| The Rhythms of Bengal |
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I conducted an experiment on a cousin just a few days after his birth. I took an array of instruments into his room and played them one by one. There was hardly any visible reaction to the string instruments but when he heard the sound of the drums, he started rolling his head and eyes. Consequently I have had much reason to strengthen my belief that there is something inherently imbedded in the human psyche when it comes to the phenomenon of rhythm. We are often ignorant of the part rhythm plays in our lives. The tempo of our walk, the body language of our dance, and the accents of our dialect are all intrinsically woven into the tapestry of our rhythmic heritage. This is why there is an easy, rhythmic flow in tribal cultures, which are broad-based and simpler and such mathematical jugglery in the rhythms of more complicated urban cultures. Rural-Urban Juxtaposition The rhythmic heritage of Bengal, to say the least, is glorious. To conduct a fair appraisal of this great tradition we need to identify two very distinct socio-cultural trends that have existed side by side. There had for many years existed a brilliant, highly developed classical rhythmic culture that primarily thrived in the cities, patronised by kings and zamindars. The two drums that became the vortex of these more intellectualised traditions were the tabla and the pakhawaj. There also existed the great rural traditions of rhythm manifested in the bangla dhol, khol and kara nakkara dhaak. It is this coexistence that has enabled the creation of many semi-classical, popular art forms which are derived much from the rural “sound”. For example, drums like khol or madal were sourced from the Bauls and the Santhals. Much of Bengal’s cultural uniqueness has grown from this mixture of the rural and the urban, the coexistence of the tabla and the bangla dhol. The tabla is considered one of the most versatile drums the world has ever known. The mathematics of tabla uses permutations, combinations, square roots and so on. It is also symbolic of the great intellectual progress of Bengal. The history of this drum reveals that it permeated much of the “babu culture” and provided the backbone of accompaniment for a variety of forms such as classical, Rabindrasangeet, Dwijendrageeti, Nazrulgeeti, puratoni and more. There was a spill over in both directions. While simplistic tabla playing headed for the villages, the dhaak or khol came to the cities through festivals such as the Durga Puja and ceremonies like the shraddha. Social Hierarchy When we look back there is a rather interesting structure of hierarchy that existed in the musical scene in Bengal and in other parts of the country. The vocalist was given the prime position of respect, followed by the string musicians and the drummer was the last in order. So poignant was this hierarchy that in the earlier days, the drummers were not even allowed to sit. The tabla player would stand behind and play with the tabla tied to his waist. Being in the foreground was unheard of. It has been an incredible progress from the anonymity of those early days to the tremendous position the drummer or the tabla player enjoys today. On the other hand, in the rural areas it was a different scenario. The dhaak took centre stage mainly during the Durga Puja festivities while the madal was the central image of the Santhal culture.
The first professionals and early experiments: Some of the first professional tabla players in Bengal were Tabla on the world map
The important aspect of the musical history of Bengal in recent times is the emergence of the “band” concept which often used western accompaniment techniques. Much like the urban youth of today, the bands epitomised their cultural ethos to suit the musical demands of society with multi-faceted needs. I had been touring for years as a tabla player and had imbibed the musical cultures of other parts of the world. As an artist I had more to say which could not be communicated through the language of classical music alone. Around 1997, I began to visualise a form of music, which would embody these changes and would reflect my own cultural ethos. This was the seed of Rhythmscape which is a essentially Indian music with hues of a variety of cultures. Our popularity rests on the brilliance of the musicians and the groove element that I added onto the framework of Indian Classical to give it a greater reaches. A contemporary project of Rhythmscape is Taaltantra, led by my friend Tanmoy Bose. Although Tanmoy and I were bonded on the aesthetics of music we thought very differently when it came to crossover projects which explain why our projects are inherently different. Experiments conducted by bands like Karma and others have also made their contribution to the feverish pitch of rhythmic experimentation in Bengal. It may not be a misnomer to say that we, like the ‘bangla’ (Bengal) bands, started a trend of Bengal-based fusion bands that attempted to use Indian Classical music in a contemporary manner. Subhankar Banerjee, Abhijit Banerjee and Mallhar Ghosh, all accomplished tabla players have also experimented in contemporary moulds. Some younger musicians are also following and going by some of their work, the future looks bright. The sun is the limit Finally, from being a backdrop in the scheme of things to achieving prime status in the current musical scenario, rhythm in Bengal has come a long way. Many brilliant tabla players down the ages and drummers with a creative vision have brought about this difference. At this juncture one feels that there are possibilities galore for further development. It is almost certain that the current high will pave the path for further creative experimentation that will ensure Bengal its place on the world map of rhythm. No more being the last link in the food chain for the tabla players. For now, the sun is the limit! World famous percussionist and New- age percussion star, Bickram Ghosh is ranked amongst the great Tabla players of our country. Equally brilliant within traditional as well as experimental genres, Bickram has carved out a unique niche for himself in his diverse avataars as classical musician, new – age artiste and composer. Son of the great Tabla maestro-Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Bickram has also learnt the nuances of Carnatic percussion from Pandit S. Sekhar. He performed for over a decade with the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar who honed his skills in the art of accompaniment. He has over 50 recordings as Soloist, Composer and Collaborator. His performances have met with accolades in international circuits and his many associations with top western musicians such as George Harrison (Bickram performed on the title track of Harrison’s posthumously released album ‘Brainwashed’), Mstilav Rostropovich, Khaled Kouen, Yosi Levi and others has placed him in the top rung of Indian musicians in the International arena. Bickram played on Grammy award winning album ’Full Circle’ along with Ravi Shankar. He has played on a number of Grammy nominated albums as well.
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By Bickram Ghosh
In the 1930s and 40s there Bengal saw an influx of great tabla players. Illustrious names like Ahmadjaan Therakuwa, Masit Khan and his son Keramatullah Khan, Feroz Khan, Habibuddin Khan and others either settled down in Kolkata or frequently visited. This period may be regarded as the renaissance in tabla. Taking centre stage at this juncture was a Bengali “babu”, a moneyed intellectual who patronised many of these great artists. Gyan Prokash Ghosh whose house in Dixon lane in North Kolkata became a haven for artists Ravi Shankar, Omkarnath Thakur, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan among vocalists and instrumentalists and Tabla players like Masit Khan, Therakuwa and Kanthe Maharaj . It is folklore as to how Gyan babu exchanged riches for compositions from the tabla masters. These compositions went through the intellectual churning in Gyan Babu’s mind and emerged as a scientific study in finger techniques, mathematical intricacy and poetic content. What Gyan babu began in those days was one of the earliest ventures into the logical surmising of the subject matter of tabla. Being a poet, a singer, an educationist and a harmonium maestro, he could visualise the span and scope of the subject of tabla in order to articulate into content and give the subject a logical structuring on the basis of science and aesthetics. Playing relevant roles toward the subject development as well as the improvement in social status of the tabla were two more “babus” from Bengal both lawyers and contemporaries of Gyan babu cousins—Hirendra Kumar Ganguly and Krishna Kumar Ganguly. 
Kanai Dutt, Shyamal Bose, Shankar Ghosh, Biswanath Bose and Mahapurush Mishra. Through these gentlemen the tabla was catapulted to a position of great popularity, at times overshadowing even the main performer. They traveled across the globe spreading the tabla of Bengal to hitherto untouched places. Following in the footsteps of his guru Gyan babu who conceived one of the first drum ensembles Drums of India, Shankar Ghosh took rhythmic experimentation to new heights in the 1970s with his Music of the Drums, later christened the Calcutta Drum Orchestra. Through this unique orchestra he held audiences transfixed. Superbly packaged with an array of attractive beats and lights, Music of the Drums brought drums onto the popular centre stage. The group toured extensively and performed at the closing ceremony of the 1982 Asian games besides performing at the prestigious 100th year celebrations of the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 
Around the early 1980s Zakir Hussain stormed the rhythm scene. Tabla was already poised on a world stage with Alla Rakha (whose association with Ravi Shankar created a tremendous impact), Shankar Ghosh and others. The advent of Zakir Hussain catapulted the tabla player to a glamour status that was inconceivable in the early days. The contribution of maestros like Swapan Chowdhury, Kumar Bose, Anindo Chatterjee, Sabir Khan, Samar Saha, Sanjoy Mukherjee, and Gobindo Bose cannot be undermined for their contributions to globalising the tabla. The fact that people like me can conceive of shows heavily backed by sponsorship is due to the tremendous struggle and dedication that our predecessors put into the subject both aesthetically and socially.