Ahad Sabri at 11:14, 16 March 2026

2026-03-16T11:14:01Z

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{{Short description|Style of playing the Indian tabla}}
{{distinguish|text=Banaras gharana, a [[Gharana#Vocal gharanas|vocal gharana]] of [[Hindustani classical music]]}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Shahid_Parvez_Khan_performing_at_a_concert.jpg|thumb| [[Shahid Parvez Khan]] at a concert accompanied by Benaras Gharana tabla player [[Samta Prasad|Pt. Samta Prasad]]]]
'''Benares gharānā''' (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian [[tabla]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Essays on Indian music (History and culture series) |last=Kumar |first=Raj|year=2003 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House|isbn=81-7141-719-1 |page=200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwwX6DWfn3gC&q=Samta+Prasad&pg=PA200 }}</ref>

==History==

The [[Benaras]] tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At the age of nine, Ram moved to [[Lucknow]] to become a disciple of Modhu Khan of the [[Lucknow gharana]].

After some time performing in Benares, Pandit Ram Sahai felt the need to make a significant change in his tabla playing. For six months, he withdrew into seclusion, and worked to develop what is now known as the Benares baj or style of tabla playing. The philosophy behind this new style of tabla playing is that it would be versatile enough to perform solo, and to accompany any form of music or dance. The tabla would be able to play delicately, as required for [[khyal]], or more aggressively, like [[Pakhavaj|pakhawaj]], for the accompaniment of [[dhrupad]] or [[kathak]] dance. Ram Sahai developed a new way of fingering the tabla strokes; especially important is the sound Na, being played with a curved ring finger to allow for maximum resonance of the dahina. He also composed numerous compositions within existing compositional forms ({{Transliteration|hi|[[Gat (music)|gats]]}},{{Transliteration|hi|tukdas}}, {{Transliteration|hi|fard}}, {{Transliteration|hi|parans}}< etc.) and created new forms, such as {{Transliteration|hi|uthan}}, {{Transliteration|hi|Benarasi theka}}, and {{Transliteration|hi|fard}}.

==Characteristics==

Today, the Benares tabla gharana is well known for its powerful sound, though Benares players are also very capable of playing delicately and sensitively. The gharana is categorized into the Purbi (eastern) baj, which includes the [[Farukhabad]], Lucknow, and Benares gharanas. The Benares style makes use of the more resonant strokes of tabla, such as Na (played on the lao), and Din.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

==Exponents==
The tabla solo is highly developed in the Benares gharana, and some artists, such as [[Anokhelal Mishra]], [[Samta Prasad]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kippen.org/t_masters/samtaprasad.html |title=Samta Prasad |publisher=kippen.org |access-date=2009-05-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907064915/http://kippen.org/t_masters/samtaprasad.html |archive-date=7 September 2008 }}</ref> [[Nanhku Maharaj]] (Fardi Baj)13th generations, and [[Kishan Maharaj]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Pt Kishan Maharaj: End of an era|author= Shovana Narayan|author-link= Shovana Narayan|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080506/nation.htm#16 |work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]] |date=6 May 2008 }}</ref> have become famous as tabla soloists. The direct descendants making up the 6th generation of tabla players are Mahapurush Misra, [[Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay]] (disciple of Mahadev Prasad Mishra), and [[Chandra Nath Shastri]] (disciple of [[Anokhelal Mishra]]). The 7th generation consists of [[Kumar Bose]], Pt Ashis Chakraborty (disciples of Pt. Mahapurush Mishra) and Sukhwinder Singh 'Pinky' (disciples of [[Kishan Maharaj]]), Sanju Sahai (disciple of Sharda Sahai) and [[Shubh Maharaj]], grandson and disciple of [[Pandit Kishan Maharaj]] also considered as one of the torch bearers of Benaras Gharana.

Other noted artists include Kanthe Maharaj, uncle and guru of [[Kishan Maharaj]], and whose disciples were Badri Maharaj and [[Ashutosh Bhattacharya]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography of Kanthe Maharaj |url=http://www.varanasi.org.in/kanthe-maharaj |publisher=varanasi.org |access-date=24 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="Misra1990">{{cite book|author=Susheela Misra|title=Some immortals of Hindustani music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcYGAQAAMAAJ|page=127|date=1990|publisher=Harman Pub. House|isbn=978-81-85151-14-4}}</ref>

The Benares baj makes use of over 20 different compositional types, and has an enormously varied repertoire of each type.

Reputed players of the gharana include [[Anokhelal Mishra]] (1914–1958), [[Samta Prasad]] (1921–1994),[[Nanhku Maharaj]](1921-1995), [[Kishan Maharaj]] (1923–2008), [[Ashutosh Bhattacharya]] (1917–2004), [[Prakash Maharaj]] ( born 1945-2003),[[Chandra Nath Shastri]] (b. 1948), [[Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay]] (b. 1942-2021), [[Kumar Bose]] (b. 1953), [[Udai Mazumdar]] (b. 1970), [[Sandeep Das]] (b. 1971), [[Nandan Mehta]] (1942–2010), [[Pt.Ravinath Mishra]], and [[Prabhash Maharaj]] (1982).

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Sahai, Sharda and Shepherd, Frances A. 2000 ''Play Tabla, A Manual for Tabla Playing''. Sittingbourne: Asian Education Press.
*Shepherd, Frances A. 1976 ''Tabla and the Benares Gharana''. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International. (Ph.D. dissertation).

==External links==
*[http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/highlight/page/id/375577/t/Benaras-Gharana-Tabla/in/english SBS Radio, Australia - Broadcast: Interview with Chandranath Shastri of Banaras Tabla Gharana about the specialty of Banaras Gharana] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630073943/http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/highlight/page/id/375577/t/Benaras-Gharana-Tabla/in/english |date=30 June 2017 }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benares Gharana}}
[[Category:Benares gharana| ]]
[[Category:Music of Uttar Pradesh]]

Benares gharana - Revision history

Ahad Sabri at 11:14, 16 March 2026