“…the controlled virtuosity of Swapan’s (Tabla) playing always implied that if he cared, nothing could stop him.  What a display he put on…!"
San Francisco Chronicle, USA

Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri is a phenomenon in the arena of Indian Classical Music.  Musicians honor him as one of the most highly respected Tabla players, worthy of highest regard all over the world. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Academy Award from the Government of India, and the American Academy of Artists Award, both of which are reserved only for those artists who have attained the highest level of artistry.  He has received the Excellence in Performing Arts Award from the Global Indian Congress in San Francisco, and has been nominated to the esteemed International Percussive Arts Society's Hall of Fame. It was Swapan’s beloved parents, through their own passion for music, who initiated his formal musical training and inspired him in the field of Tabla, paving the path that would eventually lead him to virtuosity.

Swapan started learning Tabla at the age of five. He bases his style on the intensive training he received from his Guru, the late Pandit Santosh Krishna Biswas of Calcutta, the eminent exponent of the Lucknow Gharana. He holds a Master’s degree in music and has been conferred honors for his distinguished contributions in the field of Tabla by various academic and musical institutions. He also holds a Degree in Economics from Jadhavpur University, Calcutta.

Swapan’s music is the spontaneous expression of his powerful emotions and his deep knowledge of Tabla. His ingenuity has ushered in a purely new style of Tabla playing. It is undoubtedly through his clarity and elegance of performance, both as an accompanist and as a soloist, that he has achieved such notoriety throughout the world as a true master of Tabla.

As a soloist and accompanist Swapan has traveled throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia accompanying Maestros such as Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Vilayat Khan, the late Pandit Nikhil Banerjee, Ustad Amir Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Jasraj, Dr. Balmurli Krishna, Pandit Birju Maharaj, Dr. L. Subramanium, and Pandit V.G. Jog as well as other eminent artists. In addition, he has produced numerous recordings, including his own Tabla solos and videotapes, and has appeared extensively on television and radio. Two records, Legacy(1997) and Passing on the Tradition (1998), were nominated for Grammy awards, on which Swapan collaborated with Asha Bhosle and Ali Akbar Khan.

Swapan’s music reaches beyond the scope of Classical music to include performances and recordings with musicians such as Stevie Wonder, L. Shankar, Mark O’Connor, John Handy, Larry Coryell, John Santos, the reputed Persian musicians Alizade and Kayhan Kalhor, the African drum master, Malenga, and the renowned guitarists, Vlatko Stefanovski and Miroslav Tadic.  He has participated in many International Music Festivals such as Bath, Perth, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco, Kuala Lampur, Stuttgart and Berlin. He has composed for several percussion ensembles that have received tremendous appreciation from Western as well as Indian audiences. He is associated with various American and European Universities as a visiting professor.

Swapan Chaudhuri has held the position as Director of Percussion at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California and in Basil, Switzerland, where students from all over the world receive intensive training in Tabla.  He is also the Department Chairperson for the World Music Department at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, California.  In addition, Swapan maintains a rigorous touring and recording schedule throughout the year.

Aban Mistry talks about the trials of being India's first woman tabla player

Speak of the tabla, and the mind conjures up images of vigorous beats and ustads playing with enormous energy. Images mostly masculine. And truth is, there are very few women who have mastered the instrument.

Meet Dr Aban Mistry. She is India's first woman tabla player. Her book on the tabla and the pakhawaj took her ten years to research, and experts say it will remain an invaluable reference book for generations of students.

The first thing Dr Mistry will tell you is that the tabla was not introduced by Amir Khusro in the 17th century, as is popularly believed. She believes it has been around for at least 2,200 years.

"I went through hundreds of papers at the Archaeological Survey of India, and even in government offices of small towns all over the country," says Dr Mistry. She also travelled all over the country with guru Pandit Keki Jijina. "There were times I've had to sleep in temples and even on the streets," she says.

A 2,200 year-old motif on the stone wall at Bhaja caves in Maharashtra, which shows a woman playing an instrument similar to the tabla, convinced her that the instrument has been around a long time. And that it was not just men who excelled at it.

The tabla became popular after the khayal style of singing gained popularity. Khayal is the most popular classical form in Hindustani music today. The tabla replaced the pakhawaj, which was popular with the dhrupad singers; the deep sonorous sound of the pakhawaj gave way to the lighter tone of the tabla.

But in a country where women hardly play any drums, taking up the tabla and living by it is quite a feat.

"There was a time when people, especially men, came to my concerts to see me rather than listen to me," recollects the 59-year-old musician who began her career in the early 1950s.

"Even women singers refused to take me as an accompanist because they would not trust me. No one took me seriously."

So she decided to get around the hurdles.

"I just had to prove that I was a good musician," she says. And in 1973, she cut her first tabla record, becoming the first woman ever to do so.

She has learnt from Pandit Keki Jijina and Ustad Amir Hussain Khan, who heard the 14-year-old playing at a concert and asked her to become his student.

The idea of her book, which contains detailed information about all six tabla gharanas, and also their family trees, came up when she decided to write her doctoral thesis. In 1984, she had published Tabla aur phakhawaj ke gharane evam paramparayen in Hindi.

Dr Mistry plays the sitar too; she cut a disc in 1973. Dancing the Kathak was her favourite hobby till she had to give it up because of ill health. She has learnt singing from Pandit Laxmanrao Bodas.

Today, after performing for nearly five decades, Dr Mistry is busy teaching. Her student Vidya Parab-Sawant has carved her own niche as a tabla player.

"Maa Bhagwati chose me," says the musician, "I can only pass on her blessings to the next generation."

Archana Chaudhary
Mumbai

 Messiahs of music  
 - Parinaz M. Gandhi

The Parsis and Indian classical music — an unsung contribution by Dr Aban E. Mistry. Published in 2004 by Swar Sadhna Samiti, C/o Wadia Sangeet Class, Jer Annex, first floor, Jambulwadi, Dhobi Talao, Bombay 400002; e-mail: abanmistry (at) hotmail (dot) com. Promoted by Zaveri Jiten Ramniklal, Oberoi Towers, Shopping Arcade, 2nd floor, Nariman Point, Bombay 400021. Tel: 22023435. Pp: 140. Price: Rs 300.

Many little known nuggets surface in Mistry’s work, a culmination of 10 years’ efforts encapsulating the cultural contribution of the community in the last 250 years. As notes the author, a tabla maestro and author of books on Indian classical music, in her preface, “Other communities as well as fellow

Parsis are only too well aware of our contributions in every aspect of Indian life, be it social, political, economic, philan­thropic, judicial, sports, education... Unfortunately, virtually unknown are the feats of the many Parsi ladies and gentlemen who played pivotal roles and earned accolades in the rich, cultural world of Indian music and dance. I have done my utmost to bring to light the achievements of these unsung Parsi heroes so that the reader may be stirred with pride and respect.”

In the course of the 14 chapters in this book starting with “Lok Sangeet” we learn of the existence of Dadar Ahura Mazda’s garbo. There were other garbas, garbis and monajats to enlighten and educate the laity on the importance of life’s daily routine, on the cosmic laws of cause and effect, and praises in honor of Zara­thushtra and different yazatas.

In the chapters on “Shastriya Gayan,” “Indian Classical Instrumental Music,” “Sugam Sangeet, Thumri, Tappa, Geet, Ghazal and Abhang” we read of the contribution of countless individuals who with their devotion to music have left an imprint that Mistry could record for posterity. Vocalists Pandit Fi­roz Dastur and Pandit Jal Balaporia continue to be revered names in the Indian classical music circles. Among the ladies committed to musicology were Banubai Bharucha who had started a Sangeet Vidyalaya in Mysore and authored two books on music. Her students included the Maharani of Mysore and Lady Thackersey of Poona. Vocalist Khorshed Mulla had published seven books on music of which Saras­wati Sangit Sangrah is deemed the most important. Pandit Firoze Framjee who had created 32 big and small volumes on the science of music is viewed as a stalwart of Indian classical music.

ANJANA RAJAN

The throbbing beat of the tabla forms the background for Hindustani music.

The tabla, a set of two drums, is an important percussion instrument of Indian music. It usually accompanies a classical vocal or an instrumental recital of Hindustani music - classical music of North India - as well as Kathak dance. Although both are referred to as tabla, the technical term for the drum on the right is tabla, while the right is known as dugga.

Said to have been invented in the 14th Century, the tabla has many legends associated with it. One of them is that the great musician Amir Khusro created this double drum by cutting the cylindrical pakhawaj into two pieces.

The dugga is a rounded drum made of nickel-plated copper or brass, while the tabla is made of a block of hollowed out sheesham. Their tops are covered with deerskin, which is tied to the body of the drum using leather braces. Small wooden cylindrical pegs are inserted between the leather braces and the tabla body. These are used for tuning the tabla, since their position causes the skin on top to become loose or tight. To make sure the tabla and dugga remain upright while being played, they are placed on cushioned rings made of old rags. The leather tops are protected with thin circular cushions. The late Ustad Allah Rakha, his son Zakir Hussain, as well as Shafaat Ahmed Khan and one of the few famous women exponents, Aban Mistry are celebrated tabla exponents.