Listen: Tabla virtuoso Swapan Chaudhuri accompanies a gat set to a cycle of 8½ matras
February 8, 2025 | by Deshvidesh News

Among the less commonly heard taals that are used by instrumentalists for vilambit gats or slow-paced instrumental compositions are those that employ fractions of complete matras or time-units. For instance, taals that have quarter-, half- or three-quarter matras, fall in this category.
The uneven nature of the total number of matras and the gait of the taal understandably pose a challenge to performers. But in the hands of a master musician, such taals seem deceptively easy to negotiate and not far removed from the experience with more commonly heard taals.
The ability of such a musician to move beyond numbers and create a chhand or groove for the taal is what makes such taals accessible even to less informed listener. Needless to say, this requires a deep immersion of the musician in the risky waters of the taal stream.
Equally, it requires consummate skill on the part of the tabla player to navigate his or her way through these waters.
Listeners can hear the manner in which renowned tabla virtuoso Swapan Chaudhuri enters a dialogue with sarod maestro Ali Akbar Khan in this gat set to Jhampak, a rhythmic cycle of 8½ matras.
The tabla enters with a very short tihai before laying out the theka. The gat is in…
Hot Categories
Recent News
Daily Newsletter
Get all the top stories from Blogs to keep track.
RELATED POSTS
View all
I travelled to ground zero of the cyber scams targeting India. Here is what I found
February 13, 2025 | by Deshvidesh News
Precious minerals, geo-political calculations are driving India’s engagement with Taliban
January 29, 2025 | by Deshvidesh News
Pune GBS spurt puts focus on how food-borne bugs can thrive due to climate change
March 1, 2025 | by Deshvidesh News