Keherwa confusion
Tosh Bimbra
Most books have the following notation: DhaTi NaKe Nag Dhina.
This theka is practically useless for accompaniment to gats, bandishes,
bhagans, geets, ghazals ect.....
I would so much like to see a new classification for keherwa.
Perhaps there is already some existing classification out there but I must
have missed the boat.
I remember an incident many years ago in London, 1976 or 1977, where Ustad
Salamt Ali Khan was performing at a
private function and tabla accompaniment was provided by Gulam Abbas Khan.
U. Salamat Khan started the concluding cheez which was in Bhairavi and
softly instructed Gulam Abbas to play keherwa.
Promptly he started playing some keherwa.
Salamat Khan quickly commented this was not the right theka. Gulam Abbas
switched over to a different style.
Apparently it was still inappropriate because Salamat Khan became irritated
and finally had to utter the tabla bole.
Once everyone was synchronized the cheez was completed immaculately.
Now, how many people have experienced something similar to this... be
honest.
My point is if there was a name given to the type of keherwa theka then
there would be less guess work.
Tosh.
Swar Systems
Kaherwa is one theka that has thousands (or so;-) variations. Tabla players
will invent a lot of new versions by just changing a few strokes, or placing
emphasis at different points. But I agree that when you ask them the bols
they are playing, they will always tell you : dha ge na ti na ge dhin na;-)
This is quite frustrating...
We have included over 30 varieties for this theka in the SwarShala Demo,
which you can download freely at www.swarsystems.com/SwarShala. You can not
only view the right bols for each of them, but you can also play them with
strokes from Pt. Anindo Chatterjee (please note that in Demo mode, we are
playing these sequences with a limited samples set; full version has over 24
different strokes/modulations).
I hope this helps clear up your questions about Kaherwa.
Cheers!
Mariano
"Tosh Bimbra" <tosh....@charter.net> a écrit dans le message news:
upffv4f...@corp.supernews.com...
Kulpreet Badial
numerous occasions - sometimes it may be awkward as you describe but
there are other times when the tabla player launches this "probing
mukhra" for a couple of avartans to sense the flow of the piece and
picks out the appropriate theka. It is like magic and a delight to
watch and hear, when done right. I am not sure if there is actually
a name for this manouevre - maybe some of the experienced tabla players
can elaborate.
Back to the issue of Keharwa confusion, it is due to the sheer number
of thekas available for the lighter taals - Keharwa and Dadra. There
are sub-classes of Keharwa based losely on the genre of music. For
example : Qawwali, Bhajani, Dhumali, Nakta, Punjabi, Filmi, etc. David
Courtney's book lists quite a few of those. But standardization there
is not. Even within a sub-class, there can be tons to choose from.
One of the many ways to look at this wonderful problem (Thekas, Thekas
everywhere, which one to pick ?) is to group the thekas under the laya
in which they sound the most natural. So you can have a couple of
thekas under each of very slow, slow, medium, medium fast, fast
categories. Given the laya, one can now narrow the choice down a bit.
The next bit is even more subjective - which one fits the mood ? Not
all Keharwa is upbeat. Even then, quite often one picks a combination
of two and voila - out comes a new theka.
This is a fascinating topic. Thanks for bringing it up - looking forward
to hear from seasoned hands (Pavan ??)
naniwadekar
Kulpreet Badial <kulpree...@alcatel.com> wrote -
>
> Back to the issue of Keharwa confusion, it is due to the sheer number
> of thekas available for the lighter taals - Keharwa and Dadra. There
> are sub-classes of Keharwa based losely on the genre of music. For
> example : Qawwali, Bhajani, Dhumali, Nakta, Punjabi, Filmi, etc.
> David Courtney's book lists quite a few of those.
>
I remember being told this by two unimpeachable experts
unless I am misremebering the name of that Teentaal theka (unlikely).
Alas, I have forgotten what the theka sounds like.
I have no idea whether the same theka is also seen as a variant
of Keherwa (unlikely) or whether there are two thekas called
Punjabi, with the second one being a Keherwa theka or there
is only one Punjabi theka.
Could somebody suggest some examples of Punjabi theka from
the vast store of clips hosted on sawf? Or anywhere else on the net?
- dn
Rajan P. Parrikar
>Could somebody suggest some examples of Punjabi theka from
>the vast store of clips hosted on sawf?
Try Kumar Gandharva's "svakula tAraka sutA" in Bhimpalasi.
Warm regards,
r
Rajan P. Parrikar
Or Kumar Gandharva's "nAtha hA mAzhA" in "Kalyan" (Bhaskarbuwa
Bakhale's composition).
Warm regards,
r
Kulpreet Badial
> I remember being told this by two unimpeachable experts
> unless I am misremebering the name of that Teentaal theka (unlikely).
> Alas, I have forgotten what the theka sounds like.
And you are correct. The Punjabi theka as a variant of TeenTaal is
Dha -- Dhin Dha, Dha -- Dhin Dha, Dha -- Tin Ta, Ta -- Dhin Dha
However, one can play Keharva with the feel of the Punjabi theka
e.g. Dha -- KreTin Ta, Ta -- GeDhin Dha.
So Punjabi in Keharwa really means - sounds like the TeenTaal Punjabi
theka. Of course, this is just one interpretation.
Kulpreet.
Praful Kelkar
> To the best of my knowledge, Punjabi is a theka of Teentaal.
briefly .. there are many variations on the theme of Teentaal which
are called 'addha teentaal' - meaning 1/2 beat... panjabi is one of
them. Marathi Natyasangeet is fond of these. Here are some
examples....
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha
^ - ^ - ^ - ^ - teentaal
Dha k Dhee k Dha
^ - ^ - ^ - ^ - panjabi
Dha Dhin Dhin Dha
^ - ^ - ^ - ^ - addha in marathi natyasangeet
Dha Dhin kd Dhin
^ - ^ - ^ - ^ - addha in marathi natyasangeet
Dhin Dhin Dha
^ - ^ - ^ - ^ -
etc.
Praful
A Pavan
with instrumentalists it is commonly known as Sitarkhani Theka.
Essentially the placement of the syllables in the usual Teen Taal theka is
departed from, giving a nice lilting gait to the rhythm. Sitarkhani in slow
speed is very difficult to play. It requires good Bayan control and modulation
to bring out its beauty. One of my metrics for "evaluating" a Tabla player is
how well and how beautifully can he/she play the Sitarkhani or Adha Taal
especially in slower speeds.
Swapanda's is particularly good. Many of the Tabla players who accompany
vocalists play a good Adha Taal theka - Vishwanath Shirodkar, Anand Gopal
Banerjee, Bharat Kamat, Balakrishna Iyer etc.
Pavan
Rajan P. Parrikar
>The Punjabi Theka is also known as Adha Teentaal or simply Adha Taal and
>with instrumentalists it is commonly known as Sitarkhani Theka.
Addha and Punjabi are two distinct thekAs, both variations
of teentAla. The Addha typically skips the second mAtrA of
teentAla (dhA - dhin dhA etc) whereas in Punjabi the second
mAtrA is emphasized. Punjabi has a jerky character to its
flow (check out the two clips I alluded to earlier). Of
course, it is possible that in some areas/traditions these
are considered equivalent and that they perhaps call one
or the other by another name.
Warm regards,
r
A Pavan
The definitions and distinctions are real loosy-floosy - you will get
as many responses as queries put to different players from different
traditions. To me they are one and the same - kind of like the same
basic dish with different garnishes.
The Theka used in Tappas does emphasize the second matra and leaves out
the third, in each quadrant of Teen Taal. But it does not have the same
gait or "lachak" as Sitarkhani/Adha.
Pavan
Kulpreet Badial
player to accompany in Keharwa, how should the theka be picked ?
Other than the laya and genre, what other guidelines can one use ? It
is so very important - because the choice of theka will also influence
to some extent the laggi/larhis one can play in the interludes.
Most of the people I have asked answer it with - "whatever feels
right". How can we make that a bit objective ? I have a feeling that
emphasized vs non-empahsized sam in the composition may possibly be
another factor. Is it ? What else ? Come on, I know there are enough
of you pit-patters and ding-dongers (isn't rmic lingo just beautiful
?) out there - open up your bag of tricks and throw out a morsel or
two.
Kulpreet.
~
A Pavan
To post the variety of Thekas used in different situations would take too
long. In short there is no "algorithm" but some general set of considerations
apply. One or more of these determine what Theka goes into application:
1. The genre of song
There are generally accepted sets of Thekas considered suitable for Thumri
and Dadra, Ghazal and Bhajan.
Common Thumri (Jat) theka
(- indicates silence and each Matra is subdivided into 4 beats)
1 2 3 4
Dha - - - Dhin - - - Dha - Dha DhaGe Tin - - -
5 6 7 8
Ta - - - Tin - - - Dha - Dha DhaGe Dhin - TiReKiTe
A faster Theka for Thumri/Bhajan would be:
1 2 3 4
Dha TreKa Tin Tin
5 6 7 8
Ta TreKa Dhin Dhin
2. Performer's requirements
Sometimes I have been asked to provide only a specific Theka by the performer.
Heck I acquired my Keharwa repertoire simply due to this process as Keharwa
was never taught by any serious classical Tabla teacher I came into contact
with. This was education in real-time and a variety of Keherwa possibilities
emerged after many many years of playing in this manner.
Some requests would often be of the type: "please play that "nauka-chaal"
(boat movement)theka or the khemta theka or the Gujarati Raas Theka.
3. Speed and gait of the song/compotisition
For example, the Keharwa Theka (- indicates silent period - each
matra is subdivided into 4 matras)
1 2 3 4
Dha - - Dha Ta - Tin -
5 6 7 8
Ta - - Dha Ta - Dhin -
can only be applied when the song has that "lachak" or slightly
syncopated gait to it. A good example is Kishori's rendition of the
Bhajan "Jao Nirmohi Jaani Thaari Preet". Or Ghulam Ali's rendering of
"Patta Patta Boota Boota" or Jagjit Singh's "Sarakti Jaaye Hai". The
above Theka works really well.
On the other hand with Lata's "Saanwara Re Mhari Preet Nibha Jo Ji", the
Theka:
Dha TreKa Tin Tin Ta TreKa Dhin Dhin
locks in real well.
In very slow Ghazals this Vilambit Kekarwa Theka works real well:
1 2 3 4
Dha Dha Ti Ta Tit Tin
5 6 7 8
TaKe TreKa DhinTreKa DhinDhin
(Tit and Ti played with the middle finger on the syahi - dampened sound
as in the bolsequence Ti Te) Many variants exist.
popularized by the well known Ghazal Tabalita Abdul Sattar Tari Khan
of Pakistan. You can hear this Theka in countless Ghazals of Mehdi Hassan
and Ghulam Ali from years past.
Again, a combination of your repertoire, the gait and genre of song and
your sense of aesthetics determine what theka gets applied.
For Bhajans of course the standard Dhumali and its variants apply in about
70% of the cases - this is true of Dasara Padas, many Carnatic Krithis,
Abhangs, Kannada Vachanas and so on. The Dhumali (or Bhajani) Theka is most
useful. There are of course countless variations of those Thekas.
Some other times one has to apply a different Theka that locks in well with
the gait and speed of the song. Again, use your sense of aesthetics to decide.
And then there are Laggis galore ... Some other time.
My suggestion:
Listen to any recordings of Tari Khan accompanying Ghazals/Geets - he is the
Master of Dadra, Keherwa and Rupak (the light music variety). He has a
vast repoertoire of Laggis and continues to churn out new ones as heard in
recent recordings. His accompaniment for Ghazals, in my opinion, is quite
unsurpassed by any Tabla player living or dead.
You should learn a lot listening to Tari Khan.
Praful Kelkar
> Most of the people I have asked answer it with - "whatever feels
> right". How can we make that a bit objective ? I have a feeling that
It is left to the intuition in most cases. And as it happens you
can't pick up finer cultural abad that goes with these kind of choices
thru talking and it is not discussed logically, and I am not even sure
it is possible to. You have to really imbibe the culture in order to
"do it right". Even tabla players from India from a different part
cannot play the "correct" thekas for natyasangeet which requres
specific language and cultural understanding of Marathi with all its
nuances. Similar is true of kawwali, ghazal, and other accompaniment.
And it even gets more specific, in the filmy duniya (since we are
speaking of keherwa) there are specific thekas - such as Bhappi Lehari
keherwa and RD Burman dadra and such (this anecdote came with a
humerous demonstration done by the very talented dholak player who
accompaned Hridaynath during his tour a couple of years ago .. his
name escapes me now).
>example : Qawwali, Bhajani, Dhumali, Nakta, Punjabi, Filmi, etc.
David
>Courtney's book lists quite a few of those. But standardization there
>is not.
You have got to be kidding! Is that your reference resource? Don't
want to start pointing fingers, but while the website is intersting,
the tabla as well as the vocal demonstrations on the website suggest
rather under-developed knowledge.
>Come on, I know there are enough of you pit-patters and ding-dongers
(isn't >rmic lingo just beautiful...
Do tell, what is it that you are studying and with whom?
Praful
Kulpreet Badial
> can't pick up finer cultural abad that goes with these kind of choices
> thru talking and it is not discussed logically, and I am not even sure
> it is possible to. You have to really imbibe the culture in order to
> "do it right".
Agreed. The intent of the query was to benefit from the experience of
those who had imbibed it, so to say. Pavan's response and especially
the examples do make things clearer - Thanks, Pavan.
> You have got to be kidding! Is that your reference resource? Don't
> want to start pointing fingers, but while the website is intersting,
> the tabla as well as the vocal demonstrations on the website suggest
> rather under-developed knowledge.
That is one of my resource. I found the book very helpful. Let's keep
it at that.
>
> >Come on, I know there are enough of you pit-patters and ding-dongers
> (isn't >rmic lingo just beautiful...
>
> Do tell, what is it that you are studying and with whom?
I am learning Tabla. From nobody famous. Even if he were famous - I
have been reading this group for quite a while now to have the sense
not to mention his name. The barbeque season never ends here :-)
Kulpreet.
Tosh Bimbra
Thanks for a wonderful synopsis of the topic.
As for Tari Khan, your words could not be more apt.
A Pavan
>
> For example, the Keharwa Theka (- indicates silent period - each
> matra is subdivided into 4 matras)
Sorry that should have read "each matra is subdivided divided into 2 matras".
> 1 2 3 4
> Dha - - Dha Ta - Tin -
> 5 6 7 8
> Ta - - Dha Ta - Dhin -
>
> can only be applied when the song has that "lachak" or slightly
> syncopated gait to it. A good example is Kishori's rendition of the
> Bhajan "Jao Nirmohi Jaani Thaari Preet". Or Ghulam Ali's rendering of
> "Patta Patta Boota Boota" or Jagjit Singh's "Sarakti Jaaye Hai". The
> above Theka works really well.
Pavan
PS Sometime in the near future I'll post a variety of Keharwa Thekas with
examples culled from existing recordings.
Pradeep
I agree with Ranjan.
Punjabi and Addhaa (Sitarkhani) are different in that they have
distinct weightages.
Addhaa has a "Dha ___ Dhin Dha" pattern
Punjabi has a "Dha Dhin kda Dhin" pattern, with the Kda-bit standing
out.
Typical examples are
Addha : (Filmi song:) Jiya Le Gayo Ji Mora Sawariya
Punjabi : (Marathi natyageet:)Srijan Kasaa Man Chori
And in no way, can either be called a "keherawa variant", since each
of these has a distinct 16 beat cycle.
...Pradeep
