Pandit Taranath Ram Rao Hattiangadi (1915 – 1991) was a performer and teacher of Indian classical percussion, known for his knowledge of rare '' talas'' and old compositions. He represented the Farukhabad, Delhi, and Ajrada ''gharanas'' of

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 ...

, and the Nana Panse tradition of

pakhavaj 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 ...

. He studied formally for 47 years—an exceptional amount of time, even in the Indian master-disciple system—under many ''pandits'' and ''ustads,'' most notably Shamsuddin Khan. He had numerous disciples and students of special training.

Early life and background

Taranath's most significant studentship was under Shamsuddin Khan, ''gurubhai'' of

Ahmed Jan Thirakwa Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan "Thirakwa" (1892 – 13 January 1976) was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the pre-eminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian ...

and main accompanist to

Kirana Gharana The Kirana Gharana is a Hindustani music apprenticeship tradition (''gharana'') made popular by Bande Ali Khan in the 19th Century and his cousins Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan. Evolved from the instrumental and vocal Gauharbani dhru ...

vocalist

Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Khaprumama of Goa, Fayaz Khan of Kanpur, Shankarao Alkutkar, Baburao Ghokle, and Kallu Khan, all noted percussionists.

Performing career

Taranath moved from his native

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

) in 1932, and for decades was a scion of that city's music scene—first as a performer and concert organizer, and later, as his health declined, a musical mentor and authority. On

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

he gave solo recitals and lecture-demonstrations on topics in North and South Indian classical music, most frequently on advanced, historical or unusual rhythmic structures and compositions. He was involved in scholarly projects such as Nikhil Ghosh's ''Encyclopedia of Music and Dance in India'', and was honored in courtly traditions by the

Maharajas Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a prince. However, in late ancient India ...

of Mysore, Kolhapur, Baroda, and Savantwadi. Taranath Rao was a close collaborator with influential figures such as Allaudin Khan (whose early Bombay concerts he was instrumental in arranging),

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitar, sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known expert of Hin ...

(for whom he was an original accompanist) and the revolutionary flautist

Pannalal Ghosh Pandit Pannalal Ghosh (; 24 July 1911 – 20 April 1960), also known as Amal Jyoti Ghosh, was an Indian flute (bansuri) player and composer. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan, and is credited with popularizing the flute as a concert instrument ...

. His erudition and alliance were sought by members of the Bombay ''tabla'' world including Amir Hussain Khan, Pandharinath Nageshkar,

Nikhil Ghosh Pandit Nikhil Jyoti Ghosh (28 December 1918 – 3 March 1995) was an Indian musician, teacher and writer, known for his proficiency in the percussion instrument of tabla. He founded ''Sangit Mahabharati'', an institution of music in 1956, and p ...

and Nizamuddin Khan, and he was a close confidant of

. Rao also provided specialty training to a number of already established artists, many of whom were preparing to accompany rhythm-virtuoso

, among them

Chatur Lal Chatur Lal (16 April 1925 – 14 October 1965) was an Indian tabla player. Career Chatur Lal was born on 16 April 1925 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. He toured with Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee, Baba Allauddin Khan, Sharan Rani and Ali Akbar Kha ...

. As a soloist, Rao was known for the architecture and content of his recitals. These normally weaved together sequences of exclusive, archival material with his original compositions. Such pieces were difficult to execute, drawing upon diverse influences in ''tabla and pakhavaj''. Later in his career, Taranath showcased his style and repertoire through his students, arranging interactive public concerts during which he would lead the performers on

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

and prompt them with spontaneous instructions and recitation of compositions. As teenagers, a number of these disciples earned accolades such as the ''All India Radio Competition President's Award'', and many went on to become master and expert level concert performers. As an accompanist, Rao performed with nearly all prominent vocal and instrumental ''

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

'' legends of his time. These include Allaudin Khan,

Enayat Khan Ustad Enayat Khan (; (1894–1938) also known as Nath Singh was one of India's most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th century. He was the father of Vilayat Khan, one of the top sitariyas (sitar players) of ...

, Hafiz Ali Khan, Amir Khan,

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was a Pakistani vocalist, from the Kasur Patiala Gharana.

Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player, considered by many to be the greatest sitarist of his age. Along with Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, and Imrat Khan, he is credited with the creation a ...

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, ...

Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Sawai Gandharva,

Bhimsen Joshi Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists in the Hindustani classical tradition from the Indian subcontinent. He is known for the ''kha ...

, the senior Dagar Brothers, Salamat and Nazakat Ali Khan,

Kumar Gandharva Pandit Kumar Gandharva (pronunciation: umaːɾ ɡən̪d̪ʱəɾʋə Kn: ಕುಮಾರ್ ಗಂಧರ್ವ; 8 April 1924 – 12 January 1992), originally known as Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkalimath was an Indian classical singer, well kn ...

, Kishanrao Shankar Pandit,

Mallikarjun Mansur Pandit Mallikarjun Bheemaraayappa Mansur, (31 December 1910 12 September 1992) was a Hindustani classical singer from Karnataka. He sang in the khyal genre and belonged to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. Early life and background Mallikarjun was ...

, Devendra Murdeshwar, Aftab-e-Mousiqi Fayyaz Khan, Khadim Hussein Khan, SCR Bhatt, Chidanand Nagarkar,

Lakshmi Shankar Lakshmi Shankar (née Sastri, 16 June 1926 – 30 December 2013) was an Indian singer and a noted Hindustani classical music, Hindustani classical. Born into a south Indian Hindu family, she became an outstanding Hindustani music, Hindustani voc ...

Omkarnath Thakur Pandit Omkarnath Thakur (24 June 1897 – 29 December 1967), was an Indian music teacher, musicologist and Hindustani classical singer. A disciple of classical singer Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Gwalior gharana and the founder of Akhil Bhara ...

and

Rais Khan Ustad Rais Khan (‎; 25 November 19396 May 2017) was a Pakistani sitarist. At his peak he was regarded as one of the greatest sitar players of all time. He continued performing till his last days. He moved from India to Pakistan in 1986, w ...

. Among this list are not only the most celebrated Indian classical musicians of the twentieth century, but also many of their ''gurus'', and in some cases, their ''guru’s'' ''gurus.'' Two of Rao's most treasured performances were with Ravi Shankar in the Court of ''Maharaja'' of Mysore and with Ali Akbar Khan in the court of ''Maharaja'' of Jodhpur in the 1950s.

Teaching

Taranath Rao was a well-known curator of Indian percussion, but he is also remembered for his modern outlook on classical music, innovative approach to drumming, and progressive, systematic teaching style. Along with Jnan Prakash Ghosh of Calcutta, he helped pioneer many contemporary features of solo ''tabla'' drumming, such as duo (''jugalbandi'') performance. The dual-solo format was largely popularized by Rao's disciples Ravi and Shashi Bellare, leading tabla players of the 1950s and 60s, and later by contemporary master

Alla Rakha Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000) was an Indian tabla player who specialised in Hindustani classical music. Widely revered as one of history's most iconic players of the tabla, he was a frequent accompanist of sitar player ...

with his son the Zakir Hussain. In terms of sheer numbers, Rao introduced to about 2,000 students the works and techniques of traditional gharana musicians. In addition to private "tuitions" from his home in Bombay, Taranath taught, lectured and gave examinations at institutions including Ravi Shankar's Kinarra School, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bhatkande University (Bombay and Lucknow), Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, and the Kala Academy in Goa. For the last 12 years of his life, Taranath taught at

CalArts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both the ...

in Los Angeles, where his younger brother

Harihar Rao Harihar Rao (January 21, 1927 – January 13, 2013) was an Indian-born American musician, noted for playing tabla and sitar. He was born into a prominent musical family in Mangalore, India. He moved to the United States in 1964, residing in Pasa ...

was heading the

Music Circle. His disciples around the world, include

Yogesh Samsi Pandit Yogesh Samsi (born 17 November 1968) is an Indian tabla player. Early life Yogesh Samsi was born in Delhi to renowned vocalist Pandit Dinkar Kaikini. Yogesh's father introduced him to music at the age of four. At the age of four he star ...

, Ravi Bellare, Shashi Bellare, Sadanand Naimpalli, Omkar Gulvady, Mohan Balvally, Uday Raikar, Maruti Kurdekar, Vijay Kangutkar, Balakrishna Iyer, Jayawant Bantwal, Anand Badamikar, Jef Feldman, Peter Fagiola, Roland Drogemuller, Gregg Johnson, Bengt Berger, Rupesh Kotecha, Narayan Kadekodi, Vilas Jadhav, Kishore Kulkarni, Vibhav Pathak and Leonice Shinneman. His tradition is carried on by the Peshkar Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Taranath 1915 births 1991 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Musicians from Mangalore Tabla players Indian music educators Indian percussionists 20th-century Indian musicians 20th-century drummers