Ajrara gharana
Ajrara gharana or Ajrada gharana is one of the six main traditional schools in tabla drum. The distinctiveness of this Gharana is the use of complex Bols and Meend. Pakhawaj bols are rare. The stress is on Ad and Barabar laya. It specializes in the three-time pattern. The position of the left drum is not changed, but its face is touched with the thumb.
History
This school was founded in the 19th-century by Miru Khan and Kallu Khan, disciples of Sitab Khan of the Delhi gharana, at the Ajrara, Uttar Pradesh.
Playing style
Clarity of sound is made possible by the propensity for using the index and middle fingers in the traditional manner. The Ajrara gharana style includes more complicated bol patterns than the Delhi gharana. This is because the third fingers are brought into play as well. Bols like Dhina GiNa, Ghe Ghe Tit Kit, Dha Ge Na, etc. are most frequently used. These bols create a certain resonance. Pakhawaj bols are rarely used in this gharana.
Gheginak, gheghe, Dhadagena, Nadagena or Tadagena etc. are used in the kayadas.
Ajrada is most well known for its theme and various compositions (mainly kayadas) as well as its beautiful and balanced Bayan (bass drum) work. The kayadas of Ajrada, often have an additional third line out of four. This is one of the few unique features of Ajrada Gharana kayadas.
Following is the typical Ajrada kayada based on Teen Taal:
DhaGe DhiNaGina DhaTeTiReKiTaTaKaTiReKiTa DhaGeDhiNa DhaTiTeDhaGeTiNaGiNa
1 -------------------- 2 -------------------- 3 -------------------- 4
TaGe TiNaGiNa TaTeTiReKiTaTaKeTiReKiTa DhaGeDhiNa DhaTiTaDhaGeDhiNaGiNa (First 8)
5 6 7 8
DhaGe DhiNaGiNa DhaTeTiReKiTaTaKaTiReKiTa DhaGeDhiNa DhaTiTeDhaGeTiNaGiNa
9 10 11 12
TaGe TiNaGiNa TaTeTiReKiTaTaKeTiReKiTa DhaGeDhiNa DhaTiTaDhaGeDhiNaGiNa (Second 8 bits)
13 14 15 16
Prominent exponents
Ajrada is weakly represented in the world stage. The most notable representative of gharana has been Ustad Habibuddin Khan. The fathers of Ustad Habibuddin Khan, Ustad Shammu Khan and the grand father Ustad Hassu Khan were the great exponents of the gharana. Maestros like Ustad Amir Hussain Khan and Shaikh Dawood excelled in the rendition of many rare and poetic compositions of Ajrada.
Manju Khan Sahib, son and student of Ustad Habibuddin Khan Sahib, is a great representative of Ajrada Gharana. Ustad Niazu Khan and Pandit Sudhirkumar Saxena (professor at M. S. University, Baroda, and student of Habibuddin Khan) were noted teachers. Pt. Sudhirkumar Saxena lived for many years in Baroda and also made pupils such as Shri. Madhukar Gurav and more; out of which, Pandit Vikram Patil, based in Baroda, is the skilled exponent of the Ajrada gharana.
Pandit Vikram Patil is known for his versatility as tabla soloist. Accompanied by celebrity Light Music Vocalists of India, he has dedicated his life to passing on to the upcoming generation the skills of the tabla. His own innovations and creations of Kayadas are found to be so unique and difficult that the representatives of Ajrada gharana hoped to reproduce them. Ustad Manju Khan was the son of Ustad Habibbudin Khan, and he was considered the Khalifa of this gharana after Ustad Habibuddin Khan. Ramzan Khan, Shamshad Khan and Aashiq Hussain Khan have also been direct family members from this gharana. Another exponent was Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan, father of Ustad Akram Khan.
Ustad Akram Khan is considered the torchbearers of Ajrada Gharana. Ustad Shakeel Ahmed Khan, Ustad Ghulam Sarvar Sabri, Ustad Akram Khan, Shri Gulfam Sabri, and Pandit Vikram Patil are among the young representatives of Ajrada gharana today. The disciples of Ustad Manju Khan Saheb are Dr. Anil Kumar from Ludhiana, Ustad Athar Hussain Khan, Ustad Parvez Hussain, Aman Ali Shahbaaz Khan from New Delhi, and Sanjesh Prasad from Fiji. Currently, Aamil Hussain, Fardeen Hussain, Urooj Ali, and Sameer Khan are direct members of the Ajrada family, the 10th generation of this tradition, and all are students of Khalifa Ustad Manju Khan Saheb.
References
- 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 978-3-8739-7300-8.