Friday, March 15, 2019

Few glimpses and demonstrations of the rich Tabla repertoire!


Theka: Meditation through Tabla!


Theka is probably the most essential but highly underrated aspect of Tabla.
Theka is like a sutra, a thread, that comprises of minimal yet essential Tabla syllabi which provide form, beauty and character to a rhythmic cycle. From a musical standpoint, a simple yet appropriately embellished theka serves multifold purposes, i.e. keeping time, fostering creativity of the accompanying artists, inspiring them to bring out their best, and enhancing overall aesthetic beauty of the music.
From a spiritual standpoint, a theka can be extremely meditative. Theka, when rendered repetitively at a constant (slow to medium) tempo on a well-tuned Tabla, can become an effective tool to control thought-waves (vritti), regulate breathing (prayanam), and calm the mind (chitta)- leading to a meditative state.
Here is a short demo of theka in Teentaal (16 beats), the most popular rhythmic cycle in Hindustani classical music. (Headphones recommended to hear the base (bayan))
It is incumbent on Tabla gurus/teachers to ensure that students understand and appreciate the importance of Theka, and not rush into complex and fast-paced compositions.












Rela
A short "Rela" in vilambit (slow) Teentaal (16-beats). Rela generally comprises of phrases such as tirakita, dhinagina, dhir dhir etc, which, when played at a fast speed, give a feeling of uninterrupted flow. This rela uses the phrase 'dhinagina'. Rela expands like a "Kaida", but is generally shorter than a Kaida, and ends with a tihai.





Kaida - Poetry in Tabla

"Kaida" literally means "rule". It comprises of a main theme which is a set of aesthetically compatible phrases symmetrically divided into two segments, both segments ending with rhyming phrases such as "Dhati Dhage Tina Kina" and "Dhati Dhage Dhina Gina". The phrases in the main theme can be mathematically permutated and combined to create several poetic variations (or paltas). A Kaida challenges the Tabla player's creativity, since the rule is that the variations have to be based on the phrases in the main theme only. This is a classic example of "creativity within limitation"! The quality of variations depends on the Tabla player's creativity, gharana, and tutelage.
Here's a Kaida in Teentaal (16 beats) to give a glimpse of this wonderful poetic composition in the Tabla repertoire.



Peshkar

Peshkar is one of the most beautiful and creative aspects in Tabla repertoire. Peshkar, the Urdu word literally means, "to present", or "one who presents". A Tabla solo recital in Delhi, Farukhabad, Lucknow, Ajarada and Punjab gharana typically opens with a Peshkar. Just like an Alaap in vocal music, the Peshkar explores the fundamental bols and phrases of Tabla, expands them mathematically and aesthetically and ends with a Tihai or lends into a kaida.
While a Peshkar can typically be much longer, here is a short impromptu Peshkar set to 10 beats (Jhaptaal).









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