In the concluding episode of our three-part series on tabla maestro Munir Khan’s 75th birth anniversary celebrations held in Mumbai in 1950, we listen to recordings of a few other exponents who were featured in the two sessions at this single-day function.
We begin with Agra gharana guru and composer Khadim Hussain Khan. He sings two compositions in the raag Maluha Kedar. The first one is set to vilambit or slow Ektaal and the second one is a tarana set to Teentaal.
The second track features Azmat Hussain Khan (vocal), an exponent of the Khurja, Jaipur-Atrauli and Agra gharanas. He sings a composition set to a medium tempo 16-matra Teentaal in the raag Darbari Kanada.
On the next track, Ramrao Parsatvar plays the rarely heard instrument called jaltarang. He plays a composition in the raag Yaman set to Teentaal, which is accelerated towards the end to incorporate the climactic jhala section.
Pannalal Ghosh plays the raag Malkauns on bansuri. The first composition is set to vilambit Jhumra, a cycle of 14 matras. He follows that with a composition in a fast-paced Teentaal. He is accompanied on the tabla by Nikhil Ghosh.
We end with a tabla solo by Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, one of the chief disciples of Munir Khan. He presents compositions from the tabla solo repertoire in Teentaal.
One of India’s leading tabla players, Aneesh Pradhan is a widely recognised performer, teacher, composer and scholar of Hindustani music. Visit his website here.