Last week, we discussed the eclectic flavour in vocalist Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze’s repertoire and singing. Today, we look at yet another instance of a musician drawing from various sources.
The six major styles of playing tabla – Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow, Farrukhabad, Banaras and Punjab – demonstrated separate stylistic approaches and repertoire. But many tabla players in the late 19th and early 20th centuries assimilated content from more than one gharana. Munir Khan (1863-1937) of Laliana (in present-day Uttar Pradesh) was one of the prominent tabla players to have adopted this approach.
According to strict demarcations of the guru-shishya (master-disciple) lineage, Munir Khan belonged to the Farrukhabad gharana, but he is believed to have received training in four gharanas under 24 gurus. As a result, the lineage of disciples started by Munir Khan was referred to as the Laliana gharana. It was also called the Bambai gharana, because Munir Khan lived in Bombay for several years and trained a number of disciples here.
Many of his disciples became path-breaking soloists, accompanists, teachers and composers. Pre-eminent among these was the tabla maestro Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, whose solo recitals included traditional compositions of the Delhi, Ajrada, Lucknow and Farrukhabad schools.
Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa
Tabla Solo
Here are video recordings from the Doordarshan archives that feature Ahmed Jan Thirakwa presenting samples from Munir Khan’s diverse repertoire. Thirakwa was well into his eighties when these recordings were made.
