In the previous episode of the series on tabla accompaniment to Hindustani vocal and instrumental music and to dance, we listened to the Deepchandi taal played with bol banaav thumri. Jat or Aadhaa (not to be confused with Addhaa or Sitarkhani) is another taal that closely resembles Deepchandi and is the taal preferred by some vocalists for accompanying bol banaav thumri.
Unlike the 14-matra Deepchandi, this is a 16-matra taal, but the bols or vocabulary of the theka is similar to that of Deepchandi. The difference is in the spacing between some of the bols, which changes the gait of this rhythmic cycle. Some musicians prefer to count it in double time, thus, making it an eight-matra taal. The theka in both cases is the same and can be accessed here.
The improvisation of the bol banaav thumri when set to Jat follows the same pattern as is done in the case of Deepchandi. Similarly, the thumri ends with the laggi section from the tabla player that has been described in the previous episode.
In the eighth episode of the ongoing series, here are two tracks featuring bol banaav thumris set to Jat. The first based on the raag Manjh Khamaj is sung by thumri exponent Rasoolan Bai. Some even consider this as a thumri based on the raag Mishra Bihari.
The second track is in the raag Khamaj and is sung by the celebrated thumri vocalist Siddheshwari Devi.
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.
This article is based on Pradhan’s book Tabla: A Performer’s Perspective.