e v a r i o u s t y p e s o f drums w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d in d e t a i l i n t h e body o f t h e s t u d y , a p h y s i c a l comparison w ill suffice

f o r the p r e s e n t .

The f i r s t type o f drum i s the p a kh a v a j, a c l o s e r e l a t i v e o f the s tandard South Indi an c l a s s i c a l drum, the mrdahga.12

Th is drum i s a

t u n e a b l e , h a n d - p l a y e d , two-headed, m o d if i e d b a r r e l - s h a p e d drum.

Its

two c om p os i t e heads are c o n s t r u c t e d p r e c i s e l y as t h o s e o f th e t a b l a w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f one element on the l o w e r - p i t c h e d head.

As i n th e Pun­

j a b i t a b l a , St a i s p l ac ed on the pakhavaj head p r i o r t o each perform anc e. Because t h e pakhavaj i s c o n s t r u c t e d i n v a r i o u s s i z e s ,

i t s di m e n s i o n s

f l u c t u a t e from a p p r o x i m a t e ly 6 6 . t o 76 cm i n l e n g t h , and from 20 t o 30 cm i n d i a m e t e r a t i t s g r e a t e s t g i r t h , an

a s y m e t r i c a l l y p l a c e d p o i n t which

i s between 2% and 5 cm c l o s e r t o the bayan end than th e d a h i n a .

The

p r e s e n c e o f t h i s p o i n t p l a c e s the pakhavaj somewhere between a doubl e cone and a b a r r e l , and e f f e c t i v e l y d i s t i n g u i s h e s i t s shape from t h a t o f th e dh ol ak d i s c u s s e d below.

The dahin'a head i s from 16% t o 19 cm i n

d i a m e t e r ; t h e baySn head from 25% t o 28 cm.

The W - l a c i n g and th e p r e ­

se n c e o f t u n i n g b l o c k s f u r t h e r a t t e s t t o t h e c l o s e p h y s i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e t a b l a dahina and the p a k h a v a j . Dholak The second drum, th e d h o l a k , a t w o - he a de d, h a n d - p l a y e d , b a r r e l ­ shaped drum (t h e term i s r e l a t e d t o t h e H i n d i word d h o l which i s d e r i v e d from t h e P e r s i a n d u h u l ) , i s o n l y g e n e r a l l y s i m i l a r t o th e pakhavaj in shape and s i z e , and c l e a r l y d i s s i m i l a r i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f i t s h e a d s . I t s two heads a r e composed o f s i n g l e l a y e r s o f s k i n , b e n e a t h t h e l o w e r p i t c h e d o f wh ich a g l u t i n o u s s u b s t a n c e i s pe r m a n en tly p l a c e d .

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T h is

substance a f f e c t s the tim bre, n o t-th e p i t c h .

The i nst rum en t i s not

c a p a b l e o f b e i n g f i n e l y t u n e d , but

m eta l r i n g s , i d e n t i c a l t o t h o s e some­

t i m e s used on th e t a b l a b a y a n , are

p l a c e d around p a i r s o f s t r i n g s

a l t e r th e g e n e r a l p i t c h a r e a .

to

In a d d i t i o n , t h e absence o f any temporary

e x t e r i o r t u n i n g p a s t e , su ch as a t i , makes i t p o s s i b l e t o i n c r e a s e the t e n s i o n and t h e r e f o r e p i t c h o f th e bayan by p r e s s i n g on th e s k i n w i t h t h e h e e l o f the hand.

The most pop ular v a r i e t y

51 cm i n l e n g t h and 28 t o 30 cm a t

o f dh ol ak i s from 48 t o

i t s g r e a te s t diameter, a point

approx­

i m a t e l y 19 t o 21 cm or 2 / 5 o f th e d i s t a n c e from the l o w e r - p i t c h e d head. T h i s head i s from \ 1 \ t o 23 cm in d i a m e t e r , t h a t o f th e h i g h e r - p i t c h e d head from 15 t o 17^ cm.

The two heads may be se cu re d t o th e body o f the

dh o la k by two d i f f e r e n t methods o f l a c i n g , W or X. Naqqara The t h i r d drum, though i n name d i f f i c u l t

t o p i n down, has a b a s i c

p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c wh ich imm edi at ely p l a c e s i t among the most w i d e l y d i s p e r s e d o f drum t y p e s : i t

i s , broadly speaking, hem ispherical.

found in India under many names and r e g i o n a l v a r i a n t s ,

Though

th e u n i f y i n g

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i s t h a t t h e s e drums 1) have one drum head, t h e d i am e t e r o f which i s g r e a t e r than t h a t o f the o p p o s i t e e n d , 2) have more or l e s s rounded s i d e s , and 3) are most f r e q u e n t l y c o n s t r u c t e d from c l a y or m e t a l . Given t h e s e t h r e e b a s i c i n g r e d i e n t s , t h e v a r i a t i o n s are almost e n d l e s s . These i n c l u d e t h e f o l l o w i n g :

1) s i n g l e or p a i r e d , 2) s t i c k or hand

p l a y e d , 3) loaded or unloaded head or h e a d s , 4 ) s i n g l e or comp osit e head or h e ad s , 5) W, X or Y l a c i n g , 6) deep t o s h a l l o w and 7) s m a l l t o large.

Although ap p e a r i n g t o obscure any r e l a t i o n s h i p which might be

found between th e t a b l a ,

i t s r e p e r t o r y , and t h a t o f t h e h e m i s p h e r i c a l

drum f a m i l y , i t i s j u s t t h i s a t t r i b u t e o f a d a p t a b i l i t y which has been

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s o i n f l u e n t i a l in t h e deve lop men t o f the t a b l a and i t s t r a d i t i o n . Of a l l t h e h e m i s p h e r i c a l s u b - t y p e s , one i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e naqqara, ha s had a d i r e c t i n f l u e n c e on t h e t a b l a r e p e r t o r y .

The term naqqara, as

a g e n e r i c c l a s s i f i c a t i o n , r i v a l s t h a t o f t a b l , i f not in a g e , a t l e a s t in provenience n a -k a -la ).^

( s e e the m e d i a e v a l E n g l i s h n a k e r s ; th e Ch' i n g d y n a s t y In I n d i a ,

it

i s composed o f a b a s s

(dhama) and a t r e b l e

( j h i l ) drum, the shape and s i z e o f which may vary t o some d e g r e e . drums approximate th e more p o i n t e d h a l f o f an eg g i n shape.

Both

The h e i g h t

and t h e d i a m e t e r o f th e head o f th e dhama are o f e q u a l p r o p o r t i o n s , b e i n g 41 t o 46 cm. • The j h i l t e n d s t o be s h a l l o w e r , i t s h e i g h t measuring 23 t o 25 cm, t h e d i a m e t e r o f i t s head 28 t o 30 cm.

The dhama i s g e n e r ­

a l l y made o f m e t a l , th e j h i l o f c l a y ; however, m et al may a l s o be u s e d . Though th e r e l a t i v e s o p h i s t i c a t i o n ' o f t h e method f o r b i n d i n g t h e head t o t h e drum i s l e s s , t h i s method i s b a s i c a l l y s i m i l a r t o t h a t used on t h e t a b l a , pakhavaj and d h o l a k : the b i n d i n g l a c e s are not drawn d i r e c t l y t hr ou gh th e s k i n o f th e head , but i n bo t h c a s e s are secure d t o o t h e r c o r d s which form p a r t o f a band wh ich e n c i r c l e s th e upper rim o f the drum.

Th is method o f b i n d i n g e n s u r e s a more e ve n d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t e n s i o n

and h e l p s t o s e c u r e the head t o th e drum. grid.

The l a c i n g s form an X-t ype

Though n e i t h e r drum le n d s i t s e l f r e a d i l y t o p r e c i s e t u n i n g , the

t e n s i o n o f bo t h heads may be a l t e r e d : t h a t o f t h e dhama by an a p p l i c a t i o n o f w a t e r ; t h a t o f t h e j h i l by h e a t .

The dhama o f t e n has a g l u t i n o u s

t u n i n g p a s t e p l a c e d under t h e c e n t e r o f i t s he ad .

The t r a d i t i o n a l im­

p l e m e n t s o f performance are a p a i r o f s t i c k s Comparison o f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s When comparing the t a b l a w i t h t h e above t h r e e drum t y p e s , th e r e ­ l a t i o n s h i p i s as f o l l o w s :

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1.

As the pakh av aj, t h e t a b l a i s pl ay ed by hand; b o t h heads are c o m p o s i t e and c o n s t r u c t e d upon t h e same p r i n c i p l e a s th e pakh­ a v a j ; th e t a b l a da hi na i s made of. wood; th e dahi na i s p r e c i s e l y t u n e a b l e ; t h e dahina employs t u n i n g b l o c k s and i s o f a s i m i l a r shape.

2.

As t h e d h o l a k , th e t a b l a i s pl a y e d by hand; th e dahi na i s made o f wood; t h e bayan i s s u s c e p t i b l e t o v a r i a b l e p i t c h ; t u n i n g r i n g s are sometimes a p p l i e d t o t h e bayan t o change th e g e n e r a l p i t c h a r e a ; a l t h o u g h on the e x t e r i o r , a permanent t u n i n g p a s t e i s a l s o a p p l i e d t o t h e bayan.

3.

As the naqqara, t h e bayan i s made o f m e t a l or c f a y ; i t i s a m o d i f i e d hem isp he re ; a l th o u g h on the e x t e r i o r , a permanent t u n i n g p a s t e i s a l s o a p p l i e d t o the bayan. Geographic Cent er s o f Tabla A c t i v i t y

U n l i k e the b a r r e l and h e m i s p h e r i c a l drum t y p e s , so few r e g i o n a l v a r i a n t s o f th e t a b l a e x i s t t h a t a d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f i t s g e o g r a p h i c spread i s an e a s y , as w e l l a s r e l e v a n t , t a s k .

At p r e s e n t ,

i t i s centered

i n North I n d i a , where i t s p o p u l a r i t y and c o n s e q u e n t l y i n f l u e n c e i s much g r e a t e r t han t h a t o f any o t h e r drum, wh ate ve r t h e g e n r e . in g en era l, i t

W i t h i n Indi a

i s acknowledged as one o f the two primary c l a s s i c a l mem-

b r a n o p h o n e s , the mrdanga b e i n g th e s e c o n d .

Outside India,

th e t a b l a may

be found w h ere ve r t h e r e are c o l o n i e s o f I n d i a n s : S o u t h e a s t A s i a , S i n g a ­ p o r e , F i j i , ev en as f a r w e s t as T r i n i d a d .

In a d d i t i o n the tabla- i s a

popu lar i n s tr u m e n t i n the s o u t h e a s t e r n urban c e n t e r s o f A f g h a n i s t a n (t h e Kab ul -Ka lal aba d ar ea ) b o r d e r i n g P a k i s t a n , P a k i s t a n b e i n g , o f c o u r s e , an i n t e g r a l p a r t o f th e Nort h I ndi an m u s i c a l t r a d i t i o n . t a b l a i s now c o n f i n e d

The P u n ja bi

t o t h e Punjab H i l l s and t h e Himalayan f o o t h i l l s

and lower r a n g e s , c e n t e r s l i k e Kathmandu s t i l l u s i n g i t f o r r e l i g i o u s , and pe rh aps o t h e r , m us ic.

When comparing the a r e a s i n w h ic h the t a b l a

i s found w i t h t h o s e i n which th e dho la k and naqqara t y p e s , and t o a l e s s e r e x t e n t t h e pakhavaj o r mrdanga, a r e f a m i l i a r , we f i n d t h a t in a d d i t i o n t o t h e t a b l a ' s l a c k o f v a r i a t i o n , i t ' s g e o g r a p h i c sp h e r e o f

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in flu e n c e i s s e v e r e ly circum scribed, further su g gestin g i t s recent b ir t h . At l e a s t two major c l a s s i c a l s t y l e s or b a j s o f t a b l a performance have d e v e lo p e d w i t h i n th e l a s t 200 y e a r s i n North I n d i a .

Today, i f i t

were not f o r the s t i l l c l e a r - c u t d i f f e r e n c e s i n t e c h n i q u e s o f t h e s e two t y p e s , i t would be al m os t i m p o s s i b l e t o u n t a n g l e , ev en p a r t i a l l y , t he v a r i e d m u s i c a l t r a d i t i o n s which have i n f l u e n c e d t h e t a b l a a t c e r t a i n s t a g e s in i t s development as a c l a s s i c a l in s tr u m e n t.

The major t a b la

baj are c e n te r e d g e o g r a p h i c a l l y around the D e l h i area (and known t h e r e ­ f o r e as the Pachvah or Western b a j ) and the Lucknow/Banaras area o f U t t a r Pradesh (known as the Purab or E a s t e rn b a j ) . t h r e e major s c h o o l s or B an ar as . clo sely

gharanas-^

Within th is context

have d e ve lo p ed : t h e D e l h i , Lucknow and

Two important r e g i o n a l o f f s h o o t s e x i s t : th e Farukhabad, r e l a t e d t o the Lucknow, and t h e A jr ar a (sometimes r e f e r r e d t o as th e

M e e r u t ) , r e l a t e d in o r i g i n t o th e D e l h i and l a t e r t o t h e th e Farukhabad. Both o f t h e s e gharanas are dependent upon t h e i r p a r e n t s c h o o l s f o r most o f t h e ir techniques.

One a d d i t i o n a l s c h o o l , t h e Punjab or dukkar gharana,

remains almost c o m p l e t e l y s e p a r a t e from t h e above t r a d i t i o n s .

The p e r ­

formers o f t h i s l a t e - s t a r t i n g and p o s s i b l y s h o r t - l i v e d s c h o o l have t r a d ­ i t i o n a l l y p r e f e r r e d th e r e g i o n a l l y c o n f i n e d P u n j a b i t a b l a , and i n many o t h e r r e s p e c t s have ma in ta in ed g r e a t s t y l i s t i c in d e p e n d e n c e .

The one

r e c o g n i z e d exponent o f t h i s s t y l e , Ustad A l l a Rakha Khan, i s e q u a l l y proficien t

in the o t h e r s t y l e s o f t a b l a per formance.

In h i s p l a y i n g one

n o t i c e s h i s s u c c e s s f u l attempts t o in te r w e a v e the p a t t e r n s o f t h e Punjab gharana w i t h the o t h e r stan dar d p a t t e r n s .

These e f f o r t s and t ho s e o f h i s

s o n , Zaqir Hussain Khan, may u l t i m a t e l y s p e l l th e end o f t h i s s c h o o l ' s uniqueness, at le a s t in India.

Today i n P a k i s t a n b o t h th e standard D e l h i

and th e r e g i o n a l P u n ja b i s t y l e a r e found.

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A s tu d y o f contemporary a c c o u n t s and a comparison o f gharana g e n e ­ a l o g i e s , which are in most c a s e s remarkably c o n s i s t e n t , y i e l d s th e f o l l o w ­ ing b a s ic c h r o n o lo g ic a l information: Primary Qharanas

Secondary Gharana's

D e l h i : founder= Siddhar Khan Dhari (born c . 1 7 1 0 -1 7 20 )

A j r a r a : founders= K a llu & Miru Khan (born c . 1810-1820)

Lucknow:. founder= Balcshu Khan Dhari (born c . 1 77 5- 1 7 8 5 )

Farukhabad: founder= Haj i Vilayat. Khan (born c . 1810-1815)

Banaras: founder= Ramdas S a ha i (born c . 1 8 1 0 - 1 8 1 5 )

Punjab: founder= F a qi r Baksh (born c . 1850-1860)

The above c ha r t l i s t s o n l y the f i r s t gharana in any one r e g i o n .

A dditional

gharanas are found i n Banaras and Farukhabad, and a f u r t h e r d e r i v a t i v e gharana in D a c c a . Although t h e s e c l a s s i c a l s c h o o l s o f performance have become somewhat fu s e d in the l a s t 20 t o 30 y e a r s ,

owing t o the e a s e o f communication and

the r e s u l t i n g d e s i r e a n d / o r d e c e s s i t y o f m u s i c i a n s t o l e a r n o t h e r s t y l e s o f pe rformance, a s u f f i c i e n t l y c l e a r c u t body o f t e c h n i q u e s remains i n each c a s e t o be a b l e t o r e c o g n i z e , a f t e r s u f f i c i e n t s t u d y , th e r e l a t i o n ­ s h i p between t h e s e s t y l e s o f t a b l a performance and t h o s e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h c e r t a i n o t h e r drums i n t h e same r e g i o n .

As w i l l be shown,- the s t y l e

c e n t e r e d i n th e D e l h i area shows p a r t i c u l a r a f f i n i t i e s w i t h t h o s e o f the dho la k and, s e c o n d a r i l y , the naqqara, which f l o u r i s h in the same a r e a . The Lucknow area t a b l a s t y l e , wh ich began as an o f f s p r i n g o f th e D e l h i , added f u r t h e r naqqara t e c h n i q u e s t o i t s pa r e n t s t y l e and p l a c e d on top o f bo t h a t h i c k v e n e e r o f pakh av aj.

The Banaras s t y l e , a g a i n a t l e a s t par ­

t i a l l y i nd eb ted t o Lucknow, added c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h th e c l a s s i c a l pakhavaj and more po pu lar s a hn a l/d ug g T t r a d i t i o n s o f t h e r e g i o n .

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The Punjab s t y l e borrowed t e c h n i q u e s from the dh ol ak and pakhavaj t r a ­ d i t i o n s of that area.

A lt hou gh b a s i c a l l y r e l a t e d t o t h e o t h e r t r a d i t i o n s ,

i t s s t y l i s t i c s i g n i f i c a n c e i n th e p r e s e n t s tu dy i s m inim al. M u s i c a l Areas o f Tabla A c t i v i t y The f u n c t i o n or p o s i t i o n o f t h e t a b l a i n contemporary North I n d i a n m u s i c a l performance c o n s t i t u t e s t h e c e n t r a l area o f a n a l y t i c a l i n v e s t i g at i o n i n th e p r e s e n t s t u d y .

However, a s h o r t e nu m era ti on at t h i s p o i n t

o f t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f music w i t h which t h e t a b l a may be a s s o c i a t e d w i l l q u i c k l y c l a r i f y the primar y area o f i n t e r e s t , as w e l l a s , when compared w i t h th e musics o f t h e pa k h a v a j, dho la k and naqqara, t h e o b v i o u s l y g r e a t e r v a r i e t y o f the t a b l a ' s a s s o c i a t i o n s .

For th e sake o f i n i t i a l

c o n v e n i e n c e , the t y p e s o f music performed toda y i n North I n d i a may, w i t h much r e s e r v a t i o n , be c l a s s i f i e d i n t o t r i b a l , f o l k , p o p u la r and c l a s s i c a l , a l l o f wh ich ar e c l o s e l y i n t e r - r e l a t e d and permeated w i t h a r e l i g i o u s elem ent.

T r i b a l music must be s e t a s i d e as o u t s i d e t h e im­

m e d ia t e sphere o f t h i s s t u d y ; the f o l k , popu lar and c l a s s i c a l c a t e g o r i e s , h o w ev e r , are c r u c i a l .

Without g o i n g i n t o d e t a i l , th e t a b l a does f u n c t i o n

w i t h i n a l l t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s , though i t

i s primarily a sso cia ted with

c l a s s i c a l and p op u la r m u s i c , both v o c a l and i n s t r u m e n t a l . Inc lu de d w i t h i n th e c l a s s i c a l spher e are

th e v o c a l s t y l e s :

bara

k h y a l s , chota k h y a l s and t a r a n a s , and i n s t r u m e n t a l v e r s i o n s o f t h e s e ; i n s t r u m e n t a l s t y l e s : M a s i t and Reza Khani g a t s and s o l o t a b l a .

As p a r t

o f t h e c l a s s i c o - p o p u l a r c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i s the v o c a l and i n s t r u m e n t a l thum rl s t y l e .

R e l a t e d t o but p l a c e d somewhat b e n e at h t h i s c a t e g o r y are

th e p r i m a r i l y v o c a l s t y l e s o f th e ghazal and g i t , both o f wh ich are i n a po p u la r id iom.

In a d d i t i o n , w i t h i n th e dance g e n r e , t h e t a b l a i s most

fr e q u e n tly a ss o c ia te d w ith kathak,

in b o t h i t s i n t e r p r e t i v e and a b s t r a c t

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aspects.

F i n a l l y , a t wh atever l e v e l , th e t a b l a may o f t e n be used f o r

p u r e l y d e v o t i o n a l m u s ic , be i t a Si k h s'abad , a Hindu bhajan o r a Muslim qaw wal i.

The matn p o i n t s t o remember c o n c e r n i n g th e above a r e a s o f a c ­

t i v i t y are:

1) no c l e a r c u t nor s t a b l e d i v i s i o n e x i s t s between ge nr es or

l e v e l s and 2) t h e t a b l a ' s f u n c t i o n , more than t h a t o f any o t h e r drum t o ­ day,

i s t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r and r e -c om bi n e h e r e t o f o r e almos t e n t i r e l y

s e p a r a t e t e c h n i q u e s and p r i n c i p l e s o f c o n s t r u c t i o n . I n co mp ari so n, the r o l e o f t h e pakhavaj i s v e r y r e s t r i c t e d :

it

is

used as an accompanying in s tr u m e n t f o r o l d e r and i n c r e a s i n g l y l e s s f r e ­ q u e n t l y performed v a r i e t i e s o f c l a s s i c a l v o c a l and i n s t r u m e n t a l m u s i c . T h i s i n c l u d e s t h e v o c a l dhrupad and dhamar, t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l r a b a b / b l n a l a p , and some n r t t a a s p e c t s o f k a t h a k . formed as a s o l o i n s t r u m e n t .

The pakhavaj i s a l s o s t i l l p e r ­

The t a b l a r a r e l y accompanies any o f th e

c l a s s i c a l mu sic t r a d i t i o n a l l y accompanied by th e pakh av aj.

In l e s s

s o p h i s t i c a t e d form s, and sometimes w i t h d i f f e r e n t names such as th e pung and k h o l , th e pakhavaj i s heard i n r e g i o n a l a r e a s as an accompanying i n ­ strument f o r m o s t l y r e l i g i o u s f o l k songs and d a n c e s . The r o l e s o f th e dhola k and naqqara are almost e q u a l l y r e s t r i c t e d , though i n a d i f f e r e n t way.

Today t h e y are used p r i m a r i l y f o r th e accom­

paniment o f p o p u la r and f o l k , o f t e n r e l i g i o u s or c e r e m o n i a l , s o n g s , d a n c e s and dance dramas, but not f o r c l a s s i c a l m u s ic .

The Banaras duggT

or khurdak i s t h e primary e x c e p t i o n , and e v e n t h i s t r a d i t i o n i s not con­ s i d e r e d t o be c l a s s i c a l .

However, i n th e Delhi-Kanpur-Lucknow a r e a ,

b o t h t h e d h ol ak and naqqara have r e t a i n e d a h i g h l e v e l o f p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m , m o s t l y i n t h e c o n t e x t o f th e dance drama known as n a u t a h k i .

In a d d i t i o n ,

a few i s o l a t e d naubat ensembles remain as minimum p r o o f o f t h e once e x a l t e d p o s i t i o n o f th e naqqara t r a d i t i o n among the c e r e m o n i a l and f ormal

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musics o f t h e Muslim and Hindu c o u r t s . C o n s i d e r i n g t h e s e modern day l a c u n a e ,

it

i s d i f f i c u l t to b e l i e v e

t h a t at an e a r l i e r p e r i o d bo t h t h e d h o l a k and naqqara were c o n s i d e r e d , at l e a s t by some, t o be s u i t a b l e f o r c l a s s i c a l m u s i c .

In the 18th and 19t'h

c e n t u r i e s th e d h o l a k was th ought good enough t o v i e w i t h th e pakhavaj as a s o lo instrument.

In 1737

a v i s i t o r t o D e l h i wrot e o f one Hasim Khan,

dho la k nawaz: "he has m a g i c a l c o n t r o l over th e d h o l a k .

He can produce

new t e c h n i q u e s c o n t i n u a l l y f o r s i x months w i t h o u t any r e p e t i t i o n what­ soever. The r e p u t a t i o n o f t h e naqqara was such t h a t Emperor Akbar was not ashamed t o be th o ug ht a competent pe rformer on th e i n s t r u m e n t .

"His

m a j e s t y has such a knowledge o f the s c i e n c e o f music as t r a i n e d m u s ic i a n s do not p o s s e s s , and he i s p e c i a l l y on t h e

n a q a ra ." -^

l i k e w i s e an e x c e l l e n t hand in p er for m in g, e s ­ As p a r t o f t h e naubat ensemble used f o r

c er emonies o f bo t h a c o u r t l y and, in c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s , a q u a s i ­ religious ments.

n a t u r e , t h e naqqara was c o n s i d e r e d t o be th e k i n g o f i n s t r u ­

A cc or di ng t o W i l l a r d , w r i t i n g b e f o r e 1834, "the noubut i s the

g ra nde st i n s t r u m e n t a l music o f H in d oo st an .

. .

t h e e f f e c t produced by

t he j o i n t e f f o r t s o f e x p e r t p e rfo rm ers i s c o n s i d e r a b l y imposing.

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. ."18

R eferenees

lH. E. Hause, "Terms f o r M u s ic a l I ns tru m en ts i n the Sudanic Lan gu ag es, " Supplement to th e J o u r n a l o f t h e American O r i e n t a l S o c i e t y , p . 0. I t should be noted t h a t t h e l o n g a c c e p te d e t y m o l o g i c a l d e r i v a t i o n o f t a b l from the L a t i n t a b u l a (Curt S a c h s , H i s t o r y o f M u s i c a l I n s t r u m e n t s , p. 249) i s i n c o r r e c t . The c o n f u s i o n p r o b a b l y stems from th e p r e s e n c e in Aramaic o f the homophonic term t a b l a which d oe s t r a c e i t s o r i g i n , thr oug h the Greek t a b l a t o th e L a t i n t a b u l a . I n t h i s c a s e , th e terms r e f e r t o a bo ar d, t a b l e or t a b l e t , not a drum. ^Curt S a c h s , H i s t o r y o f M u s ic a l I n s t r u m e n t s , pp. 2 4 8 - 2 5 0 . ^H. G. Farmer, S t u d i e s i n O r i e n t a l M u s ic a l I n s t r u m e n t s , p . 13. ^P. Molesworth S y k e s , "Notes on M u s i c a l Instru me nts in Khorasan, w i t h S p e c i a l R e f e re n c e t o the G y p s i e s ," Man, p . 162. ^Maurice Courant, "Chine e t Core'e," E n c y c l o p e d i e de la Musique e t D i c t i o n n a i r e du C o n s e r v a t o i r e : H i s t o l r e de la M us iq ue , V o l . 1, p p . 149, 210. ^Fray S e b a s t i e n Manrique, T r a v e l s o f Fray S e b a s t i e n M a nri qu e, V o l . 2 , p . 21 9. N i c c o l a o Manucci, S t o r i a do Mogor, V ol . 3 , pp. 14 1 - 1 4 2 . ?F. B a l t a z a r d S o l v y n s , Les H i n d o u s , V o l . 2 , s e c t i o n 8 , p l a t e

6.

®W. G. A r c h e r , Indian M i n i a t u r e s , p l a t e 81. ^These s t a t e m e n t s are based on a d e t a i l e d e x a m i n a t io n o f a l l a v a i l a b l e m i n i a t u r e s in t h e no rt her n and c e n t r a l p a r t s o f Ind ia from the 11th t o t h e 19th c e n t u r i e s . The m i n i a t u r e s i n q u e s t i o n d a t e from c . 1745 t o 1765 and were p a i n t e d i n the R aj as th an- Pun ja b H i l l s - O u d h a r e a . As the word t a b l a i s not found i n a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h any o f t h e s e p a i n t i n g s , a c l e a r c u t r e l a t i o n s h i p between any one t y p e and t h e term i s l a c k i n g . A more d e t a i l e d e x a m i n a t io n o f t h e m a t e r i a l may be found i n the f o l l o w i n g a r t i c l e : "Ic o no g r a ph ic E v id e nc e f o r t h e O r i g i n o f th e T a b l a , " by Rebecca A d r i a a n s z . T h is i s c u r r e n t l y in press. 10Dargah Q ul i Khan Bahadur, R i s a l a h - e - S a l a r - J a n g or X b a d l - e - D e l h i , p. 74. l l F . B a l t a z a r d S o l v y n s , £ £ . c i t . V o l . 2, s e c t i o n 8 , p l a t e 6 . 12

Robert Brown, The Mrdanga: a St ud y o f Drumming in South I n d i a , i s th e most complete so ur ce f o r t h i s s u b j e c t . i

l^See books on In di a n m u s ic a l i n s t r u m e n t s by K. S. K o t h a r i , S . K ri sh na swamy, P . Sambamoorthy, A. M. Meerworth, a s w e l l as c o l l e c t i o n s o f

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i n s t r u m e n t s in most o f the la r g e c i t i e s o f I n d i a , such as Hyderabad, D e l h i and New D e l h i , Madras, Bombay, Poo na, C a l c u t t a , Ba n a ra s, Udaipur and Jodhpur. G. Farmer,

0£.

c i t . p. 8.

• ^ S t y l e or baj r e f e r s t o the manner o f p l a y i n g t h e in s t r u m e n t ; t r a d i t i o n or gharana r e f e r s t o a p a r t i c u l a r s c h o o l or f a m i l y o f c l a s s i c a l performance p r a c t i c e . As a p a r t i c u l a r gharana t r a d i t i o n a l l y s p e c i ­ a l i z e s i n a p a r t i c u l a r b a j , both terms have been and s t i l l are to a c e r t a in extent geographically s i g n i f i c a n t . ^ D a r g a h Q u li Khan Bahadur, _op. c i t . , p . 73. ■^Abu*1-Fazl S a l l a m i , A * I n - I A k b a r i . V o l . 1, p . 54. ^ N . Augustus W i l l a r d , "A T r e a t i s e on the Music o f I n d i a , " Music o f I n d i a , p . 63.

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CHAPTER I I TABLA STROKES Introduction As w i t h most drum r e p e r t o r i e s i n North I n d i a , not t o s pe ak o f South I n d i a or o f most o f t h e c o u n t r i e s which surround th e I n d i a n s u b - c o n t i n e n t , t h a t o f the t a b l a i s communicated not o n l y through p h y s i c a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n but v e r b a l .

A l l t a b l a s t r o k e s have a v e r b a l e q u i v a l e n t knovm as a b o l ,

from .the Hin di verb b o l n a :

to speak.

The b o l s are p r i m a r i l y the drummer's

memoria t e c h n i c a ; though c e r t a i n g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n s may be reach ed about t h e i r b a s i c anomatopoeic n a t u r e

( i . e . DHA sounds l i k e an a s p i r a t e d , e l o n ­

g a t e d s y l l a b l e which might be the v e r b a l p a r a l l e l t o a r e s o n a t i n g s t r o k e which em phasizes the lower f r e q u e n c i e s ; TIT would be a s h o r t , un as p er at ed syllable

i n d ic a t in g a sharply p e r c u s s i v e , non-resonating strok e) nothing

in the b o l i t s e l f can be r e l i e d upon t o g i v e the e x a c t p o s i t i o n o f the s t r o k e on the t a b l a .

An u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h i s t ype o f c o r re s p o n d en ce

comes w i t h the m em o r iz at io n o f groups o f b o l p a t t e r n s . a s t u d y o f the d i f f e r e n t t a b l a b a j s . found t o o cc ur:

With th e t a b l a .

These come w it h two phenomena are

1) th e b o l may change a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t r a d i t i o n and/o r

t h e g e o g r a p h i c are a i n wh ich th e t a b l a i s found, but t h e s t r o k e type w ill

remain c o n s i s t e n t ; 2 ) t h e s t r o k e type w i l l change but the b o l r e ­

main the same.

T h i s s e e m i n g l y c o n f u s i n g s i t u a t i o n i s ac c o un te d f o r by

change s i n language or d i a l e c t and t h e r e f o r e p r o n u n c i a t i o n ( b o l c h a n g e ) , changes r e s u l t i n g from a b o l ' s p o s i t i o n i n a p a t t e r n o f b o l s ( b o l c h a n g e ) , changes i n i n f l u e n c e from one drum t o an ot her ( s t r o k e change) and changes i n tempo (b o th b o l and s t r o k e c h a n g e ) . As i n most a r e a s o f N o r t h In di a n c l a s s i c a l m u s ic ,

little

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atte mp t

has been made t o o r g a n i z e th e b a s i c t a b l a s t r o k e s or b o l s i n t o a s y s te m . The r e a s o n i s t h a t t h e s e are r a r e l y thought o f a s a b s t r a c t a b l e e n t i t i e s , d i v o r c e d from t h e c o n t e x t o f a s p e c i f i c p a t t e r n or s t y l e .

With t h e e x ­

c e p t i o n o f t h e two b a s i c open s t r o k e s o f t h e r i g h t hand, t h e y are h a r d l y e v e r ta u g h t s e p a r a t e l y .

T h e r e f o r e , any at te m p t t o c l a s s i f y them as a b ­

s t r a c t s t r o k e s and b o l s must be i n s p i r e d by an e s s e n t i a l l y n o n - I n d i a n thought p r o c e s s .

S e v e r a l appr oac hes are p o s s i b l e :

1) th e s t r o k e s may

be c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r a c o u s t i c p r o p e r t i e s , ^ s u b d i v i d i n g t h e s e i n t o t y p e s o f f i n e l y p i t c h e d and g e n e r a l l y p i t c h e d r e s o n a t i n g strokes

(known as khula or open s t r o k e s , t h e term r e f e r r i n g t o t h e phy­

s i c a l mo tio n) and n o n - r e s o n a t i n g s t r o k e s

(band o r c l o s e d , the term a l s o

r e f e r r i n g t o t h e p h y s i c a l m o t i o n ) ; 2) t h e y may be c l a s s i f i e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r p o s i t i o n on the head o f t h e drum ( c o n v e r g i n g upon the c e n t e r o f t he s y a h i from t h e o u t e r rim o f t h e c a n t l , s t r o k e may be c l a s s i f i e d

or v i c e v e r s a ) ; 3) the

f u n c t i o n a l l y a c c o r d i n g t o what i t s h e i r a r c h i c a l

p o s i t i o n i s in order of importance.

(U sin g t h i s method, a s t r o k e which

o f t e n i n i t i a t e s or d e l i n e a t e s a p a t t e r n , pe rh aps through s t r e s s or e l o n ­ g a t i o n , w a r r a n t s a much h i g h e r p o s i t i o n than one which f u n c t i o n s m er e ly as a f i l l e r ) .

4 ) The b o l s may be c l a s s i f i e d p h o n e t i c a l l y .

As b o l s are

u n r e l i a b l e as g u i d e s t o s p e c i f i c s t r o k e s , and as s p e c i f i c s t r o k e s tend t o change t h e i r f u n c t i o n a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t y l e o f performance (making t h i s typ e o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t , b u t at t h e s t y l i s t i c

level),

t h e method u l t i m a t e l y chos en was a c o m b in a t i o n o f approaches 1 and 2 above: th e l i n k bet wee n the s e v e r a l t y p e s o f r e s o n a t i n g and n o n - r e s o n ­ a t i n g s t r o k e s and t h e i r p o s i t i o n on t h e head o f th e drum for a l l the t r a d i t i o n s .

Therefore,

i s m ai n t ai n e d

th e s t r o k e ' s sound and p o s i t i o n , not

i t s v e r b a l symbol or f u n c t i o n , becomes t h e c r u c i a l c r i t e r i o n a t t h i s

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sta g e. I f the dahina and bayan were d i v i d e d , from the rim t o the c e n t e r , i n t o three con ce n tr ic c i r c l e s

l a b e l e d A ( f o r th e c a n t ! or o u t e r l a y e r o f

s k i n a l o n g t h e r i m ) , B ( f o r th e l a v or ex posed u n d e r - s k i n between th e c an tT and syahT, C ( f o r t h e syahT or perma nen tly a p p l i e d c i r c u l a r t u n i n g p a t c h i n th e c e n t e r ) and D ( f o r the purT or drum h e a d ) , found t h a t a l l A and B s t r o k e s nating.

i t would be

( wi th one s u s p e c t e x c e p t i o n ) are r e s o ­

In A s t r o k e s t h e f i n g e r or f i n g e r s may e i t h e r remain l i g h t l y

on t h e head or r i s e upon c o n t a c t , t h i s p r o c e s s not m a t e r i a l l y a f f e c t i n g t h e r e s o n a n c e , whereas i n B s t r o k e s th e f i n g e r must r i s e im m e d ia t e ly after contact.

C and D s t r o k e s may be e i t h e r r e s o n a t i n g or n o n - r e s o n a t ­

in g , depending

upon whether th e f i n g e r or hand i s a l l o w e d t o r e s t or

not.

In e s s e n c e , t h e n , t h e r e are t h e o r e t i c a l l y s i x stand ar d t y p e s o f

s t r o k e s p o s s i b l e on b o t h drums o f the p a i r .

In p r a c t i c e , however,

(in

s p i t e o f t h e s i m i l a r h e a d , th e b a y l n i s a very d i f f e r e n t drum t y p e ) , o n l y t h e dahina d i s p l a y s the e n t i r e gamut o f s t r o k e s .

These t y p e s w i l l

be known, i n th e i n i t i a l s t a g e s o f th e s t u d y , not o n l y by t h e i r standard b o l names, which ar e ver y o f t e n c o n f u s i n g , but by t h e i r s t r o k e symbol. These ar e as f o l l o w : Symbol Ao: Bo: Co: Cc: Do: Dc:

Exp lanat io n

open (resonating stroke on cantT " " " " lav 11 " " " syahT closed (damped) " " " open (resonating)" " purT clo sed (damped) " " "

N o t e : o = open; c = c l o s e d The se symbols ta ke i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i o n n e i t h e r t h e e x a c t l o c a t i o n o f the s t r o k e nor t h e p r e c i s e manner o f p r o d u c i n g i t . ^

A lt ho ug h the c h a r a c t e r -

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i s t i c timbre o f each s t r o k e typ e i s somewhat a f f e c t e d by t h e s e c h a n g e s , t h e y become important p r i m a r i l y when c o n s i d e r i n g a r e a s such as t e c h n i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s between s t y l e s o f p l a y i n g and m a n i p u l a t i o n o f s t r o k e s caused by tempo and a c c e n t u a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s .

As w i l l be a p p a r e n t , the above

s y m b o ls , though a p p l i c a b l e i n part to th e bayan, are e x p l o i t e d t o th e f u l l e s t e x t e n t by th e d a h i n a , which i s c a pa bl e o f p r o d u c i n g a much g r e a t e r v a r i e t y o f sound. The f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n enumerates ea ch s t r o k e t y p e . photograph i s appended t o e a c h d e s c r i p t i o n .

An i l l u s t r a t i v e

The or de r o f s t r o k e enum­

e r a t i o n w i l l be determined f i r s t l y by t h e t a b l a baj w i t h which i t i s a s s o c i a t e d and s e c o n d l y by i t s p o s i t i o n on the h e a d , th e dahina s t r o k e s p r e c e d i n g th e bayan.

T h e r e f o r e , the D e l h i or Pachvan baj

( c o v e r i n g both

the o l d e r D e l h i and more r e c e n t Ajrara g h a r a n a s ) , which i s c o n s i d e r e d t o e x e m p l i f y t h e o l d e s t r e c o g n i z e d p r a c t i c e , w i l l be f i r s t . ed by t h e Purab baj Banaras).

T h is i s f o l l o w ­

( c o v e r i n g Lucknow and i t s o f f s h o o t s , Farukhabad and

When r e l e v a n t , as in the Banaras t r a d i t i o n ,

the g r e a t e r im­

p o r t a n c e o f c e r t a i n b o l s i n c e r t a i n gharanas w i l l be n o t e d .

'The Punjab

b a j , as a somewhat i s o l a t e d phenomenon (a lt h o u g h n o t so much in b o l s as in elab orative p a ttern s), is

liste d separately.

An important c o n s i d e r a t i o n in t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e t y pe s o f s t r o k e s which are p r e f e r r e d by t h e d i f f e r e n t b a j s i s th e r e l a t i o n s h i p , and sometimes e x a c t p a r a l l e l between t h e s e s t r o k e s and t h o s e o f the han d -p la y e d drums, the pakhavaj and d h o l a k , and t h e s t i c k - p l a y e d naqqara. T h e r e f o r e , the r e l e v a n t s t r o k e s w i l l be appended t o th e end o f each t r a ­ d i t i o n f o r comparison.

I t must be em ph as ize d, however,

that in a l l

c a s e s t h e i n d i v i d u a l drum s t r o k e s a r e a b s t r a c t e d phenomena.

The c o r r e s ­

pondence becomes l e s s o b v i o u s but much more s i g n i f i c a n t as the de gr ee

25

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

o f s p e c i f i c i t y becomes g r e a t e r .

It is

in the realm o f the e v e r- e x pa nd ing s t r o k e n u c l e u s t h a t the i n ­

f l u e n c e s become i r r e f u t a b l e . D e l h i Baj Tabla S t r o k e s T h is baj tabla*!

is

s t y l e , as

a l s o known as th e kinar ka baj or cantT ka baj o r , i t s main s t r o k e i s produced on the ca nt T.

in o t h e r word s, the edge

(of the

T r a d i t i o n a l l y , the D e l h i s t y l e o f p l a y i n g i s

c h a r a c t e r i z e d by

i t s use o f onl y the inde x and middle f i n g e r s on the d a h i n a , though the r i n g

used at t im e s a s

a s u b s t i t u t e f o r the ind ex in some f a s t p a t t e r n s .

finger is

Dah in i b o l : NA; TA when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d ; RA used some t im e s f o r second o f p a i r o f c a n t i s t r o k e s (NARA). open s t r o k e on cantT by in de x f i n g e r , f i n g e r remaining on head o r , in rapid or a c c e n t e d p a s s a g e s , s p r i n g i n g away. r i n g f i n g e r p l a c e d on back o f s y a h l / l a v t o p r e ve nt lower l a y e r o f s k i n from v i b r a t i n g f r e e l y and thus d i s t o r t i n g the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre o f t h i s s t r o k e

1.

NA (Ac) on c o n t a c t ( i g n o r e bavan)

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre i s a c l e a r but bo tto m -h e av y mix t u r e o f th e fundamental and th e f i r s t harmonic. The standard sharp crack i s caused by the sudden c o n t a c t between f i n g e r , drum head and frame, which p a r t i a l l y u n d e r l i e s the c i n t I . - s t r o k e borrowed from d h o l a k . - n o t e : RA and RA(N) are d e r i v a t o r y b o l s & may be used in p l a c e o f o t h e r s f o r Ao, Bo & Co s t r o k e s . See i 1 l u s . 1.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

b o l : T I ( N ) ; TU(N) or TI when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d . open s t r o k e on l av by index f i n g e r , f i n g e r s p r i n g i n g away from head upon c o n t a c t . I l l u s t r a t i o n shows t i p o f inde x f i n g e r t o u c h in g edge o f syah"i. T h is i s t y p i c a l position. r i n g f i n g e r pl a c e d on back edge o f s y a h l . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c t im bre: t o p - h e a v y m ixture o f fundamental & f ir s t overtone. s t r o k e p r o b a b ly i n f l u e n c e d by naqqara and d h o l a k . See i l l u s . 2 . b o l : none. c l o s e d s t r o k e d e l i v e r e d as f o r Bo s t r o k e , but index f i n g e r remains on head a f t e r c o n t a c t .

TIN (Bo) on c o n t a c t

s t r o k e pr o b a b l y i n f l u e n c e d by the t a s a , a s h a l l o w hemi­ s p h e r i c a l , s t i . c k - p l a y e d drum. T h is s t r o k e i s a r e l a ­ t i v e l y new t a b l a s t r o k e used o n l y f o r l i g h t popu lar mus ic; i t i s not r e c o g n i z e d as l e g i t i m a t e .

See above i l l u s t r a t i o n

Co

b o l : D I( N) ; TU(N) when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d . This s t r o k e o f t e n combined w i t h Cc s t r o k e NA. See below f o r c o m b in a t io n w i t h Ao & Bo s t r o k e s . open s t r o k e on s y a h i by in de x f i n g e r , f i n g e r and hand f l i p p i n g upward and outward upon c o n t a c t . Exact p l a c e ­ ment o f in de x f i n g e r on sy'ah'i det ermined by speed and pattern context. no f i n g e r p l a c e d on head t o f i l t e r out i m p u r i t i e s ,

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

therefore , c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre = mixture o f s e v e r a l harm onic s, among which a p i t c h a to ne above fundamental i s predomine n t . s t r o k e p r ob ab ly i n f l u e n c e d by pak ha vaj ; however, s t r o k e p a i r (Co/Cc) r e s e m b l e s naqqara s t r o k e p a i r . T h i s p a i r o f t e n used as s u b s t i t u t e f o r Ao &/or Bo stroke p a ir s . See i l l u s . 3 .

N3 CO

3.

DIN (Co) on c o n t a c t Cc

b o l : NA, RA. c l o s e d s t r o k e on r i g h t - h a n d s i d e o f s y a h i by r i n g or middle & r i n g f i n g e r s , f i n g e r remaining, on head f o r damped s o u n d . r emaini ng par t of hand f r e e from he ad. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: s o f t t a p , as s t r o k e o f t e n used t o deaden p r e v i o u s r e s o n a t i n g s t r o k e D I ( N ) . s t r o k e p r ob ab ly i n f l u e n c e d by pakh ava j; however, change from hand t o f i n g e r p o s i t i o n pr o b a b l y r e f l e c t s i n f l u e n c e o f naqqara. See i l l u s . 4 .

4.

NA (Cc) on c o n t a c t

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b o l : s i n g l e = TIT; p a i r = TITA, TIT I , TRA, TIRA, de pe nd in g upon c o n t e x t . c l o s e d s t r o k e on c e n t e r o f s y a h i by e i t h e r middle or i ndex f i n g e r , f i n g e r rema in in g on head f o r damped sound. r i n g f i n g e r p l a c e d on back edge o f s y a h i ; t h i s has no e f f e c t on sound & i s sometimes not us e d; I t s primary f u n c t i o n i s t o pr ov id e l e v e r a g e . c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbr e: s h a r p , damped.

5.

TIT or TI (Cc) on c o n t a c t

6.

TA (Cc) on c o n t a c t

when p a i r e d , t h e middle f i n g e r i s al m os t always f i r s t . As a p a i r , as w e l l as i n d i v i d u a l l y , th e : dholak & naqqara are v e r y pr oba bl y the i n s t r u m e n t s o f d i r e c t i n f l u e n c e , a l t h o u g h the e q u i v a l e n t naqqara s t r o k e i s more o f t e n a damped r i g h t - then damped l e f t - h a n d s t r o k e . This i s known as TAKA. See i l l u s . 5 & 6.

b o l : GE, G l, GA depe ndin g on c o n t e x t ; GHE when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d . open s t r o k e on l a v by i n d e x , middle or middle and r in g f i n g e r s , f i n g e r s and sometimes hand s p r i n g i n g o f f head upon c o n t a c t . u n d e r - p a r t o f w r i s t and 5 to 8 cm o f forearm p l a c e d on drum head. When g r e a t e r p r e s s u r e r e q u i r e d on head ( f o r h i g h e r p i t c h ) forearm may be s l i g h t l y r a i s e d above he a d, a l l w i n g arm t o f o r c e i t s w e i g h t upon w r i s t .

duction prohibited without permission.

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: as in r i g h t hand D1 ( N ) , but lower and more re son ant when no p r e s s u r e a p p l i e d . With c o n t r o l l e d i n c r e a s e s i n p r e s s u r e on drum h e a d , s k i n t e n s i o n i n c r e a s e s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y , pro du ci ng g e n e r a l pitch plateaus. s t r o k e borrowed from d h o l a k . See i l l u s . 7 .

b o l : KE, KI, KA depe ndin g on c o n t e x t ; KAT when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d . c l o s e d s t r o k e on la v by i n d e x , m id d le , r i n g & l i t t l e f i n g e r s , a l l cupped under s o t h a t s e c t i o n of f i n g e r from f i r s t knuckle t o end o f n a i l i s in c o n t a c t w i t h l a v ; f i n g e r s remain on head fo r damped sound. w r i s t & forearm p l a c e d on s k i n as in above s t r o k e , c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: damped, d u l l . 8.

KE (Be) on c o n t a c t

used as a s u b s t i t u t e f o r f o l l o w i n g b o l ; used o n l y w i t h l i g h t po pu lar m u s ic . See i l l u s . 8 .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

s t r o k e borrowed from d h o l a k .

Dc - b o l : KE, KI, KA de pe ndi ng on c o n t e x t ; KAT when s t r e s s e d or p r o l o n g e d . - c l o s e d s t r o k e on head by f l a t o f hand, hand re maining on head f o r damped sound . - w r i s t & forearm p l a c e d on s k i n as in above s t r o k e . - c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: as i n above s t r o k e , but w i t h a more p e r c u s s i v e q u a l i t y ; more v a r i a t i o n i n dynamics p o ssib le with t h is stro k e. - s t r o k e borrowed from d h o l a k . ^ 1-1

9.

KE (Dc) on c o n t a c t

See i l l u s . 9 .

Composites - DHA: NA + GE - DHI(N): TI(N) + GE

Dholak S t r o k e s Corr es pon ding w i t h D e l h i Baj Tabla S t r o k e s The dh ol ak i s today r e l e g a t e d p r i m a r i l y to the po pu lar and f o l k m u s i c a l a r e a s . nomenclature i s not s y s t e m a t i c a l l y a p p l i e d .

in A f g h a n i s t a n , P a k i s t a n or North India

trad ition s),

its

For t h i s r e a s o n , the c o r re s p o n d en ce between t a b l a and

d h o la k can most c l e a r l y be shown in the s t r o k e t y p e s , not the b o l s . it

As a r e s u l t ,

Wherever the dhol ak i s p l a y e d , be

( t o speak o f t h r e e a r e a s which have f a i r l y homogeneous dhola k

the s t y l e o f p l a y i n g i s p r i n c i p a l l y a ki n a r ka b a j , w i t h the m a j o r i t y o f d i h i n a s t r o k e s

b e i n g d e l i v e r e d t o th e edge o f the head by the t i p s o f th e f i n g e r s .

Th is i s shown by the f o l l o w i n g l i s t

of s tr o k e s .

As t h e d h o l a k h e a d i s n o t c o m p o s i t e t h e t a b l a n o m e n c l a t u r e i s t o be us e d o n l y as a g e n e r a l

i n d i c a t i o n o f th e p o s i t i o n o f the s t r o k e on the head, Dahina Ao - c o r r e s p o n d in g t a b l a s t r o k e = NA; o f t e n c a l l e d NA by dhola k p l a y e r s . - open s t r o k e on edge by in dex f i n g e r , on h e a d . " thumb p l a c e d on drum s i d e & l i t t l e rim f o r l e v e r a g e .

f i n g e r re maining

f i n g e r p l a c e d on

- remai nin g f i n g e r s f r e e from hea d. £*»*v: •' ' 10.

/

NA (Ao) on c o n t a c t

- c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timb re : though u n p i t c h e d , the d i s t i n c t i v e p e r c u s s i v e rim sound i s r e c o g n i z a b l e . See i l l u s . 10.

Ao/Bo - c o r r e s p o n d in g t a b l a s t r o k e = TA; o f t e n c a l l e d TA by dholak p la y e r s . - open s t r o k e on edge o f head by m id d le , r i n g & sometimes l i t t l e f i n g e r , f i n g e r s remaining on head. Sometimes s t r o k e d e l i v e r e d t o p o i n t s l i g h t l y in from edge (Bo) . - s t r o k e g i v e n w i t h much f o r c e , as a c c e n te d v e r s i o n of NA abov e. See i l l u s . 11.

Gc - c o r r e s p o n d i n g t a b l a s t r o k e = TIT; o f t e n c a l l e d TAK by dh o l a k p l a y e r s . 11.

TA (Ao/Bo) on c o n t a c t

- c l o s e d s t r o k e a t p o i n t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 cm in from rim

ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

by t i p s o f 1) index f i n g e r , 2) i n d e x , middle & r i n g , 3) middle & r i n g or 4) m i d d l e , r i n g & l i t t l e f i n g e r s , f i n g e r s re maini ng on head. - thumb p l a c e d on drum s i d e

for leverage.

- e x a c t f i n g e r i n g depends on f o r c e r e q u i r e d & c o n t a c t . See i l l u s . 1 2 . - c o r r e s p o n d i n g t a b l a s t r o k e s are TITA; o f t e d c a l l e d TIJA by dho la k p l a y e r s . Because o f the h o r i z o n t a l p o s i t i o n o f the t a b l a head & perhaps b ec au se o f the i n f l u e n c e o f the s h a r p l y p e r c u s s i v e c l o s e d naqqara s t r o k e s , the hand stroke, a l s o common t o th e p a k h a v a j , was changed t o a o n e - f i n g e r s t r o k e on the t a b l a .

12.

TAK (Cc) on c o n t a c t

- c l o s e d s t r o k e on head o f drum by o u t e r rim o f hand, o f t e n f o l l o w e d by same type o f s t r o k e d e l i v e r e d by the in ne r rim o f the hand or by the in de x f i n g e r . See i l l u s . 13 & 1 4 .

14.

TA (Dc) on c o n t a c t

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Bayan Bo - c o r r e s p o n d i n g tabla’ s t r o k e i s GE or GHE; o f t e n c a l l e d GE ( p r e s s u r e s t r o k e ) & GA ( n o n - p r e s s u r e s t r o k e ) by dho la k p l a y e r s . - open s t r o k e on head by comb ina ti on o f i n d e x , middle & r i n g f i n g e r s , a t p o i n t c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o l a v on t a b l a bayan, f i n g e r s s p r i n g i n g away from head on c o n t a c t . - w r i s t p l a c e d on back o f hea d, a p p l y i n g v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f p r e s s u r e t o head t o a l t e r g e n e r a l p i t c h l e v e l . - n o t e : t h e s e r i e s o f f i v e p i c t u r e s i l l u s t r a t e th e e x a c t p a r a l l e l e x i s t i n g between the t a b l a p r e s s u r e GE & non­ p r e s s u r e GE & t h o s e o f the d h o l a k . In both t a b l a & dhola k t h e s e two s t r o k e t y p e s are o f t e n found t o g e t h e r . See i l l u s . 15 - 19.

16.

2nd GE, a l s o by r i n g f i n g e r ; shows greater w rist pressure.

17.

3rd GE, a l s o by r i n g f i n g e r ; shows peak o f p r e s s u r e .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

18.

GA, by middle f i n g e r ; a l l p r e s s u r e removed from h e a d .

19.

GA, a f t e r r e l e a s e o f p r e s s u r e ; shows comp lete s e p a r a t i o n of hand & head .

- c o r r e s p o n d i n g t a b l a s t r o k e i s th e c u r v e d - f i n g e r KE s t r o k e . In a d d i t i o n to t h i s s p e c i f i c t a b l a v e r s i o n , the e x a c t e q u i v a l e n t o f th e dhola k in dex f i n g e r snap i s a l s o u s e d ; however, t h i s v e r s i o n i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be even more u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d than the c u r v e d - f i n g e r KE. Often c a l l e d KA by dho la k p l a y e r s . - c l o s e d snap on head, at p o i n t c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t a b l a bayan l a v , by in d e x f i n g e r ; f i n g e r may or may not remain on he ad , but hand c o n t i n u e s t o r e s t on head t o deaden s o u n d . See i l l u s . 20.

20.

KA (Be) b e f o r e c o n t a c t

Dc - co rrespond ing t a b l a st r o ke i s KE; o f t e n c a l l e d KA by dhola k players. - c l o s e d s tr o k e on head by f l a t o f hand, hand remaining on head t o deaden the sound. See i l l u s . 2 1 . Composites - DHA: NA + GA or GE - DHIT: TAK + GA or GE

Naqqara S t r o k e s Corresponding w i t h D e l h i Baj Tabla St r o ke s Two problems e x i s t when a t te m p ti n g t o understand the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the naqqara and th e D e l h i baj tab 15. The f i r s t o f t h e s e i s i n ­ h e r e n t in the naqqara: i t

i s a s t i c k - , not hand-, played in s tr u m e n t.

The second i s t h a t i t has been a t l e a s t as i n f l u e n t i a l on the Purab baj as the D e l h i .

Although i t would be c o nv e ni en t t o be a b l e t o s a y th at

a l l o f the D e l h i baj r e p e r t o r y now in use has been t h e re fo r the l a s t 200 y e a r s , and t r a v e l e d from t h e re t o Lucknow, in some c a s e s th e r e v e r s e i s probably more a c c u r a t e .

In the ca se o f the naqqara, i t i s the com­

p o s i t i o n o f th e e l a b o r a t i v e p a t t e r n s , and not simply the l o c a t i o n i f i t s s t r o k e s , which p o i n t s t o a s t r o n g i n f l u e n c e , e xe rt e d at a r e l a t i v e l y e a r l y period in the development o f the D e l h i b a j . happened, ju d g i n g fromcontemporaneous a c c o u n t s , Lucknow area (during t h a t

p e r i o d between

What very probably i s th at in the D e l h i -

1750 and 1850 when

the t a b l a

was becoming r e co g n iz e d as a p o t e n t i a l s u c c e s s o r to the pa kh av aj ), naqqara p l a y e r s , o f t e n in a f i n a n c i a l and s o c i a l p o s i t i o n which would make i t e a s y t o change i n s t r u m e n t s , would t r a i n as t a b l a p l a y e r s .

36

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Although in the p r o c e s s the Lucknow baj was p r o b a b l y a f f e c t e d more than the D e l h i , the f o l l o w i n g i n fo r m a ti o n co nc e rn in g naqqara s t r o k e s does pe r tain to both.

Today,

the naqqara may have i t s

depending upon the s c h o o l o f naqqara t r a i n i n g , own d e r i v a t i v e t e r m i n o l o g y j however, in the

p r e s e n t c o n t e x t i t i s more c o n v e n i e n t t o use the p a r a l l e l t a b l a t er m in ­ ology.

As s t i l l photographs of s t i c k s t r o k e s can conve y l i t t l e but

p o s i t i o n , a s e r i e s o f fou r b a s i c p o s i t i o n s are g i v e n o n l y at the end o f the g e n e r a l d e s c r i p t i o n .

See i l l u s t r a t i o n s 22 t o 2 5 .

The naqqara i s l i m i t e d t o th e f o l l o w i n g sound di m e n s i o n s : 1. "low" & "high" p i t c h l e v e l s . 2 . r e s o n a t i n g & n o n - r e s o n a t i n g soun ds. 3. rim t o c e n t e r p o s i t i o n s or s h a r p e r , more p e r c u s s i v e , t o more h o l l o w , l e s s p e r c u s s i v e sounds. 4 . v a r i a t i o n in f o r c e o f s t r o k e a t t a c k . T r a n s l a t e d i n t o t a b l a bol-s, t h e s e di mensions are r e f l e c t e d as f o l l o w s : 1.

NA, RA or RA(N): h i g h , open, r e l a t i v e l y s t r e s s e d ; placement i s near rim o f j h i l .

2.

TA: h e a v i l y s t r e s s e d v e r s i o n o f NA; placement i s f a r t h e r from rim.

3.

TI ( N ) : h i g h , open, r e l a t i v e l y l e s s s t r e s s e d than i s from 3 t o 5 cm in from rim o f j h i l .

4.

TA, TIT, RA: h i g h , c l o s e d , v a r i a b l y s t r e s s e d , sometimes in p a i r s ; placem en t i s c e n t e r o f j h i l .

5.

GHE: low, o p e n , v a r i a b l y s t r e s s e d ; pl aceme nt i s c e n t e r o f dhama.

6.

KA: low, c l o s e d , r e l a t i v e l y u n s t r e s s e d ; placement i s c e n t e r o f dhama.

7.

DHA: c o m p o si te s t r o k e = NA or TA + GHE.

8.

DHI(N): c o m p o si t e s t r o k e + TIN + GHE.

TA;placement

37

R e p ro d u c e d with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

used

R e p ro d u c e d with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

TA + KE or GHE on c o n t a c t 25. NA + KE or GHE on contact 24.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Purab Baj Tabla S t r o k e s T h is b l j began in Lucknow and spread from h er e t o Farukhabad and B a n a r a s . c r e a s i n g emphasis was p l a c e d on the e x i s t i n g pakhlvaj

t r a d i t i o n s in the a r e a .

In the p r o c e s s an i n ­ As a r e s u l t ,

gharanas r e s e r v e c e r t a i n a r e a s o f t h e i r r e p e r t o r y f o r p a t t e r n s which are p u r e l y pak h av aj . in the Purab baj employ s t r o k e t e c h n i q u e s w h ic h ,

the Banaras A l l schools

in the c a s e o f the d i h i n a , r e q u i r e a much g r e a t e r use

o f the hand and drum head than t h o s e o f the D e l h i b i j .

These t e c h n i q u e s r e q u i r e a more f o r c e f u l mode o f

s t r o k e a t t a c k and p o i n t d i r e c t l y to the pakhavaj as the in strument o f i n f l u e n c e . As p e rfo rm ers from e a c h o f the main t r a d i t i o n s must be f a m i l i a r w i t h b a s i c s t r o k e s , b o l p a t t e r n s and s t y l e s o f p l a y i n g o f t h e o t h e r t r a d i t i o n ,

i t must be understood t h a t the Lucknow-, Farukhabad- and

u>

B a n a r a s - t r a i n e d p e rfo rm ers w i l l a l s o accompany in the D e l h i s t y l e

i f required.

In a d d i t i o n , as the Purab

baj began as an out growth o f the D e l h i , c e r t a i n b a s i c formulae and c o n v e n t i o n s o f t h a t baj were r e t a i n e d . Dahina Ao - b o l : NA; TA o n l y when D e l h i o r i g i n o f p a t t e r n i s o b v i o u s ; when used i n a p a k h a v a j - d e r i v e d p a t t e r n , r e f e r r e d t o as NA. - s ee D e l h i dahina s t r o k e Ao (NA), as t h i s s t r o k e i s shared by bo th b a j s .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

b o l p a i r : NAltA(N). open s t r o k e on c a n t i by middle & r in g f i n g e r s , o f t e n f o l l o w e d by index f i n g e r ; as w i t h a l l c l n t ' i s t r o k e s , the f i n g e r s may r e s t on s k i n w i t h o u t damping sound. u n l i k e D e l h i NA, re maining f i n g e r s are f r e e o f head. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: as t h i s s t r o k e i s d e l i v e r e d wi th f o r c e , the p e r c u s s i v e e l e m e n t , t h a t o f a sharp c r a c k , i s predominant; however, as e n t i r e head v i b r a t e s , the timbre i s a b a la nc e d mixture o f the fundamental & f i r s t overtone. s t r o k e borrowed from p a k h a v a j ; a l t h o u g h used by dholak ( s e e dhol ak T A ), used i n d i f f e r e n t c o n t e x t . See i l l u s . 26 & 2 7 . 26.

NA (Ao) on c o n t a c t b o l : TI(N) when used w i t h D e l h i s t y l e b o l s ; TA or RA(N) when used w i t h Purab s t y l e . open s t r o k e on l a v or rim o f l a v / c l n t l by index f i n g e r ; s e e D e l h i dahina s t r o k e TX(N). though f r e q u e n t l y the r i n g f i n g e r i s p l a c e d on s y a h i , as in the D e l h i s t y l e , i t may be j o i n e d or r e p l a c e d by the l i t t l e f i n g e r , in i m i t a t i o n o f the pak havaj. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: e i t h e r as in D e l h i s t y l e or , when g r e a t e r f o rc e o f pakhavaj s t y l e d e s i r e d , w i t h the f i r s t o v e r t o n e overshadowing a l l o v e r t o n e s & the funda­ men tal .

27.

RA(N) (Ao) on c o n t a c t

Purab s t y l e s t r o k e ( r e q u i r i n g l i t t l e f i n g e r ) adapted from pakhivaj hand TA. See i 1l u s . 28 - 3 1 .

R e p ro d u c e d with perm ission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Co - b o l : DI(N) or RA(N).

O ft e n f o l l o w e d by 1 c s t r o k e NA; s e e below.

stroke, - s e e D e l h i dahina s t r o k e Co D I ( N ) , as t h i s t r o k e a l s o used in p a k h a v a j - d e r i v e d pat e r ns .

in D e l h i baj p a t t e r n s ,

i s borrowed from t h e r e ;

' - b o l : DI(N) or TU(N); DI or THU(N) when s t r e s s e d or p r o ­ longed . - open s t r o k e on rear h a l f o f s y a h i by pads o f cupped f i n g e r s , hand s p r i n g i n g away from head upon c o n t a c t . - palm r e s t s a g a i n s t l a c i n g o f rim d u r i n g & a f t e r s t r o k e in p r e p a r a t i o n f o r the s t r o k e which u s u a l l y f o l l o w s ; s e e Purab s t y l e Cc s t r o k e NA be lo w. - c l i a r a c t e r i s t i c ti mbre: as four f i n g e r s (not one as in the D e l h i s t y l e ) , s t r o k e s y a h i , the p e r c u s s i v e sound o f the c o n t a c t i s much g r e a t e r , somewhat ca m o u fl a g in g the r e s o n a t i n g sound.

32.

DI(N)

(Co) b e f o r e c o n t a c t

- borrowed i n t a c t from p a k h a v a j ; used much by Banaras gha r a r.a . See i l l u s . 32 - 34 .

34. 3 3.

DI(N) on c o n t a c t

DI(N) a f t e r c o n t a c t (NA b e f o r e c o n t a c t )

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Cc - b o l : NA. - s e e D e l h i dahina s t r o k e C c : NA; s t r o k e use s t r o k e f o l l o w s D e l h i Co s t r o k e ab ov e.

in both D e l h i - d e r i v e d and pakha’v a j - d e r i v e d p a t t e r n s ;

b o l : NA. c l o s e d s t r o k e on s y a h i by pads o f a l l f i n g e r s but thumb, f i n g e r s re ma in in g on s y a h i t o deaden sound; s t r o k e f o l l o w s p a k h a v a j - d e r i v e d hand s t r o k e Co above. palm r e s t s a g a i n s t

lacing.

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: as the p o i n t s o f c o n t a c t are g r e a t e r than the Co f i n g e r s t r o k e r e l a t e d t o t h i s s t r o k e , the r e s u l t i n g s o f t "thud" i s more a u d i b l e . borrowed i n t a c t from p a k h l v a j . 35.

See i l l u s .

35.

NA (Cc) on c o n t a c t b o l : TITA, TIT I , TIRA. c l o s e d s t r o k e on c e n t e r o f s y a h i by middle & r i n g f i n g e r s , o f t e n f o ll o w e d by second s t r o k e o f same type by index f i n g e r ; re maini ng f i n g e r s remain o f f head. compare D e l h i Cc (TI or TIT) s t r o k e ; s i g n i f i c a n t d i f ­ f e r e n c e i s in number o f f i n g e r s used & r e s u l t i n g p r e s s u r e on head. s t r o k e borrowed i n t a c t from pakhavaj ; used much by Banaras g h a r a n a s . See i 1 lus . 36 & 3 7 .

36.

T I (Cc) on c o n t a c t

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b o l : TIT f o r 2 - f i n g e r s t r o k e s used w i t h D e l h i baj p a t ­ t e r n s ; TAK or KAT or 3- or 4 - f i n g e r s t r o k e s used w i t h p a k h a v a j - d e r iv e d p a t t e r n s . c l o s e d s t r o k e on s y a h i by pads o f i n d e x , middle & r i n g ; m i d d l e , r i n g & l i t t l e ; or a l l four f i n g e r s , depending upon p r e s s u r e d e s i r e d . f i n g e r s remain on head f o r damped sound. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: as in D e l h i TIT, but beca use o f g r e a t e r number o f f i n g e r s & g r e a t e r p r e s s u r e , the sound i s loud & w h i p - l i k e . TIT s t r o k e p r ob ab ly d e r i v e d from dh ol ak ; TAK s t r o k e borrowed i n t a c t from p a k h a v a j . note:

f o r TIT s t r o k e s e e i l l u s . f o r TAK s t r o k e s e e i l l u s .

36. 33.

b o l : TA; t h i s s t r o k e i s o n l y used by the Banaras gharanas f o r pure pakhavaj p a t t e r n s . open s t r o k e on head by o u t e r rim o f s l i g h t l y cupped r i g h t hand, hand f l i p p i n g upward & inward upon c o n t a c t w i t h head. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: loud s l a p in which a r i n g i n g & pronounced f i r s t harmonic i s the predominant p i t c h ; in sound t y p e , i t b e l o n g s t o the same c l a s s i f i c a t i o n as the Purab Bo TA which i s an a d a p t a t i o n o f i t . See i l l u s . 38 & 39.

38 TA (Do) on c o n t a c t

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b o l : TIR A or D IR A . c l o s e d s t r o k e p a i r on head by s l i g h t l y upturned f l a t o f hand, s t r o k e d e l i v e r e d f i r s t by o u t e r rim o f hand, t h e n by i n n e r , w r i s t a c t i n g as a p i v o t . hand remains on head t o dampen sound. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: n o n - r e s o n a t i n g s l a p . s t r o k e borrowed i n t a c t from p a k h a v a j . 40 & 41.

39.

TA. a f t e r c o n t a c t

40.

DI (Dc) on c o n t a c t

41.

RA (Dc) on c o n t a c t

See i l l u s .

Bayan Bo - b o l : GE, GI, GA depending on c o n t e x t ; GHE when s t r e s s e d or p r o ­ longed . - see D e l h i s t r o k e Bo GE; s t r o k e i s p r e c i s e l y the same, e x c e p t t h a t in pa k h a v a j- d e r iv e d p a t t e r n s p r e s s u r e v a r i a t i o n is l e s s p r o ­ nounced .

Dc - b o l : KE, KI or KA depending upon c o n t e x t . - see D e l h i s t r o k e Dc; st r o k e i s the same. - s t r o k e borrowed i n t a c t from pakhavaj.

Do - b o l : GE, GI or GA depending on c o n t e x t . -

f l a t o f hand s l a p s inner r i g h t hand quart er of head, e n t i r e hand f l i p p i n g upward & s l i g h t l y inward upon c o n t a c t .

-

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: s i m i l a r to t ha t o f r i g h t hand Purab DIN, e x c e p t t h a t no p i t c h i s predominant, the g e n e r a l l e v e l i s lower, and the volume i s u s u a l l y much g r e a t e r .

- s t r o k e borrowed i n t a c t from p a k h a v a j . - n o te :

fo r GA s tr o k e on c o n t a c t s e e i l l u s . 38. f o r GA s tr o k e a f t e r c o n t a c t see i l l u s . 39.

Compos i t e s - DHA: NA + GE ( D e l h i - d e r i v e d ) DHA: TA + GE (Purab s t y l e : adapted from pakhavaj) DHA: TA + GA (Purab s t y l e ; borrowed i n t a c t from pakhavaj) - DHIN: TI(N) + GE ( D e l h i - d e r i v e d ) - DHIT or DHET: TIT or TAK + GE - DHI(RA) : DI(RA) + GE

Pakhavaj St r o ke s Corresponding w i t h Purab Baj Tabla S t r o k e s The Purab s t y l e o f t a b la performance has t r e a t e d the pakhavaj i n one o f two ways:

i t has e i t h e r adapted i t s s t r o k e s

(from a v e r t i c a l

head t o an h o r i z o n t a l head; from l a r g e l y hand s t r o k e s to l a r g e l y f i n g e r

46

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s t r o k e s ) or t r i e d t o ap pl y them i n t a c t .

The l a t t e r method has not been so s u c c e s s f u l w i t h r e s p e c t t o the

hand s t r o k e s ; perhaps f o r t h i s r e a s o n t h e s e s t r o k e s ar e c o n f i n e d m o s t l y t o the Banaras gharana and, even t h e n , are used f o r o n l y t h o s e p a t t e r n s which are o b v i o u s l y p a k h a v a j . s t r o k e s i s complete a s ,

The f o l l o w i n g l i s t o f pakhavaj

i n one form or a n o t h e r , a l l are used by the t a b l a .

For t h o s e s t r o k e s which are

i d e n t i c a l , no pakhavaj p i c t u r e i s p r o v i d e d . Dahina Ao - b o l : NA or RA(N) . - as i n t a b l a NA, e x c e p t t ha t o n l y the index f i n g e r to u c h e s the head; in NA f i n g e r remains on head; in RA(N) i t o f t e n f l i p s away. See i l l u s . 4 2 .

V'

• C . «

t. ■5?

■- . ? w

42.

-i-

NA (Ao) on c o n t a c t

Ao - b o l : NA = 2 - f i n g e r s t r o k e ; RA(N) = 1 - f i n g e r s t r o k e . - as i n Purab t a b l a NARA(N); open s t r o k e p a i r on c i n t i . Compare Purab t a b l a i l l u s . 26 & 27 w i t h pakhavaj i l l u s , 43 & 4 4 . See i l l u s . 43 6c 4 4 . - n o t e : i l l u s . 44 shows RA(N) as a p a r t o f the pakhavaj p a t t e r n TARA-NA. Th is rim f l i p s t r o k e has not been com­ p l e t e l y a c c e p t e d by the t a b l a .

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43.

NA (Ao) on c o n t a c t

44.

RA(N) (Ao) on c o n t a c t (not b a s i c t a b l a s t r o k e )

- as in t a b l a Co DIN; in c a s e o f pakhivaj used as a sub­ s t i t u t e f o r c a n t i s t r o k e RA(N); s e e i l l u s . 4 2 ; used in p a t t e r n RA-NA. - as in t a b l a Cc NA; in c a s e o f pakhavaj used as a sub­ s t i t u t e for c a n t i s t r o k e NA; s e e i l l u s . 4 3 ; used in p a t t e r n RA-NA.

- pakhavaj DI(N); o f t e n fo ll o w e d by NA, s e e bel ow. Purab t a b l a borrowed i t i n t a c t . See i l l u s . 4 5 .

45.

DI(N)

(Co) on c o n t a c t

- pakhavaj NA; f o l l o w s DI(N) a b o v e . Purab t a b l a borrowed it intact. However, n o t i c e t h a t the ha nd 's p o s i t i o n changes n o t i c e a b l y in the pakhivaj v e r s i o n & not in the t a b l a . See i l l u s . 46.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

46.

NA (Cc) on c o n t a c t

47.

TE (Cc) on c o n t a c t

- pakhavaj T E T E ; compare Purab t a b l a T I T A ; d i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t pakhavaj T I employs m i d d l e , r i n g 6c l i t t l e f i n g e r s . See i l l u s . 4 7 .

- pakhivaj T I T , T A K or KA T de pending on the c o n t e x t ; compare Purab t a b l a T A K ; d i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t on pakh­ avaj thumb r e s t s on l a c i n g around rim. See i l l u s . 4 8 .

- pakhavaj DIRA; compare Purab t a b l a DIRA.

48.

KAT (Cc) on c o n t a c t

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Do - pakhavaj GHE or GA; compare Purab t a b la GE Dc - pakhavaj KA; compare Purab KE; d i f f e r e n c e i s t h a t pakh avaj KA i s not s t r u c k in the c e n t e r o f the head, but the lower h a l f . See i l l u s . 4 9 . Compos i t e s

DHIT or DHET: TA 4 GA

49.

KA (Dc) on c o n t a c t Punjab Baij Tabla S t r o k e s

A l s o known as the T i l w a n d i baj

(a town in P a k i s t a n , now known as Nankana Sahab) or dukkar b a j , the

b a s i c s t r o k e s used in t h i s s t y l e are o f a f o r c e f u l , bom bastic t y p e , as pronounced as t h o s e o f the Pun jab i pak havaj, w i t h which i t

is a l l i e d .

The number o f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c P u n ja b i baj s t r o k e s i s o n l y s i x , but as

in o t h e r g h a r a n a s , the Pun jab i has i n c o r p o r a t e d some o f the D e l h i b o l s

fo r c e r t a i n s t y l e s .

Dahina

Ao - b o l : NA. - open s t r o k e on c a n t i by in dex f i n g e r . - r i n g & l i t t l e f i n g e r p l a c e d on back o f s y a h i & c a n t i respect i v e l y .

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s t r o k e i n f l u e n c e d by pakhavaj.

See i l l u s .

50.

b o l : TA. open s t r o k e on l a v by index f i n g e r , f i n g e r s p r i n g i n g back from head upon c o n t a c t . l i t t l e f i n g e r remains on s y a h i d u r i n g s t r o k e ; s c h o o l o n l y l i t t l e f i n g e r us e d. c h a r a c t e r i s t i c timbre: TA.

in t h i s

f i r s t harmonic; l i k e pakhavaj

s t r o k e borrowed f r o m pakhavaj & s l i g h t l y adapted f o r horizo n ta l playing p o s itio n . See i l l u s . 51 & 5 2 .

50.

NA (Ao) on contact:

TA (Bo) b e f o r e c o n t a c t

52.

TA a f t e r c o n t a c t

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Co - b o l : TI(N) or DI(N) or DU(N). - open s t r o k e on s y a h i by inde x f i n g e r , up 6c outwards upon c o n t a c t .

finger springing

- r i n g 6c cometimes l i t t l e f i n g e r p l a c e d on head o f d a h i n a , but t h e s e ar e r e l e a s e d upon c o n t a c t o f the index f i n g e r w i t h the s y a h i . - c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ti mbre: as in D e l h i DI(N); however, as in above s t r o k e s , s t r o k e d e l i v e r e d w i t h g r e a t e r f o r c e . - s t r o k e pro bab ly

i n f l u e n c e d by p a k h a v a j .

See i l l u s . 5 3 .

N 4 Cc - b o l : TETE or TETA; NA as s u b s t i t u t e f o r c a n t i NA ( r a r e ) . - c l o s e d s t r o k e p a i r on s y a h i by middle f o l l o w e d by f i r s t f i n g e r .

6c

ring fin g e r s ,

- p o s i t i o n as in Purab baj t a b l a . - stroke pair

i n f l u e n c e d by dho la k

6c

pakhavaj .

Bayah See i l l u s .

51 & 52: bayah

Note:

Do -

in the bayan i l l u s t r a t i o n s no ata i s p r e s e n t ; under c o n c e r t c o n d i t i o n s i t would be. b o l : GA, GEGI, GHE.

-

open s t r o k e on back hand .

rim

6cp o r t i o n

o f head

by palm of

-

p o s i t i o n as in Purab baj t a b l a 6cpakhavaj ; stroke bori n t a c t from pakhavaj . See i l l u s . 51 6c 52: bayan

Dc - b o l : KA, KE. - c l o s e d s t r o k e on back & center portion of head by palm o f hand. - p o s itio n sim ilar to Purab baj t a b l a , but hand i s pl ac ed f a r t h e r back on h e a d . The r e a s ­ on f or t h i s l i e s i n the relationship of th is s t r o k e t o GA, which i s performed on the back rim.

uatrnr 54 .

KA (Dc) on c o n t a c t

- s t r o k e borrowed from p a k h a v a j . See i l l u s . 5 4 , Compos i t e s - DHA: TA + GA - DHET: TE + GA

A l l s t r o k e s but one are adopted i n t a c t from the p a k h a v a j .

The minor

e x c e p t i o n i s TA, which, l i k e the Purab TA, i s an attempt t o produce the pakhavaj TA sound, but in a more i d i o m a t i c t a b l a manner. Comparative Summary De l h i Strokes:

rim sin gle fingers

Purab center s i n g l e & pa i r e d

Emphases: g r e a t e r v a r i e t y o f r e sonating stro k es, g r e a t e r use o f v a r . GE, " v a r . o f KE s t r o k e . " use o f c o n t r a s t i n g pitch le v e ls , g r e a t e r v a r i a t i o n in w e i gh t o f s t r o k e attack. R e l a te d drums:

dholak

naqqara

head s i n g l e , pa i r e d & hand

g r e a t e r v a r i e t y of p a r t i a l l y r e ­ sonating & non-resonating strok es, l e s s e r use o f v a r i a b l e GE. " v a r i e t y o f KE s t r o k e . g r e a t e r use o f c o n t r a s t i n g t i m b r e s . l e s s e r v a r i a t i o n i n wei ght o f stroke attack .

pakhavaj

Note: as i t l i e s o u t s i d e th e mainstream o f tab 15 de v elo p me nt , the Pu njabi baj i s om itt e d from the above comparison.

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References

^-No atte mp t was made t o e s t a b l i s h the p r e c i s e a c o u s t i c s t r u c t u r e o f e ac h s t r o k e . Alt ho ug h t h i s i s a f a s c i n a t i n g s u b j e c t , i t i s i r ­ r e l e v a n t t o t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y , wh ich i s not an i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o the p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s o f the t a b l a . For a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s e properties see: 1.

C. V. Raman. "The Indian M u s i c a l Drums," P r o c e e d i n g s o f the In di an Academy o f S c i e n c e s , V o l . 1 (A) , No. 4 , 1934, Pp. 1 7 9 - 1 8 8 .

2.

B. S . Ramakrishna. "Modes o f V i b r a t i o n o f th e I n d i a n Drum Dugga or Left-Handed T h a b a la , " The J o u r n a l o f the A c o u s t i c a l S o c i e t y o f A m e r i c a , V o l . 2 9, No. 2 , February, 1957, p . 2 3 4 - 2 3 8 .

3.

B. S. Ramakrishna and Man Mohan So n d h i, " V i b r a t i o n s o f I ndi an M u s i c a l Drums Regarded as Composite Membranes," The Journal o f the A c o u s tic a l S o c i e t y o f America, Vol. 26, No. 4 , J u l y , 1954. Pp. 5 2 3 - 5 2 9 .

4.

K. Nagabhushana Rao. "Theory o f t h e I ndi an M u s i c a l Drums-P a r t I , " i n P r o c ee d in g s o f t h e I nd ia n Academy o f S c i e n c e s , V o l . VII ( A ) , No. 2 , 1938. Pp. 7 5 - 8 4 .

^This s e c t i o n o f t h e s t u d y i s not concerned w i t h a d e t a i l e d e x p o s i t i o n o f the p r e c i s e manner in which s t r o k e s are produced on t h e t a b l a . That i s in the p r o v i n c e o f the t a b l a t u t o r , o f which s e v e r a l good ones e x i s t ( s e e b i b l i o g r a p h y ) . As ea ch gharana has i t s own i d e o s y n c r a c i e s , i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o be d e f i n i t i v e . Therefore, particular s t r o k e v a r i a t i o n s w i l l be d i s c u s s e d o n l y when n e c e s s a r y t o show changes i n p o s i t i o n between s c h o o l s which d i r e c t l y r e s u l t from changes i n s t y l e and i n f l u e n c e .

54

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CHAPTER I I I TABLA STROKE NUCLEI Introduction The p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r d e a l t w i t h i n d i v i d u a l s t r o k e t y p e s a s s o c i a t e d p r i m a r i l y w i t h the two main s t y l e s o f t a b l a perform anc e, t h e D e l h i and Purab, and s e c o n d a r i l y w i t h th e one p e r i p h e r a l t r a d i t i o n , th e Punjab. In a d d i t i o n , whenever c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e d , s t r o k e p a r a l l e l s e x i s t i n g b e ­ tween t h e t a b l a and o t h e r drums were i l l u s t r a t e d . In the p r e s e n t c h a p t e r a v e r y s i m i l a r approach i s used in the i n ­ v e s t i g a t i o n of th e b a s i c t a b l a s t r o k e c o m b in a t i o n s or n u c l e i .

Before

a t t e m p t i n g t o e x p l a i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n a l p r o c e s s e s i n v o lv e d in the c r e a t i o n o f t h e s e n u c l e i , t h e y a r e f i r s t enumerated, organ ized both i n terms o f t h e order o f s t r o k e s u c c e s s i o n and i n terms of the t a b l a baj w i t h which t h e y are most c l o s e l y a s s o c i a t e d .

The v e r t i c a l o r g a n i z a t i o n

o f s t r o k e n u c l e i i s based on t h a t used f o r th e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f the i n ­ divid ual strokes. ta lly ,

The s t r o k e s .are shown, b o t h v e r t i c a l l y and h o r i z o n ­

i n the order o f t h e i r s u c c e s s i o n from the d i h i n a c a n t i ,

s y a h i t o th e f u l l drum he a d .

lav and

The c l a s s i f i c a t o r y t i t l e f o r each c a t e g o r y

i s t h a t o f th e f i r s t or f i r s t and second s t r o k e s o f each n u c l e i .

Com­

p o s i t e s t r o k e s are l i s t e d w i t h t h e i r r e l a t e d dahina s t r o k e s . T h i s s e c t i o n i s f o l l o w e d by one wh ich c o n c e r n s open and c l o s e d s t r o k e s on t h e bayan; t h e s e appear t o g e t h e r .

As w i l l be c l e a r from t h e

s t a r t , such an o r g a n i z a t i o n s u g g e s t s more c l e a r l y than any e x p l a n a t i o n : 1) t h e area o f th e drum head p r e f e r r e d by t h e i n d i v i d u a l t r a d i t i o n s and t h e r e f o r e , 2) t h e 1;ype o f i n f l u e n c e most s t r o n g l y f e l t i n t h a t t r a d i t i o n . I t must be kept i n mind, howev er , t h a t a l l o c a t i o n o f t h e s e s tr o k e n u c l e i t o s e p a r a t e t r a d i t i o n s d o e s not p r e c l u d e t h e i r e x i s t e n c e i n a l l .

55

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,

N e v e r t h e l e s s , whenever t h e s e n u c l e i appear not t o have become absorbed i n t o th e s ta n d a r d r e p e r t o r y o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l b a j , t h e y have be en l e f t out.

As i n th e p r i o r c h a p t e r , the i n t e n t i s not o n l y t o show th e p r e s e n t

r e p e r t o r y but a l s o t o a tte m pt t o d i s p l a y t r a d i t i o n a l ever they c l e a r l y e x i s t .

i n f l u e n c e s where-

Two t y p e s o f i n f l u e n c e s can be shown in the

f o l l o w i n g c h a r t : 1) t h a t which e x i s t s between tab la t r a d i t i o n s

(shorn

by an arrow i n d i c a t i n g d i r e c t i o n o f i n f l u e n c e ; as the P u n j a b i s t y l e r e p e r t o r y o f s t r o k e n u c l e i d e v e lo p e d more or l e s s i n d e p e n d e n t l y from th e D e l h i and P u r a b - o r i e n t e d s t y l e s ,

i t s s e p a r a t i o n i s shown i n the

c h a r t by a d ou b le l i n e ) , and 2 ) t h a t which e x i s t s between the t a b l a and th e o t h e r major drum t y p e s .

Concerning t h i s a s p e c t , th e l e t t e r s N, D,

P and M p l a c e d on th e r i g h t - h a n d s i d e o f each column s ta n d f o r th e words naqqara, d h o l a k , pakhavaj and mixed.

The f i r s t time t h a t a b o l or b o l

n u c l e u s which may be i n t e r p r e t e d in more than one way i s p r e s e n t e d , an a s t e r i s k i s placed a f t e r i t . r e c t l y b e n e at h th e c h a r t .

These i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s a r e e x p l a i n e d d i ­

When a p p l i c a b l e , b o l n u c l e i which ar e r e g u ­

l a r l y pl ay ed t o g e t h e r but which can be

d i v id e d

i n t o s m a l l e r independent

p a t t e r n s are s e p a r a t e d by an a p o s t r o p h e . Whenever the b o l n u c l e u s i s r e t a i n e d between s c h o o l s , but the s t r o k e n u c l e u s i s a l t e r e d , t h e r e a d e r i s r e f e r r e d t o th e a l t e r e d v e r s i o n . F i n a l l y , some s t r o k e n u c l e i , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e d e r i v e d from t h e pa kh av aj , a r e sometimes camouflaged when spoken as b o l s .

A lt ho ug h th e primary

r e a s o n i s t o s i m p l i f y p r o n u n c i a t i o n , t o anyone u n f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e s e d e v ia tio n s , the r e su lt

is confusing.

For t h i s r e a so n a l i s t

of n u c le i,

a s pl ay ed and as f r e q u e n t l y r e c i t e d , i s appended t o t h e c h a r t .

56

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CHART 1 COMPARISON OF DELHI, PURAB AND PUNJABI BAJ STROKE NUCLEI Purab Baj

D e l h i Baj

Dahina A s t r o k e

Dahina A s t r o k e nana nara tata dhar/a) dhadha

Pun jab i Baj

N D -------see B str o k e s -------see B str o k e s nara-na --------

natina* tatina dhat ina dhadh ina dhadhindha

N

natit ta t it dhatit

N D see B stro k es see B strok es

n atit! tat i t ! dhatit!

D see B stro k es

na -na'dha*" na-radha ^ dha-na'dha dha-ra'dha

N D

tatraka dhatraka

N D

na'ka n l ’ga tfaRa dhaga

N D

n^ V a ti t t 'a k a t i t dhagatit

N D

n!a)k a t i t ! tS’k a t i t ! dhagatit!

-------see B strok es see B stro k es see B s tr o k e s see B strokes

-------see B s tr o k e s see B strok es _____ see B stro k es see B stro k es

D .

see B stro k es see B stro k es

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D e l h i Baj nakin'a*’ n^gina'*' d h a g in a 'd ha t a g e ' tinagina

Purab Baj

i

P un ja bi Baj

N D see B strokes N Dahina Bo s t r o k e

Dahina Bo s t r o k e

Dahina Bo s t r o k e - tm a dhina' dhindha

N

t iria'ka dhiriaka dhiria’ga dhind ha ge' dh a

N

tata dhadha

P

ta-na'ta dha- na' dha d h a - r a 'd h a

P

tatit dhatit dha-dhit-

P

ta (-)titi dha ( - ) t i t i

dha-na'dha

P

P

ta(-)tete dha ( - ) t e t e

P

t a - t i r a k i t*a d h a - t i r a k i t*a

P

ta-teteketa dha-teteketa

P

tatraka dha traka

P

dhadinta'kat*

P

dhaditage

P

tike(-)na

P

takita

P

taktta

P

tagetifa dhagetita

P

taketete dhagetete

P

dhaga din 'd in

P

dha ga di *d i

P

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D e l h i Saj

Purab Baj

; Dahina Co-Cc s t r o k e N

d ina 1t a ’ka dhi na 'd ha g e dhina ' liaka

N

N

dinaka dhinaga

N

dina'kina d i n a ' gin a d h i n a ' gina

N

dina'kiranaka d h in a' gh e r an ag a

N

4

Dahina Co-Cc s t r o k e

Dahina Co-Cc s t r o k e

d i n a 1ta dh in a 'd ha

j • • fdin a i t rt Hrt HO 3 O

3*

T3

tti

P a.

3 - - - - - - - -

o

---------- --------------- ^

.............................

AH

- -

~

3

Hi

____________ ______

Cl

(D

H

...............................................

pattern

...................................................

_________ A. .

Hi

- -

ii

ii

3

it

* A l l 6 - b o l p a t t e r n s = 3+3 or 2+2+2- b o l n u c l e i A l l 8 -b ol . p a t t e r n s = 4 + 4 - b o l n u c l e i The above c h a r t shows t h a t a l l t y p e s o f l a g g i s , w i t h the e x c e p t i o n o f 2 - p a r t dugun- and c a u g u n - d i v i s i o n s t r u c t u r e s , u t i l i z e o n l y b o l n u c l e i o f equal len gth.

The e x c e p t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s may be c o n s t r u c t e d out of

v a r i o u s co m b in a t i o n s o f 3+3+2 (or 6+6+4) b o l n u c l e i .

The b a s i c b o l nuc­

l e i co m b in a t i o n s g i v e n above may be m u l t i p l i e d by 2 or 4 , de pe nd in g upon whether the l a g g i i s 2 - or 4 - p a r t . Stress G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , the s y s t e m o f s t r e s s p a r a l l e l s t h a t o f the b o l nuclei structure.

For i n s t a n c e : DHA-TR KT'DHIN NA'TI KETI / .

T h is type

o f s t r e s s , when f e l t ov e r a p e r i o d o f s e v e r a l c y c l e s , amounts a lm o s t to an a c c e n t u a l d e v i c e .

In l a g g i s c o n t a i n i n g 4 - b o l n u c l e i

(as t h e examples

in B4 a b o v e ) , t h e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e i s t o make the s t r e s s c o i n c i d e w i t h the m e t r i c a c c e n t .

However, i n t h e s e same l a g g i s t h e p o i n t o f s t r e s s

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may e a s i l y be s h i f t e d , a s i n the p a t t e r n TADHI DHARA.

Here the performer

might ch o o se t o s t r e s s TA, DHI or DHA (not RA).

The o n l y s t i p u l a t i o n i s

t h a t he remain c o n s i s t e n t f o r the e n t i r e c y c l e .

As the above p a t t e r n s

s e r v e o n l y as b a s i c m o d e ls , the performer i s a l s o f r e e t o s h u f f l e h i s b o l p a t t e r n s , thus a g a i n c r e a t i n g a new s t r e s s p a t t e r n .

I f the p a t t e r n

GHINA TITDHI, f o r i n s t a n c e , becomes TITDHI GHINA, and t h i s i s m a in ta i n e d f o r s e v e r a l c y c l e s , the t en d e n c y on the par t o f the l i s t e n e r ,

i f not the

m u s i c i a n s t h e m s e l v e s , i s t o change th e b o l s t r u c t u r e t o DHIGHI NATIT, however incongruous a p a t t e r n t h i s may be t o the ta b la p l a y e r .

Th is f r e e ­

dom o f b o l or b o l - p a i r m a n i p u l a t i o n and o f v a r i a b l e s t r e s s pl acement b e l o n g s almost e x c l u s i v e l y t o na qq ara -d er ive d p a t t e r n s .

As one o f the

more s i g n i f i c a n t t e c h n i q u e s in tab la performance, and one which the pakhavaj ha s o n l y been a b l e t o copy from the naqqara i n a v e r y i m p e r f e c t manner, i t s

importance d e s e r v e t o be emphasized.

M e tr ic ac c en t The b a s i c 2 - or 4 - b e a t s t r u c t u r e o f th e l a g g i s has a l r e a d y been men­ tioned.

Within t h i s s t r u c t u r e , how ever, two c a t e g o r i e s o f h e i r a r c h i c a l

m e t r i c a c c e n t may be c l e a r l y d i s c e r n e d .

The f i r s t

b e a t s 1 and 3, t h e secon d around b e a t s 1 and 4 .

i s c e n t e r e d around

Upon i n v e s t i g a t i n g the

t y p e s o f p a t t e r n s which f i t w i t h i n ea c h o f t h e s e c a t e g o r i e s , on d i s c o v ­ e r s t h a t most d h o l a k - d e r i v e d p a t t e r n s

(v er y o f t e n 2 - p a r t ) emphasize b e a t s

1 and 3 whereas n a q q a r a - d e r iv e d p a t t e r n s ( o f t e n 4 - p a r t ) emphasize th e f i r s t and f o u r t h .

This

f e r i n g t re a t m e n t s

d i f f e r e n c e in emphasis i s born out i n the e q u a l l y d i f ­ o f th e k h a l i .

K h a li The standard t i o n , however, i s

l a g g i al wa ys c o n t a i n s a k h a l i - l i k e not a l w a y s the t h i r d .

section.

This s e c ­

I t i s sometimes the s e c o n d , as

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i n exa mp les A4, 5 , 6 , 7 and 9, and sometimes the t h i r d and f o u r t h , as in A3 and 8 .

The important f a c t , h o w ev e r , i s t h a t a much g r e a t e r p r o p o r t i o n

o f 2 - p a r t l a g g i s have a v a r i a b l e k h a l i than 4 - p a r t .

Although i t

i s some­

ti m e s d i f f i c u l t t o s e p a r a te t h e l i n e s o f d e r i v a t i o n b e c a u s e o f t h e constand bo r r o w i n g , a s a g e n e r a l r u l e most o f the 4- par t, p a t t e r n s are naqqara-derived.

And, i n p r a c t i c e , an e q u a l number o f 2 - p a r t p a t t e r n s

are d h o l a k - o r i e n t e d .

As mentioned i n e a r l i e r c h a p t e r s , the 4 - p a r t

p r i n c i p l e , as w e l l as the t h i r d - s e c t i o n k h a l i and th e f o u r t h - s e c t i o n primary a c c e n t ar e g i f t s from t h e naqqara t o t h e t a b l a .

To f i n d them

he r e i s t o t r a c e them back t o what might v e r y p o s s i b l y have been t h e i r o r i g i n a l form. Bo l n u c l e i The b o l n u c l e i are c o n f i n e d p r i m a r i l y t o t h o s e s i m p l e p a t t e r n s p e r ­ formed on the dh o la k and naqqara. tabla e q u iv a le n ts .

The b o l s t h e m s e l v e s a r e , o f c o u r s e ,

In the f o l l o w i n g l i s t

i t i s t o be un d ers to od t ha t

th e c o m p o si t e b o l n u c l e i have e q u i v a l e n t s i n g l e - h e a d b o l n u c l e i which apply in k h a li s e c t io n s . 1 - s t r o k e n u c l e u s : na ( d h a ) , t i n ( d h i n ) , t i k (Be; d a h i n a ; d e r i v e d from t a s a ; r a r e l y u s e d ) , t i t , g e , k e . 2 - s t r o k e n u c l e u s : dhara, d h a d h in , d h i n a , d h i g a , dh a g e , g i n a , t i t a , taka, kra. 3 - s t r o k e n u c l e u s : d h a g i n a , g a t a g a , dha’g e g e . 4 - s t r o k e n u c l e u s : d h i n a g i n a , t a k a d h i n a , g h i n a d h a r a , ghera nag a, d h a t i n a r a , d h a g e t i t a , dh'adhindhage, t i r a k i t a . With t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e l e s s p r o m i n e n t l y p l a c e d c l o s e d b o l s , a l l b o l n u c l e i ar e formed o f c o m b i n a t i o n s o f t h e bayan GE s t r o k e and t h e dahina c a n t i NA or l a v T I ( N ) , i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h o s e b o l s which do not r e q u i r e a c o m p o si t e head f o r p e r fo r m a nc e .

A l l 4 - s t r o k e n u c l e i , when pl a y ed as

f l i p - s t r o k e p a t te r n s , u t i l i z e the s y a h i .

However, on t h e i r o r i g i n a l

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i n s tr u m e n ts • t h e y would be pl ay ed on th e c a n t i and "lav." Stro ke d e n s i t y Depending upon th e d i v i s i o n

(du-, t i - ,

c a u - or athgun) th e s t r o k e

d e n s i t y w i l l remain c o n s i s t e n t f o r t h e e n t i r e p a t t e r n .

The s l i g h t d e ­

v i a t i o n from t h i s r u l e oc c ur s i n 2 forms: 1) 1 u n i t o.f the d i v i s i o n w i l l be d i v i d e d i n t o 2.

T h is o c c u r s o n l y w i t h the c l o s e d b o l s TITA, TIRAKITA,

KRA and TAKA; 2 ) 2 u n i t s o f the d i v i s i o n w i l l be combined i n t o 1.

This

oc c ur s o n l y w i t h t h e open b o l s DHA, DHIN and GE. D e r i v a t i v e and r e l a t e d p a t t e r n s T h is s u b j e c t i s one o f c o n f u s i o n , as n e i t h e r m u s i c i a n s nor mus ico ­ l o g i s t s can a g r e e upon t h e natu re o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p . temporary performance 2 s e p a r a t e p r a c t i c e s emer ge .

In terms o f con­

The f i r s t ,

s e e m i n g ly

c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o th e l a g g i , i s one in which m o s t l y 4 - p a r t p a t t e r n s are used i n th e accompaniment o f j h a l a s e c t i o n s o f s i t a r / s a r o d and s a h n i i p e r fo r m a n c e s.

The second i s a d e f i n i t e l y d e r i v a t i v e p r a c t i c e ,

l a g g i s are made t h e s u b j e c t o f s y s t e m a t i c v a r i a t i o n .

The f i r s t

s e n t i a l l y an accompanying t e c h n i q u e , the second a s o l o .

in which is e s ­

The pr oba bl e

h i s t o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between them i s d i s c u s s e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n and i n Chapter V I I . L a r i . --T he primary s t u m b l i n g b l o c k in th e e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e s e p r a c t i c e s i s t h e f a c t t h a t one word i s sometimes used f o r b o t h - l a r i . In g e n e r a l p a r l a n c e t h i s word means a " s t r i n g " o f p e a r l s , a "s trand" o f ro p e , or a " c h a i n . " spaced e v e n t s .

As such i t

The l a r i ,

im p lies a continuous s e r i e s o f t i g h t l y

i n i t s r o l e as a s y s t e m a t i c v a r i a t i o n form,

i s t r e a t e d a s a po pu la r 8-matra c a u g u n - d i v i s i o n v e r s i o n o f the c l a s s i c a l 16-ma'tra caugun-d i v i s i o n l a g g i - k a y a d a or l a g g i - b a n t .

(The term kayada

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i s p r e f e r r e d by D e l h i baj p l a y e r s , t h a t o f baht by Purab, s p e c i f i c a l l y Banaras g h a r a n l , p l a y e r s . )

As a s y s t e m a t i c v a r i a t i o n th e l a r i i s

t r e a t e d in Chapter V I I . As an accompanying t e c h n i q u e , th e l a r i i s s i m i l a r t o the rau ( s e e r e l a , p.

157) i n t h a t i n i t s b a s i c form i t m a i n t a i n s the vi bh a g s t r u c t u r e

o f the t a l , most o f t e n t i n t a l ,

i s performed in a t i - d r u t

l a y and depends

f o r i t s e f f e c t on r e g u l a r s t r o k e a c c e n t u a t i o n s and, whenever p o s s i b l e , on c o - o r d i n a t i o n o f a c c e n t s between th e s t r i n g or p ip e and the drum. The j h a l a o f a s i t a r or s a r o d , w i t h which the l a r T i s most fre-' quently aligned,

i s a drut t o a t i - d r u t s t r o k e te c h n iq u e in wh ich a p a r ­

t i c u l a r p i t c h or s v a r i s s u s t a i n e d over th e r a p i d l y plucked drone or cik arl strings.

The b a s i c rhythmic p a t t e r n i s q u a d r a t i c in s t r u c t u r e :

The j h a l a s e c t i o n has been borrowed by the s i t a r and sarod

*

L=y

from th e

b l n and rabab t r a d i t i o n s ,

the h i s t o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p o f

which i s d i s c u s s e d in th e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n . s e v e r a l s e c t i o n s o f what i s known as a l a y and are accompanied by th e pak havaj.

In t h e s e t r a d i t i o n s ,

b i n or rabab a l a p , are i n drut Of t h e s e , t h r e e , b e c a u s e o f

t h e i r strumming t e c h n i q u e s , are c l o s e l y r e l a t e d t o the p r e s e n t s u b j e c t . These are the j h a l a , thonk j h a l a and l a r i p a t t e r n gro ups .

These t e c h ­

ni q u e s are c o n s t r u c t e d on th e p r i n c i p l e o f t h e s h o r t , v a r i a b l e s t r e s s p a t t e r n which i s open t o c o n s t a n t d u r a t i o n a l and b o l m a n i p u l a t i o n . During t h e s e s e c t i o n s th e pakhavaj i s e x p e c t e d t o match th e s t r i n g p a t t e r n s in s t r e s s a r t i c u l a t i o n . In the j h a l a t h e r e p e t i t i o n i s o f t e n q u a d r a t i c . jhala

In the thonk

( a l s o p l a y e d by t h e s i t a r and s a r o d , bu t as pa r t o f the j h a l a ) ,

i r r e g u l a r i t y o f d u r a t i o n , in th e form o f h e a v i l y s t r e s s e d 2 - , 3 - and 4 b o l n u c l e i i s th e o b j e c t .

In t h i s s e c t i o n t h e pakhavaj w i l l t a k e a

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b a s i c a l l y q u a d r a t i c formula l i k e

DHA GEGE GE and change i t

to the

a-

symmetric p a t t e r n DHA GE GE1 DHA GE GE1DHA GE. The t o t a l l e n g t h o f such p a t t e r n s i s s t i l l 8 , 12 or 16 b o l s .

The l a r i s e c t i o n i s comprised

o f s m a l l s v a r p a t t e r n s , one a t a time o f which w i l l be exposed t o a v a r ie t y o f s t r e s s groupings. than the j h a l a s e c t i o n .

The o r g a n i z a t i o n sounds l e s s q u a d r a t i c

The pakhavaj p l a y s lo ng s t r i n g s o f 2 - , 3 - ,

4 - , 6- and 8 - b o l n u c l e i , hooked t o g e t h e r t o form ph r a se s which are not clearly articulated.

Concerning the pakhavaj p a t t e r n s , th os e used f o r

t h e j h i l a s e c t i o n s emphasize the

ki r ia r i o f t h e dahina and use s t r e s s as

t h e main form o f a r t i c u l a t i o n , whereas t h o s e which accompany th e l a r i a re more complex in t h e i r timbre v a r i a t i o n and u t i l i z e many hand s t r o k e s , o f t e n c l o s e d . The f i r s t two t y p e s have been borrowed by the t a b l a , but no t the t h i r d .

However, i t s name has been adop ted .

Examples o f t y p i c a l l a r i s used in th e accompaniment o f a s i t a r / sarod j h a l a s e c t i o n are: 1. dha ge t i ta / m u l t i p l i e d 4 J L T „ I II II 2 . dha ge ge g e f

O

3.

dha

ti

These p a t t e r n s

t i dha/ - dhi t i t

times i n a t i - d r u t t i n t a l . II

II

II

II

II

. t a / r e p e a te d once i n t i n t a l .

s t r e s s the f i r s t matra o f e ac h vibhag or vibhag p a i r and

are q u a d r a t i c i n s t r u c t u r e .

Although t h i s t y p e o f r e g u l a r 2 - or 4 - p a r t

s t r u c t u r e i s s ta n d a r d , s e v e r a l t y p e s o f v a r i a t i o n s on the model a r e a l s o possib le.

These would i n c l u d e :

1. The 2 - p a r t s t r u c t u r e i n which the primary a cc en t i s not emphasized; a s ta nd ar d p a t t e r n i s 3+3+2: dha

ge

n a ' dha /

ge n a 1 dhi g e , / r e p e a t e d once in t i n t a l .

2 . The 2 or 4 - p a r t s t r u c t u r e i n which th e r e g u l a r l y r e c u r r i n g s t r e s s a c c e n t i s s h i f t e d o f f the primary b e a t ; t h i s may or may not i n v o l v e a s i l e n t primary b e a t : ( ge) dha t i ta / m u l t i p l i e d 4 t im e s in t i n t a l .

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O b v i o u s l y th e c o n n e c t i o n between t h i s type o f t i n t a l - o r i e n t e d and t h e k a h a r v a - o r i e n t e d l a g g i i s ve r y c l o s e .

lari

The f a c t t h a t l a g g i p a t ­

t e r n s are c o n t i n u a l l y be in g borrowed f o r j h i l a accompaniment makes th e r e l a t i o n s h i p e ve n c l o s e r .

To c om p let e the t r i a n g l e o f r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,

when a t i n t a l v a r i a t i o n i n a t i - d r u t l a y cannot be d i s t i n g u i s h e d from a l a r i which cannot be d i s t i n g u i s h e d from a l a g g i ,

the o n l y re maining

q u e s t i o n , an e s s e n t i a l l y h i s t o r i c a l on e, i s "why." O rigins As most o f the above l a g g i p a t t e r n s are c l e a r l y t r a c e a b l e t o e i t h e r t he naqqara or the d h ol ak , the q u e s t i o n o f o r i g i n s a p p e a r s , at f i r s t g l a n c e , t o have bee n answered.

The o r i e n t a t i o n o f dahina b o l s on and

around the c a n t i o f the drumhead, th e e x a c t c o m p o s i t i o n o f b o l n u c l e i and t h e prominent u s e of the p r e s s u r e GE s t r o k e i n the d h o l a k - d e r i v e d p a t t e r n s c l e a r l y i n d i c a t e t h e i n s tr u m e n ts o f g r e a t e s t i n f l u e n c e t o be t h o s e the heads o f which are s i m p l e and which a c h i e v e t h e i r g r e a t e s t e f f e c t more by v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f s t r e s s and p i t c h than o f t i m b r e .

The

most ob vi ous c a n d i d a t e s fo r t h i s p o s i t i o n are the b a r r e l and he m is p h e r ­ i c a l drums, such as the d h o l a k , n a l , naqqara and t a s a c a t o r y names).

The frame drum, the

(to give c l a s s i f i -

d a f , and the h o u r - g l a s s drum, the

huruk, which f u n c t i o n much as th e d h o l a k , cannot be o v e r l o o k e d .

A ll

u t i l i z e t y p e s o f p a t t e r n s wh ich are e i t h e r known as l a g g i s or a c t l i k e them i n t h a t t h e i r p a t t e r n s ,

fo rm ul at e d around f o l k t a l s

in 6 and 8 , are

s i m p l e , r e p e t i t i v e s t r u c t u r e s composed f o r performance a t high te m pi , the f u n c t i o n o f which i s t o form a m u s i c a l b r i d g e o f some t y p e . b r i d g e i s u s u a l l y a dance s e c t i o n between two sung s e c t i o n s . A t y p i c a l d h o l a k l a g g i t r a n s f e r r e d i n t a c t t o th e t a b l a i s : gin

ta'dha

-ga'

dhana / g i n

ta'ta

-ka

tana / /

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Th is

The b o l TA, i n t h i s c o n t e x t ,

i s a loud s l a p by from 2 t o 4 f i n g e r s

on the back edge o f th e dahina rim o f t h e d h o l a k .

When borrowed by

th e t a b l a t h i s te c h n iq u e i s v e r y o f t e n r e t a i n e d w i t h o u t a l t e r a t i o n . An example of a t a s a l a g g i would be: dha--ra

dha'ta

-rata-'

The b o l T I , or TIK as i t

t ikat ik a/d h a--ra

i s sometimes c a l l e d ,

dha'dha - r a d h a - t i k a t i l c a / i s used f o r t h a t t a s a

s t i c k s t r o k e which remains on t h e s u r f a c e o f the head, p r o d u c i n g a d u l l th ud .

Th is s t r o k e i s adapted t o the d a h i n l o f t h e t a b l a by s l a p p i n g the

pad o f the i n d e x f i n g e r down upon the l a v and l e t t i n g i t remain t h e r e l ong enough t o deaden the sound.

Althoug h t h i s s t r o k e i s not y e t r e ­

c o g n i z e d as a l e g i t i m a t e t a b l a s t r o k e , the r e p e r t o r y o f l a g g i t e c h n i q u e s .

i t has be en a c c e p t e d as p a r t o f

On an i n t e r e s t i n g t a n g e n t , a s t r o k e

ve r y s i m i l a r t o t h i s i s used by the Karnatak mrdanga, but not by the North In d i a n p a k h l v a j . A t y p i c a l naqqara l a g g i i s : - d h i n na na / na d h i n na na / r e p e a t e d once in t i n t a l . The r e p e t i t i v e s t r o k e s and th e r e g u l a r l y s t r e s s e d DHIN s t r o k e ar e e a s i l y performed on th e naqqara by a l t e r n a t i n g r i g h t - and l e f t - h a n d s t i c k s on th e j h i l . Most t a b l a l a g g i s r e t a i n th e stamp o f t h e i r former owner in such c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s as 1) s p e c i f i c b o l n u c l e i :

from the naqqara come b o l s

l i k e DHARA, GHERANAGA, DHINADHA- ,DHINAKA, NAGA, TAKA and KRA(N); from the dh o l a k come b o l s l i k e DHAGE (-)NA or TAKE(-)NA, TIRAKITA, DHINAGHINA, DHIGADHAGE, TI(-)KA and GHIN-(-)TA DHA; 2 ) s p e c i f i c s t r u c t u r e s : g r e a t e r r e l i a n c e on t h e 4 - p a r t s t r u c t u r e in p a t t e r n s d e r i v e d from th e he m is p he r­ i c a l drums, and on the 2 - p a r t i n t h o s e d e r i v e d from t h e b a r r e l . However o b vi ou s th e t a b l a - n a q q i r a - d h o l a k r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h r e s p e c t

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t o th e l a g g i , one f a c t e x i s t s w h ic h ,

i f not i m p o s s i b l e t o e x p l a i n i n

terms o f t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p , d o e s pose problems i n t h a t i t adds a some­ what f o r e i g n elem ent t o i t .

B a s i c a l l y , t h i s involves the very sim ila r

p a t t e r n s p l a y e d by the b a r r e l - s h a p e d drums w i t h co m p o sit e h e a d s , the c l a s s i c a l and f o l k v a r i e t i e s o f t h e pakhavaj and the f o l k drum known a s the k h o l .

A l l o f the drums mentioned above have sim pl e heads and

l a g g i s are d e s ig n e d t o emp hasize the s t r o n g e s t a s p e c t s o f t h i s con­ struction .

However, b o t h th e pakhavaj and k h o l (as w e l l a s th e t a b l a ,

o f c o u r s e ) , are f i t t e d w i t h c o m p o si t e heads which can ha nd le a g r e a t e r v a r i e t y o f s t r o k e s and t im b r e s than i s r e q u i r e d f o r the l a g g i . In the case o f the kh o l and f o l k v e r s i o n o f the p a k h a v a j , such as t h a t found around Mathura, th e p a t t e r n s f u n c t i o n and sound much l i k e t h e y do on the dhol ak: t h e y a r e drum i n t e r l u d e s or b r i d g e s , o f t e n w i t h dance.

On the o t h e r hand, t h e c l a s s i c a l pakhavaj performs s i m i l a r but

more e x t e n s i v e p a t t e r n s which have a d i f f e r e n t f u n c t i o n , t h a t o f a c ­ companiment f o r the j h a l l and j h a l a - r e l a t e d s e c t i o n s i n a rabab or bin

a l a p per for m anc e.

For want o f a b e t t e r name, t h e s e p a t t e r n s ar e a

t yp e o f pa r an , sometimes r e f e r r e d t o i n terms o f the a l a p s e c t i o n w i t h wh ic h t h e y are a l i g n e d . As mentioned e a r l i e r ,

t h e pakhavaj p a t t e r n s used in a j h a l a , thonk

j h a l a and l a r i s e c t i o n o f an a l a p are b a s i c a l l y s h o r t and tend toward t h e q u a d r a t i c in s t r u c t u r e .

S i g n i f i c a n t l y th e two most f r e q u e n t l y used

t a l s are t r i t S l and c a u t a l , both o r g a n i z e d i n t o q u a d r a t i c s u b - s t r u c t u r e s . An example o f a ve r y s im p l e l a g g i - l i k e paran i n madhya t i n t a l ,

in which

t h e b a s i c b e a t i s a 1-matra u n i t , i s a s f o l l o w s : x __ _ dhagegedha o dlgegege

o g e g e d h a g e 1 dhagege ge 3 riagegege, / d h a g e t a g e

__ tagegege, / digenage1

2t _ t dlgegedi gegedige1 4 t e t a k a t a gadigana / /

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T h i s example shows the type o f q u a d r a t i c a l l y d i v i d e d b o l n u c l e u s whi c h, a l t h o u g h standard on the t a b l a ,

i s f a r l e s s so on the p a k h a v a j .

few e x c e p t i o n s th e b o l s ar e o pe n.

With

The r e p e a t e d GEs p r e v e n t t h e p a t t e r n

from b e i n g p l a y e d as f a s t as i t s d h o l a k and t a b l a c o u n t e r p a r t s , which employ a l t e r n a t i v e f i n g e r s t r o k e s , but the b a s i c b o l p a t t e r n i s i d e n ­ tica l.

In t h i s r e ga rd , i t

i s i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t a l t h o u g h the main pakh­

avaj t r a d i t i o n s do not attem pt t o employ a p r e s s u r e GE s t r o k e

(obviously

r e q u i r e d i n su ch a p a t t e r n s a s the a b o v e ) , r e g i o n a l l y c o n f i n e d t r a d i t i o n s i n t h e Punjab and P a k i s t a n p u r p o s e l y reduce th e amount o f a ta on the bayah i n or der t o perform r ud im e nt a r y GE p r e s s s t r o k e s .

(Although not

a c c e p t e d as a t r a d i t i o n a l s t r o k e , th e gumiki o f th e South I n d i a n mrdanga i s o b v i o u s l y an attempt t o a c h i e v e t h i s same e f f e c t .

The t h e o r y advanced

by R obert Brown i s t h a t pe rhaps t h i s s t r o k e was borrowed from the t a b l a . 1 B e c a u s e o f th e much g r e a t e r age and g e o g r a p h i c spread o f th e d h o l a k , th is

i s p r o ba bl y the more i n f l u e n t i a l o f the t w o . )

In the above example

t h e primary a c c e n t e d b o l s r e f l e c t th e g r e a t e r s t r o k e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f th e p a k h a v a j : DHA TA DI and NA.

The TETAKATA GADIGANA n u c l e u s i s p u r e l y

pakhavaj and f u n c t i o n s as the c a d e n t i a l fo rmula. A much more e l a b o r a t e e x a m p le , i n t r i t a l ,

i s 6 avartans in length

and combines b a s i c l a g g i s t r o k e n u c l e i , v a r i o u s l y d i v i d e d i n t o 2 - , 3 and 4 - b o l s e g m e n t s , w i t h st an d ar d 6 - and 8 - b o l pakhavaj n u c l e i t o a c h i e v e g r e a t e r v a r i a t i o n i n s t r o k e s , phrase d u r a t i o n and matra d i v i s i o n . Th is type o f u s e , r a t i o n i s found,

in which l a y - b a n t or f l u c t u a t i o n i n d e n s i t y and du­ i s a l s o s u i t a b l e f o r s o l o pakhavaj per for ma nc e.

The

p h r a s e s are o f t e n camouflaged; t h e r e i s no c or re s p on d en ce betwe en the k h a l i - l i k e s e c t i o n s and t h e t a l s t r u c t u r e .

T h is i s p u r e l y an e x e r c i s e

i n v a r i a b l e b o l nu c l e u s d u r a t i o n conveyed through t h e medium o f v a r i a b l e

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X dhage dige dh agege'dha d i g e g e 'd x

2 gege ' gege ' gege'dhage' gege ' d i g e '

o t ag e nage tagege'ta nagege 'na

3 gege' gege ' gege'tage g e g e 'n a g e

gegedhage gegedTga dhagedhage digedige

-dhagege' -d igege' dhagegege' digegege'

ge ge ta ge gegenage tagetage nage nage

-tagege' -nagege, tagegege' nage g e g e ,

dhagediga t a ge ha ge dha k t t k 1dhuma t r k t t k 'ta

tage'nage d ige'tage k t t k '.dhage k t t k 'tage

digatage' nagedige' dhagege' ta t a g e g e 'd i

nagedhage fa ge n a g e , gegetige' gege nag e,

dhagegege ta g e g e g e dhatrkt'dha t a t r k t ' ta

-dhagege' -tagege ' ged igedha ge digedha

trkttkta trkttkta gedige'dha gegedige'

gege ta ge ' gege naga, g e tr kt dh a trkttkta,

dhage-dha na g e -g e geged i n nagegena

-ge-dha -na-ge' — 'tage gege nage '

-ge- dha digadhage t r k t t k ' ta dha k t tkd h u ma

trkj: ' ta g e gedhagege gege nage kt tk g d g n ,

trkttkta' d l'gegeta dha k t; tkdhuma dha--;dha

dhage geta gegedige kttk g dg n: gegedha-;

g e ge di ge d i g e gege dhagegege dhagegedha

genagege' getagege, dhagegege - jdhagege

/ dha.

Other than t h o s e s t r u c t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which are o b v i o u s l y pakhavajr e l a t e d , such as the m u l t i - c y c l i c l e n g t h and th e c a d e n t i a l t i h a i a t the end, the most s i g n i f i c a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s s t r u c t u r a l l y are t h o s e d e c i d ­ e d l y u n p a k h a v a j - l i k e a s p e c t s such as the p r e s e n c e o f a k h a l i ( s e e the s y s t e m a t i c a l l y r e c u r r i n g p a s s a g e s i n which a TA or NA r e p l a c e s a DHA or DI i n a p r e v i o u s p a t t e r n ) on one or more q u a r t e r s o f an 8-matra p h r a s e , the p r e s e n c e o f 2 - or 4 - p a r t ph ra se s c o n s t r u c t e d around the h a l f c y c l e , and t h e t a k i n g o f a s h o r t b o l n uc le us and s y s t e m a t i c a l l y r e - a r r a n g i n g i t s components.

Of a l l t h e drums e x i s t e n t t o d a y i n North I n d i a , the

o n l y one which u s e s t h e s e t e c h n i q u e s , t o t h e e x c l u s i o n o f al mo st a l l

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others,

i s the naqqara.

And t h e •naqqara has be e n r ub bi ng s h o u l d e r s w i t h

the pakh av aj, both i n s i d e and o u t s i d e the Muslim c o u r t s ,

fo r a t l e a s t

400 y e a r s . Summai'y As s e en i n the above p a t t e r n s , th e t a b l i l a g g i / l a r i and the l a g g i s o f the naqqara and dh ol ak a r e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d .

The d h o l a k - d e r i v e d

p a t t e r n s tend t o be 2 - p a r t w i t h a g r e a t e r p o r p o r t i o n o f c l o s e d and s i n g l e b o l s and o f b o l s w i t h d i f f e r i n g l e n g t h s ; t h e na qq a ra -d er iv ed p a t t e r n s are very o f t e n 4 - p a r t and c o n t a i n b o l s which are open and s i n g l e and f r e q u e n t l y o f t h e same l e n g t h .

The t a b l a has c o n s i d e r a b l y

mixed, v a r i e d , extended t h e l e n g t h and b o l c o n t e n t and, in the c a s e o f the s i t a r / s a r o d j h a l a and s a h n a i l a r i accompaniment, s u p p o se d l y even changed the f u n c t i o n o f t h e s e p a t t e r n s . However, the l a g g i as a s e t o f qu a d r a t i c b o l n u c l e i played i n a t i drut l a y has a h i s t o r y i n I n d i a as ol d as t h a t o f the naqqara.

In t h i s

c a p a c i t y i t has t r a d i t i o n a l l y f u n c t i o n e d not o n l y i n dance segments o f f o l k music or drama, as i n t h e n a ut a nk i which i s s o popular around Luck­ now and Kanpur t o d a y , but a l s o , and t h i s i s th e most s i g n i f i c a n t area in terms o f the pakhlvaj and t a b l a j h a l a p a t t e r n s , men ta l naubat ensembles o f t h e Muslim c o u r t s . are almos t e x t i n c t in North Indi a t o da y i t

i n the p u r e l y i n s t r u ­ B ec aus e t h e s e ense mble s

is easy to forget th e ir h i s ­

t o r i c a l importance i n the development o f the m u s i c . i n which 1 0 - ,

Within t h i s c o n t e x t ,

1 2 - , 14- and 16-matra t a l s were r e q u i r e d , the matra l a y

di d not change but the b o l d e n s i t y w i t h i n th e matra d i d . standard

W ithin the

b i n / r a b a b a l a p t h e matra l a y should remain c o n s t a n t .

As i n

the paran g i v e n abov e, b e c a u s e t h i s matra remains s t a b l e a t madhya l a y , i t always r e t a i n s i t s f u n c t i o n as a b e a t .

S t r a n g e l y enough, one o t h e r

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i n s t r u m e n t a l t r a d i t i o n m a i n t a i n s an al mo st c o n s t a n t matra v a l u e - - t h i s i s t h e s a h n a l / n a q q a r a t r a d i t i o n , whic h t o d ay i s most a c t i v e in th e area o f Ba n a ra s .

The p a t t e r n s wh ich are used on the naqqara i n t h i s c o n t e x t

are known as l a r i p a t t e r n s . In t h e s i t a r / s a r o d t r a d i t i o n th e l a r i p a t t e r n s have been borrowed, p r o b a b l y not d i r e c t l y from t h e naubat t r a d i t i o n , nor e v e n through the s a h n i i / n a q q a r a e ns e m bl e , but b y w a y o f the more c l o s e l y r e l a t e d rabab/pakhavaj

i n s t r u m e n t a l a l a p w h i c h , bj- the way, i s an almost p u r e l y

i n s t r u m e n t a l form. bin/rabab

b in /

The pr im ar y d i f f e r e n c e between t h e s i t a r / s a r o d and

use o f t h e s e p a t t e r n s l i e s

to da y in the l a y : a t y p i c a l s i t a r

j h a l a i s c o n s t r u c t e d around a matra v a l u e which may i n c r e a s e from 4 00 t o 600 matras per minu te.

Al t h o u g h j h a l a s are a l s o p l a y e d

( m o s t ly by

th e s a r o d )

i n wh ich the matra v a l u e conforms t o t h a t t r a d i t i o n a l l y s e t

by the bin

and rabab, t h e s e ar e l e s s s ta n d a r d .

Today, t h e r e f o r e , th e t a b l a has been g i v e n two g i f t s and b o t h o f t h e s e come, e i t h e r d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y , i s th e l e g i t i m a t e f o l k l a g g i ,

from the naqqara.

The f i r s t

f i l t e r e d down through s e v e r a l i n s tr u m e n ts

and by way o f t h e f a s t f o l k dance i n t e r l u d e s , t o th e p o p u l a r / c l a s s i c a l thumri t r a d i t i o n ; t h i s i s accompanied by the t a b l a . legitim ate

c la ssica l lari

The second i s the

( c o n s i d e r e d by most t o d a y t o be a d e r i v a t i v e

p a t t e r n o f th e l a g g i ) , f i l t e r e d down through s e v e r a l i n s t r u m e n t s and by way o f the i n s t r u m e n t a l j h a l a and l a r i s e c t i o n s , t o th e c l a s s i c a l s i t a r / sarod t r a d i t i o n ; t h i s i s a l s o accompanied by th e t a b l a .

P e r ha ps , i n

s p i t e o f c u r r e n t t h i n k i n g , th e l a g g i and l a r i a r e j u s t two prongs o f the same f o r k .

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The Re la As e x p l a i n e d i n th e i n t r o d u c t i o n , th e r e l a as a t e c h n i q u e i s s im p l y an al mo st c o n t i n u o u s s e r i e s o f m o s t l y c l o s e d b o l s i n a t i - d r u t this context, is

i t can be a p p l i e d to any t a l ,

lay.

In

t h e matra d u r a t i o n o f which

any l e n g t h , and i t can be pl ay e d by any drum ca pa bl e o f p r o d u c i n g

s e r i e s o f fast-moving closed b o l s .

In p r a c t i c e , however,

it

is lim ited

by the s t r u c t u r e i t most f r e q u e n t l y assumes, t h a t o f th e 2 - or 4 - p a r t t a l . .B e f or e p r e s e n t i n g the f o l l o w i n g examples t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e l a g g i and r e l a .

i t is necessary to c la r if y

Today, a v e r y f a s t p a t t e r n which

has o b v i o u s l y bee n d e r i v e d from the naqqira may o f t e n be c a l l e d a r e l a instead o f a l a g g i.

As the two t e c h n i q u e s a r e c l o s e l y r e l a t e d i n t h e i r

structural rea liza tio n ,

this

is understandable.

However, i t p r ob ab ly

stems from the f a c t t h a t both are D e l h i baj tradem ar ks , bo th are pl a y e d on th e naqqara and both are c o n s i d e r e d t o be open-ended in t h a t new v a r i a t i o n s are c o n s t a n t l y b e i n g c r e a t e d . attests

A lt ho ug h t h i s a s p e c t f u r t h e r

t o th e r e l a t i v e y o u t h f u l n e s s and p o t e n t i a l f o r growth o f the

tabla t r a d i t i o n ,

in th e p r e s e n t s t u d y , f o r t h e sake o f h i s t o r i c a l and

s t y l i s t i c a c c u r a c y , t h e y are s e p a r a t e d . Examples;: stan dar d r e l a models The f o l l o w i n g examples a r e in t i n t a l , as t h i s i s t h e t a l i n which th e r e l a i s most f r e q u e n t l y pl a y e d on t h e t a b l a .

These examples are

r e f e r r e d t o as models b e c a u s e t h e y r e p r e s e n t th e stan dar d r e l a s from which o t h e r s are d e r i v e d .

Alt hou gh t h e r e l a i s c o n s i d e r e d t o be more

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f the D e l h i baj than th e P u r a b , i t i s performed i n both and t h e r e f o r e t h e name o f t h e r e l e v a n t baj i s appended t o e a c h ex ample. The o rd er o f appearance c o r re s p o n d s w i t h f r e q u e n c y o f u s e , p r o c e e d i n g from t h e most t o t h e l e a s t f r e q u e n t l y used p a t t e r n t y p e .

149

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241

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