Shahid_Parvez_Khan_performing_at_a_concert

Benares gharānā (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

History

The

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At the age of nine, Ram moved to

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

to become a disciple of Modhu Khan of the Lucknow gharana. After some time performing in Benares, Pandit Ram Sahai felt the need to make a significant change in his tabla playing. For six months, he withdrew into seclusion, and worked to develop what is now known as the Benares baj or style of tabla playing. The philosophy behind this new style of tabla playing is that it would be versatile enough to perform solo, and to accompany any form of music or dance. The tabla would be able to play delicately, as required for

khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian language, Persian/Arabic language, Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with rom ...

, or more aggressively, like

pakhawaj The ''pakhavaj'' is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South Asian double-headed drums. Its older forms were made with clay. It is the percussion instrumen ...

, for the accompaniment of

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

kathak ''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...

dance. Ram Sahai developed a new way of fingering the tabla strokes; especially important is the sound Na, being played with a curved ring finger to allow for maximum resonance of the dahina. He also composed numerous compositions within existing compositional forms (,, , < etc.) and created new forms, such as , , and .

Characteristics

Today, the Benares tabla gharana is well known for its powerful sound, though Benares players are also very capable of playing delicately and sensitively. The gharana is categorized into the Purbi (eastern) baj, which includes the Farukhabad, Lucknow, and Benares gharanas. The Benares style makes use of the more resonant strokes of tabla, such as Na (played on the lao), and Din.

Exponents

The tabla solo is highly developed in the Benares gharana, and some artists, such as

Anokhelal Mishra Anokhelal Mishra (; 1914.. 10 March 1958) also spelled as Anokhe Lal Misra and commonly known as Pandit Anokhelal-ji was an Indian Tablā Artist who belonged to the Banaras Gharana of Hindustani classical music. Early life Anokhelal was b ...

Samta Prasad Samta Prasad (Hindi : पण्डित सामता प्रसाद; 20 July 1921 – 31 May 1994) was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, ''Meri Sur ...

, Nanhku Maharaj (Fardi Baj)13th generations, and

Kishan Maharaj Pandit Kishan Maharaj (3 September 1923 – 4 May 2008) was an Indian tabla player who belonged to the Benares gharana of Hindustani classical music. Early life and background Maharaj was born to a Brahmin family of hereditary musicians in Kab ...

, have become famous as tabla soloists. The direct descendants making up the 6th generation of tabla players are Mahapurush Misra, Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay (disciple of Mahadev Prasad Mishra), and

Chandra Nath Shastri Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri (, , 23 December 1948), is a tabla (Indian hand percussion) musician from India, currently based in Kolkata. He belongs to the Benares gharana style of Hindustani classical music. He is a retired staff artist of All ...

(disciple of

). The 7th generation consists of

Kumar Bose Pandit Kumar Bose (Bangla পন্ডিত কুমার বোস), born 4 April 1953, is an Indian tabla musician and composer of Indian classical music. Family Bose was born in Kolkata in a musical family. His father, Biswanath Bose, a t ...

, Pt Ashis Chakraborty (disciples of Pt. Mahapurush Mishra) and Sukhwinder Singh 'Pinky' (disciples of

), and Sanju Sahai (disciple of Sharda Sahai) Other noted artists include Kanthe Maharaj, uncle and guru of

, and whose disciples were Badri Maharaj and

Ashutosh Bhattacharya Ashutosh Bhattacharya (17 March 1917 – 8 February 2004) was a noted Indian classical musician of Hindustani classical music from Varanasi, who was a tabla player and music educator, as well as a practicing Ayurvedic doctor. In 1966, he was a ...

. The Benares baj makes use of over 20 different compositional types, and has an enormously varied repertoire of each type. Reputed players of the gharana include

(1914–1958),

(1921–1994), Nanhku Maharaj(1921-1995),

(1923–2008),

(1917–2004), Prakash Maharaj ( born 1945-2003),

(b. 1948), Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay (b. 1942-2021),

(b. 1953),

Udai Mazumdar Udhai Mazumdar (born March 28, 1970) is an Indian tabla player, music producer and composer. Early life Mazumdar was born in Allahabad, and started learning tabla and Hindustani vocals at the age of seven. In 1981, he became a disciple of Kavir ...

(b. 1970), Sandeep Das (b. 1971), Nandan Mehta (1942–2010), Pt.Ravinath Mishra, and Prabhash Maharaj (1982).

References

*Sahai, Sharda and Shepherd, Frances A. 2000 ''Play Tabla, A Manual for Tabla Playing''. Sittingbourne: Asian Education Press. *Shepherd, Frances A. 1976 ''Tabla and the Benares Gharana''. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International. (Ph.D. dissertation).

External links

SBS Radio, Australia - Broadcast: Interview with Chandranath Shastri of Banaras Tabla Gharana about the specialty of Banaras Gharana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benares Gharana Music of Uttar Pradesh