Background	percussion
Classification	Indian Percussion instrument, goatskin heads with syahi
Range	Bolt tuned or rope tuned with dowels and hammer
Related	Pakhavaj, Mridangam, Khol }}

The tabla (or tabl, tabla) (, , , , , , , , , ) is a popular Indian percussion instrument (of the membranophone family) used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres. The term 'tabla is derived from an Arabic word, tabl, which simply means "drum."

Playing technique involves extensive use of the fingers and palms in various configurations to create a wide variety of different sounds, reflected in the mnemonic syllables (bol). The heel of the hand is used to apply pressure or in a sliding motion on the larger drum so that the pitch is changed during the sound's decay.

Nomenclature and construction

The smaller drum, played with the dominant hand, is sometimes called dayan (lit. "right"; a.k.a. dāhina, siddha, chattū) but is correctly called the "tabla." It is made from a conical piece of mostly teak and rosewood hollowed out to approximately half of its total depth. The drum is tuned to a specific note, usually either the tonic, dominant or sub-dominant of the soloist's key and thus complements the melody. The tuning range is limited although different dāyāñ-s are produced in different sizes, each with a different range. Cylindrical wood blocks, known as ghatta, are inserted between the strap and the shell allowing tension to be adjusted by their vertical positioning. Fine tuning is achieved while striking vertically on the braided portion of the head using a small hammer.

The larger drum, played with the other hand, is called bāyāñ (lit. "left"; a.k.a. dagga, duggī, dhāmā). The bāyāñ has a much deeper bass tone, much like its distant cousin, the kettle drum. The bāyāñ may be made of any of a number of materials. Brass is the most common, copper is more expensive, but generally held to be the best, while aluminum and steel are often found in inexpensive models. One sometimes finds that wood is used, especially in old bāyāñs from the Punjab. Clay is also used, although not favored for durability; these are generally found in the North-East region of Bengal.

Both drum shells are covered with a head (or puri) constructed from goat or cow skin. An outer ring of skin (keenar) is overlaid on the main skin and serves to suppress some of the natural overtones. These two skins are bound together with a complex woven braid that gives the assembly enough strength to be tensioned on the shell. The head is affixed to the drum shell with a single cow or camel hide strap laced between the braid of the head assembly and another ring (made from the same strap material) placed on the bottom of the drum.

The head of each drum has a central area called the Syahi (lit. "ink"; a.k.a. shāī or gāb). This is constructed using multiple layers of a paste made from starch (rice or wheat) mixed with a black powder of various origins. The precise construction and shaping of this area is responsible for modification of the drum's natural overtones, resulting in the clarity of pitch and variety of tonal possibilities unique to this instrument. The skill required for the proper construction of this area is highly refined and is the main differentiating factor in the quality of a particular instrument. For stability while playing, each drum is positioned on a toroidal bundle called chutta or guddi, consisting of plant fiber or another malleable material wrapped in cloth.

Gharānā — tabla tradition

The term gharānā is used to specify a lineage of teaching and repertoire in Indian classical music. Most performers and scholars recognize two styles of tabla gharana: Dilli Baj and Purbi Baj. Dilli (or Delhi) baj comes from the style that developed in Delhi, and Purbi (meaning eastern) baj developed in the area east of Delhi. Delhi Baj is also known as Chati baj (Chati is a part of Tabla from where special tone can be produced).

Musicians then recognize six gharānās – schools or traditions – of tabla. These traditions appeared or evolved in presumably the following order: # Delhi gharānā # Lucknow gharānā # Ajrara gharānā, later followed by # Farukhabad gharānā # Benares gharānā # Punjab gharānā

Other tabla performers have identified further derivations of the above traditions, but these are subjective claims not universally recognized. Some traditions indeed have sub-lineages and sub-styles that meet the criteria to warrant a separate gharānā name, but such socio-musical identities have not taken hold in the public discourse of Hindustani art music, such as the Qasur lineage of tabla players of the Punjab region.

Each gharānā is traditionally set apart from the others by unique aspects of the compositional and playing styles of its exponents. For instance, some gharānās have different tabla positioning and bol techniques. In the days of court patronage the preservation of these distinctions was important in order to maintain the prestige of the sponsoring court. Gharānā secrets were closely guarded and often only passed along family lines. Being born into or marrying into a lineage holding family was often the only way to gain access to this knowledge.

Today many of these gharānā distinctions have been blurred as information has been more freely shared and newer generations of players have learned and combined aspects from multiple gharānās to form their own styles. There is much debate as to whether the concept of gharānā even still applies to modern players. Some think the era of gharānā has effectively come to an end as the unique aspects of each gharānā have been mostly lost through the mixing of styles and the socio-economic difficulties of maintaining lineage purity through rigorous training.

Nonetheless the greatness of each gharānā can still be observed through study of its traditional material and, when accessible, recordings of its great players. The current generation of traditionally trained masters still hold vast amounts of traditional compositional knowledge and expertise.

This body of compositional knowledge and the intricate theoretical basis which informs it is still actively being transmitted from teacher to student all over the world. In addition to the instrument itself, the term tabla is often used in reference to this knowledge and the process of its transmission.

Jori / Jodi and Dhama Style Tabla

Next to the contemporary common style of tabla, there exists older styles in which the bayan (called Dhama or Dhamma) is often made out of wood. Instead of having a thin dry syahi, this style of tabla uses a wet wheat dough on the bass drum's skin. The dough is applied shortly before playing. It produces a more vivid and shattering bass sound. These types of (Jori) tabla are used by Qawwali ensembles (notably Dildar Hussain), Sikh, Pakhawaj inspired Tabla Gharanas (Punjabi Dhrupad), Gurbani Kirtan and Afghan trad. folk music. A reminder, that this style of tabla was used all over India not long ago is that many modern tabla tuning (brass) hammers still have a dough (removal) spatula on the reverse end. These hammers are produced from older hammer molds. However, many modern (steel) hammers do not have this spatula. The swift sliding bass sound (Giss or Gissa), commonly associated with modern style tabla sets can also be produced on wet dough dhamma style bass drums. This is best demonstrated by Punjabi qawwali drummers.This same style of wet weighting masala is also used on the Pakhawajs bass side. The pakhawaj is considered the drum from which the tabla was derived.

See also

Hindustani classical music

Tala

Bol

Further reading

The Major Traditions of North Indian Tabla Drumming: A Survey Presentation Based on Performances by India's Leading Artists, by Robert S. Gottlieb. Pub. Musikverlag E. Katzbichler, 1977. ISBN 387397300.

The tabla of Lucknow: a cultural analysis of a musical tradition, by James Kippen. Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN 0521335280.

Solo Tabla Drumming of North India: Text & commentary, by Robert S. Gottlieb, Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993. ISBN 8120810937.

Fundamentals of Tabla, (Volume 1) by David R. Courtney. Pub. Sur Sangeet Services, 1995. ISBN 096344476X.

Advanced Theory of Tabla, (Volume 2) by David R. Courtney. Pub. Sur Sangeet Services, 2000. ISBN 0963444794.

Manufacture and Repair of Tabla, (Volume 3) by David R. Courtney. Pub. Sur Sangeet Services, 2001. ISBN 1893644022.

Focus on the Kaidas of Tabla, (Volume 4) by David R. Courtney. Pub. Sur Sangeet Services, 2002. ISBN 1893644030.

Theory and practice of tabla, by Sadanand Naimpalli. Popular Prakashan, 2005. ISBN 8179911497.

References

Category:Hand drums Category:Pitched percussion Category:Bangladeshi music Category:Hindustani musical instruments Category:Indian musical instruments Category:Pakistani musical instruments Category:Bangladeshi musical instruments

Playername	Srinivas Venkataraghavan
Country	India
Fullname	Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan
Nickname	Venkat
Living	true
Dayofbirth	21
Monthofbirth	4
Yearofbirth	1945
Placeofbirth	Madras
Countryofbirth	British India
Batting	Right-hand
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Bowler, Umpire
International	true
Testdebutdate	27 February
Testdebutyear	1965
Testdebutagainst	New Zealand
Testcap	110
Lasttestdate	24 September
Lasttestyear	1983
Lasttestagainst	Pakistan
Odidebutdate	13 July
Odidebutyear	1974
Odidebutagainst	England
Odicap	9
Lastodidate	7 April
Lastodiyear	1983
Lastodiagainst	West Indies
Club1	Tamil Nadu
Year1	1970-1985
Club2	Derbyshire
Year2	1973-1975
Club3	Madras
Year3	1963-1970
Umpire	true
Testsumpired	73
Umptestdebutyr	1993
Umptestlastyr	2004
Odisumpired	52
Umpodidebutyr	1993
Umpodilastyr	2003
Columns	4
Deliveries	balls
Column1	Tests
Matches1	57
Runs1	748
Bat avg1	11.68
100s/50s1	0/2
Top score1	64
Deliveries1	14877
Wickets1	156
Bowl avg1	36.11
Fivefor1	3
Tenfor1	1
Best bowling1	8/72
Catches/stumpings1	44/–
Column2	ODI
Matches2	15
Runs2	54
Bat avg2	10.80
100s/50s2	–/–
Top score2	26*
Deliveries2	868
Wickets2	5
Bowl avg2	108.40
Fivefor2	–
Tenfor2	n/a
Best bowling2	2/34
Catches/stumpings2	4/–
Column3	FC
Matches3	341
Runs3	6617
Bat avg3	17.73
100s/50s3	1/24
Top score3	137
Deliveries3	83548
Wickets3	1390
Bowl avg3	24.14
Fivefor3	85
Tenfor3	21
Best bowling3	9/93
Catches/stumpings3	316/–
Column4	LA
Matches4	71
Runs4	346
Bat avg4	11.16
100s/50s4	0/0
Top score4	26*
Deliveries4	3985
Wickets4	64
Bowl avg4	35.34
Fivefor4	0
Tenfor4	n/a
Best bowling4	4/31
Catches/stumpings4	29/–
Date	14 August
Year	2007
Source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/ Cricket Archive

Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan (informally Venkat, born 21 April 1945) is a former Indian cricketer. He played for Derbyshire in English county cricket from 1973 to 1975. He played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team, and later became an umpire on the elite International Cricket Council Test panel. His Test career was one of the longest for any Indian player. He was also a strong close-in fielder and a useful tail-end bat. Venkat came on to the Test scene at the age of 20 when he was selected to play against the touring New Zealand side. By the end of the series he had emerged as a world-class spinner, taking 12 wickets in the Delhi test that led India to victory. He was the vice-captain of the Indian team that toured the West Indies and England in 1970-71. India won both series. Venkat played an important role, claiming five wickets in the Trinidad Test and 13 wickets in the three Tests in England. He captained India in both the 1975 and 1979 World Cup competitions. He also led India in a four-Test series against England in 1979. In domestic cricket, he led South Zone and Tamil Nadu for over a decade.

Venkat retired from first-class cricket in 1985. He became a cricket administrator and managed the Indian Test side. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2003. He is a mechanical engineer by profession.

Umpiring career

Venkat made his international umpiring debut in the One Day International between India and England at Jaipur on January 18, 1993. He made his Test umpiring debut in the same month, with the match between India and England at Kolkata. He gained a place on the inaugural International Umpire Panel when it was formed in 1994, and was selected by the International Cricket Council on a regular basis to umpire in Test matches away from home as the neutral umpire. In 2002 the ICC created an Elite Panel of the top eight umpires, who were employed on a full time basis and would cover all Test match officiating. Venkat was duly included in the inaugural Elite Panel, of which he remained a member until his retirement in January 2004. That he remained among the top echelon of international umpires for the entirety of his career is testament to his umpiring ability.

The highlights of his umpiring career include six Ashes Tests and appointments to three World Cups in 1996, 1999 and 2003. In both the 1996 and 1999 tournaments he was appointed to stand in a semi-final, and was the third umpire of the 1999 World Cup final between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's. In total he officiated on-field in 73 Test matches and 52 One-day Internationals during his career.

Umpiring Statistics

Notes

External links

Category:Indian cricket umpires Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:Indian cricket captains Category:Indian cricketers Category:Derbyshire cricketers Category:South Zone cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Tamil sportspeople Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Cricketers at the 1975 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1979 Cricket World Cup Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award

Name	Wisin & Yandel
Background	group_or_band
Born	December 19, 1978 (Wisin)January 14, 1977 (Yandel)
Origin	Cayey, Puerto Rico
Genre	Reggaeton, R&B;, Electropop, Latin pop
Years active	1998 – presente
Label	WY, Machete
Url	WisinYandelPR.com
Current members	Juan Luis Morera Luna (Wisin)Llandel Veguilla Malavé Salazar (Yandel)

Wisin & Yandel are a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo, consisting of Llandel Veguilla Malavé Salazar (Yandel) and Juan Luis Morera Luna (Wisin). They started their career in 2000 and have been together since, winning several awards during that time.

Their biggest hits are "Rakata", "Llamé Pa' Verte (Bailando Sexy)", "Pam Pam", "Sexy Movimiento", "Pegao", "Síguelo", "Abusadora", and "Gracias a Tí". Wisin & Yandel have collaborated with internationally known artists such as R. Kelly on "Burn It Up", Paris Hilton on the reggaeton remix to her debut single "Stars Are Blind", Ja Rule on "Rakata (Remix)", Lenny Kravitz on "Breathe" (a promotional song for Absolut Vodka), Mexican Pop group RBD on "Lento (Remix)", compatriots La Secta AllStar on "Llora Mi Corazón", Fat Joe on "Jangueo", Nelly Furtado on "Sexy Movimiento (Remix)", 50 Cent on "Mujeres In The Club" and "Así Soy" along with G-Unit, Akon on "All Up 2 You" along with Aventura and "Ella Me Llama (Remix)", Enrique Iglésias on "Lloro Por Ti (Remix)" and "Gracias a Tí (Remix)", Gloria Estefan on "No Llores (Remix)", T-Pain on "Imagínate", "Te Siento" and in a remix for Reverse Cowgirl.

Biography

Yandel was born on January 16, 1977 & Wisin was born on December 19, 1978.Wisin married his wife on July 26, 2008, in a ceremony that took place in a restaurant of Cayey, Puerto Rico. The couple have a daughter and a son, Yelena and Dylan. Following the release of Los Extraterrestres the duo commenced an international promotional tour. After organizing concerts throughout Latin America and Europe, Wisin & Yandel noted that they would like to expand their markets to Africa and Australia. The tickets for the event sold out, which the duo described as an "real honor". In the event they received a warm reception. After arriving from New York the duo traveled to Puerto Rico, wher they filmed a commercial as part of a campaign against drunken driving. On June 12, 2008, they would travel to Los Angeles, where they would attend the BMI Latin Awards, in which they received a nomination for "Writer of the Year". Wisin & Yandel won four awards in the Premios Juventud 2008 ceremony. On July 19, 2008, the duo made a presentation before a sold-out crowd in Venezuela. The duet were selected to perform in "KQ Live Concert" on September 27, 2008, organized by KQ 105 FM, the event included several renowned artists from Puerto Rico and other Latin American locations. On August 12, 2008, the duo received a recognition by Cayey's mayor,Rolando Ortiz Velázquez. In the activity, they were named "Ambassadors from Cayey to the world", in a patronal celebration that was dedicated to the duo. On April 24, 2009, Wisin & Yandel received the Latin Rhythm Album Of The Year, Duo Or Group Latin Billboard Music Award for Los Extraterresres. Besides this recognition, the duo also received nominations for Ahora Es and Síguelo in the Tropical Airplay Song Of The Year, Duo Or Group and Latin Rhythm Airplay Song Of The Year, Duo Or Group categories. On October 15, 2009, Wisin & Yandel won the Premio MTV Latinoamérica for "Artist of the Year" and "Video of the Year".

WY Records

WY Records is a Puerto Rican record label founded by the popular reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. WY Records is a record label started by Wisin & Yandel in 2004, which features several artists from the reggaeton genre. The main production center is in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Artistic appearances

Wisin & Yandel have collaborated with many artists throughout The United States music industry. Throughout genres such as hip hop, pop, latin pop, and R&B;, with artists such as David Bisbal, Gloria Estefan, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Nelly Furtado, Fat Joe, Eve, R. Kelly, G-Unit, Enrique Iglesias, T-Pain, Akon, 50 cent, Aventura and Sean Kingston.

Discography

;Studio albums

2000: Los Reyes del Nuevo Milenio

2001: De Nuevos a Viejos

2002: De Otra Manera

2003: Mi Vida... My Life

2005: Pa'l Mundo

2007:

2009: La Revolución

2011:

See also

List of famous Puerto Ricans

References

External links

Official Site

Second Official Site

Wisin & Yandel at MTV

Wisin & Yandel at MTV Tr3́s

Wisin & Yandel at YouTube

Wisin & Yandel at Reggaetonline

Category:Reggaeton musicians Category:Duos Category:Reggaeton duos Category:Puerto Rican male singers Category:Puerto Rican singers Category:Puerto Rican reggaeton artists Category:Latin Grammy Award winners

Name	Ravi Shankar
Img alt	An old man sits on a platform and holds a long-necked lute while looking to the side.
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury
Born	April 07, 1920Varanasi, United Provinces, Indian Empire
Instrument	sitar
Genre	Hindustani classical music
Occupation	composer, musician
Years active	1939–present
Url	RaviShankar.org
Associated acts	Uday Shankar, Allauddin Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Lakshmi Shankar, Yehudi Menuhin, Chatur Lal, Alla Rakha, George Harrison, Anoushka Shankar

Ravi Shankar (; born 7 April 1920), often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. His father, Shyam Shankar, an administrator for the Maharaja of Jhalawar, used the Sanskrit spelling of the family name and removed its last part. There he married a second time while Devi raised Shankar in Varanasi, and did not meet his son until he was eight years old. Shankar shortened the Sanskrit version of his first name, Ravindra, to Ravi, for "sun".

At the age of ten, after spending his first decade in Varanasi, Shankar went to Paris with the dance group of his brother, choreographer Uday Shankar. Uday's dance group toured Europe and America in the early to mid-1930s and Shankar learned French, discovered Western classical music, jazz, and cinema, and became acquainted with Western customs. Shankar was sporadically trained by Khan on tour, and Khan offered Shankar training to become a serious musician under the condition that he abandon touring and come to Maihar.

Career

Training and work in India

Shankar's parents had died by the time he returned from the European tour, and touring the West had become difficult due to political conflicts that would lead to World War II. Khan was a rigorous teacher and Shankar had training on sitar and surbahar, learned ragas and the musical styles dhrupad, dhamar, and khyal, and was taught the techniques of the instruments rudra veena, rubab, and sursingar. Shankar began to perform publicly on sitar in December 1939 and his debut performance was a jugalbandi (duet) with Ali Akbar Khan, who played the string instrument sarod. Following his training, he moved to Mumbai and joined the Indian People's Theatre Association, for whom he composed music for ballets in 1945 and 1946. Shankar founded the Indian National Orchestra at AIR and composed for it; his compositions experimented with a combination of Western instruments and classical Indian instrumentation. Khan reluctantly accepted and performed with tabla (percussion) player Chatur Lal in the Museum of Modern Art, and he later became the first Indian classical musician to perform on American television and record a full raga performance, for Angel Records. In 1958, Shankar participated in the celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations and UNESCO music festival in Paris. Since 1961, he toured Europe, the United States, and Australia, and became the first Indian to compose music for non-Indian films. Chatur Lal accompanied Shankar on tabla until 1962, when Alla Rakha assumed the role. Shankar founded the Kinnara School of Music in Mumbai in 1962. The Byrds recorded at the same studio and heard Shankar's music, which led them to incorporate some of its elements in theirs, introducing the genre to their friend George Harrison of The Beatles.

Harrison met Shankar in London in 1966 and visited India for six weeks to study sitar under Shankar in Srinagar. In 1967, he performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and won a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance for West Meets East, a collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin. Shankar opened a Western branch of the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, California, in May 1967, and published an autobiography, My Music, My Life, in 1968. He performed at the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, and found he disliked the venue. In the 1970s Shankar distanced himself from the hippie movement. In late 1970, the London Symphony Orchestra invited Shankar to compose a concerto with sitar; Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra was performed with André Previn as conductor and Shankar playing the sitar. George Harrison organized the charity Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, in which Shankar participated. Interest in Indian music had decreased in the early 1970s, but the concert album became one of the best-selling recordings featuring it and won Shankar a second Grammy Award. The touring band visited the White House on invitation of John Gardner Ford, son of U.S. President Gerald Ford. Shankar toured and taught for the remainder of the 1970s and the 1980s and released his second concerto, Raga Mala, conducted by Zubin Mehta, in 1981. His liberal views on musical cooperation led him to collaboration with contemporary composer Philip Glass, with whom he released an album, Passages, in 1990.

Shankar underwent an angioplasty in 1992 due to heart problems, after which George Harrison involved himself in several of Shankar's projects. He performed in between 25 and 40 concerts every year during the late 1990s. Shankar taught his daughter Anoushka Shankar to play sitar and in 1997 became a Regent's Lecturer at University of California, San Diego.

Style and contributions

at the Shiraz Arts Festival in Iran in the 1970s]] Shankar developed a style distinct from that of his contemporaries and incorporated influences from rhythm practices of Carnatic music. His performances begin with solo alap, jor, and jhala (introduction and performances with pulse and rapid pulse) influenced by the slow and serious dhrupad genre, followed by a section with tabla accompaniment featuring compositions associated with the prevalent khyal style. Shankar often closes his performances with a piece inspired by the light-classical thumri genre.

Shankar has been considered one of the top sitar players of the second half of the 20th century. He popularized performing on the bass octave of the sitar for the alap section and became known for a distinctive playing style in the middle and high registers that uses quick and short deviations of the playing string and his sound creation through stops and strikes on the main playing string. Narayana Menon of The New Grove Dictionary noted Shankar's liking for rhythmic novelties, among them the use of unconventional rhythmic cycles. Shankar's interplay with Alla Rakha improved appreciation for tabla playing in Hindustani classical music. Shankar promoted the jugalbandi duet concert style and introduced new ragas, including Tilak Shyam, Nat Bhairav and Bairagi.

Recognition

Shankar won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury at the 1957 Berlin International Film Festival for composing the music for the movie Kabuliwala. Shankar was awarded honorary degrees from universities in India and the United States. He received the Kalidas Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for 1987–88, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 1991, the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1992, and the Polar Music Prize in 1998. The American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane named his son Ravi Coltrane after Shankar. Shankar separated from Annapurna in the 1940s and had a relationship with Kamala Shastri, a dancer, beginning in the late 1940s. In 1981, Anoushka Shankar was born to Shankar and Sukanya Rajan, whom Shankar had known since the 1970s. After separating from Kamala Shastri in 1981 Shankar lived with Sue Jones until 1986 and married Sukanya Rajan in 1989.

Shubhendra "Shubho" Shankar often accompanied his father on tours. Norah Jones became a successful musician in the 2000s, winning eight Grammy Awards in 2003.

Shankar is a Hindu and a vegetarian.

Discography

Bibliography

Notes

References

External links

Category:1920 births Category:Apple Records artists Category:Bengali musicians Category:Nominated Rajya Sabha members Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hindustani instrumentalists Category:Indian composers Category:Indian film score composers Category:Indian Hindus Category:Indian vegetarians Category:Living people Category:Maihar Gharana Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Category:Sitar players Category:Artists from Varanasi

Name	Alla Rakha
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Allarakha Khan Qureshi
Born	April 29, 1919 Paghwal Now District Samba Division, Jammu, India
Died	February 03, 2000 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Origin	Dogra Indian
Instrument	tabla
Genre	Hindustani classical music
Associated acts	Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Aditya Kalyanpur

Qureshi Alla Rakha Khan (Dogri: क़ुरैशी अल्ला रखा ख़ान) popularly known as Alla Rakha (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000) was an Indian tabla player. He was a frequent accompanist of Ravi Shankar.

Personal life and education

Alla Rakha was born in Paghwal, District Samba Division, Jammu, India. His mother tongue was Dogri. He became fascinated with the sound and rhythm of the tabla at the age of 12, while staying with his uncle in Gurdaspur. The determined young lad ran away from home, became a disciple of and began studying tabla with Mian Kader Baksh of the Punjab gharana. He studied voice and Raag Vidya under Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala gharana. His regimen of practice and dedication were legendary: hours upon hours of hard, disciplined practice, that would later pay off.

He was married to Bavi Begum, and has three sons, Zakir Hussain, Fazal Qureshi and Taufiq Qureshi, a daughter Khurshid Aulia née Qureshi, and nine grandchildren. Alla Rakha had another daughter, Razia, whose death preceded his by less than 24 hours.

Career

Alla Rakha began his career as an accompanist in Lahore and then as an All India Radio staffer in Bombay in 1940, playing the station's first ever tabla solo and elevating the instrument's position in the process. Soon after, he composed music for a couple of Hindi films from 1943-48.

However, he still played as an accompanist, for soloists like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Allauddin Khan, Vasant Rai and Ravi Shankar. The venerable master achieved world renown as Ravi Shankar's chief accompanist during his apex in the 1960s, delighting audiences in the West with his percussive wizardry, not only as an uncanny accompanist with flawless timing and sensitivity but also as a soloist where he was a master of improvisation, a prolific composer and an electric showman. The partnership was particularly successful, and his legendary and spellbinding performances with Shankar at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and the Woodstock Festival in 1969 served to introduce classical Indian music to general Western audiences.

He became a Guru (or teacher) to Yogesh Samsi, Prafulla Athalye, Aditya Kalyanpur, Anuradha Pal, Uday Ramdas, Shyam Kane, and his sons Taufiq Qureshi and Fazal Qureshi. His eldest son, Zakir Hussain is also an accomplished tabla virtuoso.

Global influence

Rakha popularized the art of tabla, playing across the globe, elevating the status and respect of his instrument. Abbaji (as he was affectionately known by his disciples) also bridged the gap between Carnatic music and Hindustani music by playing with both renowned Carnatic musicians and other Hindustani stalwarts.

Leading American percussionists in Rock n' Roll, such as the Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, admired him and studied his technique, benefiting greatly even from single meetings. Hart, a published authority on percussion in world music, said "Allarakha is the Einstein, the Picasso; he is the highest form of rhythmic development on this planet." Rakha also collaborated with jazz drummer Buddy Rich, on their 1968 album Rich à la Rakha.

Rakha was awarded the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1982.

Death

Alla Rakha died on 3 February 2000 at his Simla House residence on Nepean Sea Road following a heart attack, which he suffered on learning of the death of his daughter, Razia, the previous evening.

References

Sources

#Inlay notes to A Life Story of a Genius compilation CD set (Saregama India Ltd, 2006)

External links

Category:1919 births Category:2000 deaths Category:Hindustani instrumentalists Category:Indian Muslims Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Category:Tabla players Category:Indian drummers Category:Dogra people