History and genealogy of the Delhi tabla gharana
J. Kippen
As promised some time ago I am giving a brief outline of some of the
tabla traditions, including genealogical information and some
historical analysis/commentary. We begin with Delhi, the "mother of
all tabla gharanas" as Saddam Hussain might have put it. The
information comes largely from the late Ustad Inam Ali Khan and his
uncle Ustad Munnu Khan. It was collected during the early 1980s, but
interviews with these gharana members took place in April 1984.
I will not deal with musical material here. Perhaps this can be done
some other time. I haven't the time to do it right now.
Caveat -- I do not wish to get into a debate with my friend Dan Neuman
about the validity of the term "gharana" here. He and others know my
view, and I am using the term as those Delhi informants used it when
speaking to me.
As with all genealogies this one is highly incomplete and probably
somewhat selective. In anthropology we call this "structural
amnesia". I take the view that history is a reconstruction of the
past that justifies the present.
ORIGINS -- No documentary evidence exists for the "invention" of
tabla. Many Hindu scholars have tried to show either that (1) tabla
existed over 2,000 years ago (temple carvings seem to indicate
horizontally played drums, but alas with no organological similarity
(again with no organological credibility). I feel that many of these
attempts are a result of the Hinduization or Sanskritization of modern
Indian culture, designed in part to undermine or dismiss outside (read
Muslim) influence in Indian culture.
As the excellent study of tabla by Rebecca Stewart (UCLA thesis, 1974)
suggested, tabla was most likely the result of experiments with
existing drums such as pakhavaj, dholak, and naqqara. The origins of
tabla repertoire may be found in all three, and structurally there are
also elements of all three: the smaller pakhavaj head for the dahina,
the naqqara kettledrum for the bayan, and the flexible use of the bass
of the dholak. Tabla first appears in writings and in miniatures
around 1760. We therefore assume tabla to have been "invented"
somewhere betweem 1725 and 1750.
The first tabla players were undoubtedly also experts on other drums,
probably dholak and naqqara, since pakhavaj players had higher social
status that those who played the other instruments. Socially these
early tabla musicians were from the dhari community (Mirasi caste).
Some were Sunni Muslims, but a significant group were from the Shia
sect. One of these Shias was Sudhar Khan Dhari. Sudhar Khan is the
first tabla player we know of, and perhaps he was responsible for
creating this instrument, but that is just conjecture.
GENEALOGY
Sudhar Khan Dhari
2 sons: Chote Khan & Husain Khan
Let us deal with the younger son first, Husain Khan. The Delhi
genalogical chart I saw noted that Husain Khan had 4 sons, only one of
whom was named: Chajju Khan. Both Delhi and Lucknow lore tell of two
brother from Delhi leaving to seek patronage in Lucknow. One of these
brother would for sure be the founder of the Lucknow tabla gharana,
Miyan Bakhshu Khan Dhari. There is a professed clan linkage between
Delhi and Lucknow, and they are both Shia.
Chote Khan had 3 sons: Bugara Khan, Chand Khan, and Lalle Masit Khan.
Bugara Khan had two sons: Shitab Ali Khan and Gulab Ali Khan.
Chand Khan had no sons.
Lalle Masit Khan had one sone, Nanne Khan, who in turn had no sons.
Shitab Ali Khan had two sons: Muhammad Khan and Nazar Ali Khan.
Gulab Ali Khan had no sons.
Muhammad Khan had one son: Chote Khan.
Nazar Ali Khan had no sons.
Chote Khan had two sons: Gamay Khan and Munnu Khan.
Gamay Khan had one son: Inam Ali Khan.
Inam Ali has several sons, but the only one who plays tabla (though
only poorly, I hear) is Ghulam Haider Khan.
There is another twist, logged in the genealogy. Remember Bugara Khan
had two sons? He also had (at least) one daughter who was married to
one Makkhu Khan. Makkhu Khan had a son, Bare Kale Khan. Bare Kale
Khan had a son, Wali Bakhsh Khan (? some uncertainly about the name).
Wali Bakhsh Khan had a son, Natthu Khan. Wali Bakhsh Khan also had
a daughter who married Gamay Khan.
Now perhaps you see what I mean about structural amnesia. Everything
in this lineage explains the evolution of Ustad Inam Ali Khan and his
links to the two Delhi greats of "recent" times: Gamay Khan and Natthu
Khan. Whether all these other folk actually had no sons is
debateable. Also, women do not figure in the genealogical tree unless
they justify the existence of certain male figures. Many of these
female links could indeed be important, specially since there is the
pattern of endogamous marriage.
Nevertheless, there is likely to be a high degree of accuracy in the
names and relationships that are mentioned, even if it is selective.
And as for dates? No one is very clear about this, but it seems
reasonable to suggest that Sudhar Khan Dhari was born in the early
1700s. Add 30 years (as an average) for each generation thereafter,
and you more or less get the mapping of the generations to the present
day. The only dates we have (from Gottlieb's new edition of his book
on tabla) are: Natthu Khan (1875-1940); Gamay Khan (1882-1958); and
Inam Ali Khan (1924-90) -- though I feel sure Inam Ali died in the
late 1980s, not 1990.
No mention so far of Latif Ahmed Khan (1941-90), maybe one of the
greatest tabla players of the 20th century. A Sunni Muslim, he
learned from both Gamay Khan and Inam Ali, though relationships soured
in later years.
My assessment is that this tabla tradition died with Inam Ali and
Latif Ahmed. The in turn left a number of disciples in Indian and
Europe, but none has the range of knowledge and certainly not the
technique to project that knowledge as a living performance tradition
into the future.
My next attempt will be my own gharana, Lucknow. Don't hold your
breath. I'm off fishing for a couple of days, and then I have piles
of work to get down to. Hopefully I will get something done later
this summer.
jasbir...@gmail.com
pkd...@gmail.com
boris....@gmail.com
Here is a Tabla Solo played in Delhi Baaj style by Ustad Babar Latif Khan (4th December 2019, Manchester UK):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WeBPGHqXbw&list=PLKf6juOKQcoSdMGd6vld1PDLFyGSosirV&index=2&t=0s