logo
Listen: How tabla players accompany Kathak dancers in Dhamar taal and Jhaptaal

Listen: How tabla players accompany Kathak dancers in Dhamar taal and Jhaptaal

Scroll.in10-05-2025

In the previous instalment of our series on tabla accompaniment to Hindustani music and dance, we included two recordings that featured Kathak solo recitals in the popular 16-matra Teentaal. But that is only one taal that Kathak dancers have explored.
Here are some recordings here in other taals, highlighting the tabla player's ability to negotiate these rhythmic cycles.
The first video recording features a Kathak recital in the 14-matra Dhamar taal (The structure of this taal can be studied here). Well-known Kathak dancer Saswati Sen is accompanied by the virtuosic tabla player Shubhankar Bannerjee on this recording.
Music lovers will note that the tabla accompaniment anticipates and reproduces the Kathak repertoire that is not only being danced but also recited by the dancer's guru and pre-eminent Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj.
In addition, there are moments when the tabla launches into solo sections.
Play
In the next recording, we listen to an exposition of the ten-matra Jhaptaal (from 7.30') through a Kathak performance by renowned dancer Rohini Bhate. She is accompanied by popular tabla player Arvind Kumar Azad.
Notably, the performance of this taal begins with an introductory solo section on the tabla as is the convention in Kathak recitals. As was the case in the previous performance, here too, the tabla player intersperses the dance performance with his solo sections.
Play
There are several other taals that are not as popular as the previous ones, such as Ashtamangal and Jaitaal. Some dancers choose to explore these as well, and the tabla player has to be adept at negotiating such situations. Recordings featuring these taals are available for access online.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Nauka Vihar festival celebrated in Kanpur
Nauka Vihar festival celebrated in Kanpur

Time of India

time20 hours ago

  • Time of India

Nauka Vihar festival celebrated in Kanpur

1 2 3 4 5 6 Times News Network Kanpur: A Nauka Vihar festival was celebrated at JK Temple in Kanpur on Wednesday. The festivites commenced with a special evening aarti at 7:00pm. The temple's pond was beautifully decorated with flowers, lamps, and lights for the festival. The idols of Lord Krishna and Radha Rani were placed in a boat adorned with flowers. Devotees offered flowers to the deities and lit lamps. Cultural performances including devotional songs and Kathak performances were also held on the occasion.

HT City Delhi Junction: Catch It Live on 11 June 2025
HT City Delhi Junction: Catch It Live on 11 June 2025

Hindustan Times

time2 days ago

  • Hindustan Times

HT City Delhi Junction: Catch It Live on 11 June 2025

What: NSD's Summer Theatre Festival 2025 | Bayen Where: Sammukh Auditorium, National School of Drama, 1, Bhagwandas Road When: June 11 Timing: 7pm Entry: Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House (Blue & Violet Lines) What: Baithak | Hindustani Classical Vocal recital ft Vaibhav Sakshi & Sitar recital ft Soumendra Goswami Where: The Theatre, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road When: June 11 Timing: 7pm Entry: Free Nearest Metro Station: JLN Stadium (Violet Line) What: Summer Edition – An Exhibition of Contemporary Art Where: Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205 Tansen Marg, Mandi House When: June 3 to 15 Timing: 11am to 8pm Entry: Free Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House (Blue & Violet Lines) What: Sukoon 2.0 ft Farhan Sabir Where: Ministry of Sound, Gardens Galleria, C2 B, Sector 38A, Noida When: June 11 Timing: 9pm Entry: Nearest Metro Station: Noida Sector 18 (Blue Line) What: Lock The Box Book Fair Where: Pacific Mall, Sector 21, Dwarka When: June 6 to 15 Timing: 11am to 10pm Entry: Free Nearest Metro Station: Dwarka Sector 21 (Blue Line) What: Summer Sonata – A Festival of Opera, Ballet & Concert Films | Films of the Spirit – Windfall of Grace (India) Where: CD Deshmukh Auditorium, India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Road When: June 11 Timing: 6.30pm Entry: Free Nearest Metro Station: Jor Bagh (Yellow Line) What: Inder Sahani – Live India Tour Where: Nojoto Creator Hub, PVR Anupam Complex, Saket When: June 11 Timing: 7.30pm Entry: Nearest Metro Station: Malviya Nagar (Yellow Line)

What the space of dancer Vaswati Misra's home says about the rhythms of the house
What the space of dancer Vaswati Misra's home says about the rhythms of the house

New Indian Express

time2 days ago

  • New Indian Express

What the space of dancer Vaswati Misra's home says about the rhythms of the house

In a four-storey building in south Delhi, there is an artiste on every floor. Each of them has his or her 'territory', individual practice rooms with presiding deities and different peak hours of introspection and creativity. But there is also a coming together for creative exploration, experimentation, and a shared life of the arts. Living together in the same space works, not because they are family, but because they are a family of artistes. This is the home of Kathak gurus Vaswati Misra and her elder sister Saswati Sen, who famously danced the kathak before Amjad Khan's Wajed Ali Shah in Satyajit Ray's Shatranj ke Khilari. Vaswati and her husband, Pandit Krishan Mohan Misra, son of Shambhu Maharaj, who brought Kathak to Delhi, and their daughter and son-in-law occupy two floors. Saswati's space is connected to her sister's floor by a beautiful wooden staircase, which starts from a cosy sit-in area separated from her living room by an open cabinet on which sit rows of Ganeshas. The Ganesha idol –the right patron saint for an artiste's home –can, in fact, be seen all over the house, in various moods and materials. 'Ganesha is a dancer and he is the player of the pakhawaj,' reminds Vaswati, as one's eyes moves from Ganeshas over and above console tables and on Rajasthani inlay-work side-tables to Ganeshas as wall decorations, a marble-turbaned Ganesha, and finally a baby Ganesha in black stone that sits hugging a shivalinga before a patch of green on the terrace before which we pause. 'It is one of my favourite spots in the house to just be, to think, or when I am working on a composition,' says Vaswati, as she and her husband—he is also the first cousin of Birju Maharaj—accompany us to the terrace. Early mornings are spent here with birdsong in the company of squirrels.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store