Keeping pace with tradition
PRASHANTH G.N.
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Ustad Shabbeer Khan carries in his style and presentation a great deal of his father, the legendary tabliya, Shaik Dawood. The maestro humbly admits that his father is his ultimate role model
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PASSIONATE Other than his father, it was Ahmed Jan Thirakhwa, who was a great inspiration for Ustad Shabbeer Nissar Khan
In Ustad Shabbeer Nissar Khan is a glimpse of the great tabla tradition of Shaik Dawood. This exemplary tabliya perhaps carries one of the most important tabla lineages in the country, of Shaik Dawood. Being Shaik Dawood's son, the responsibility to preserve and perpetuate the lineage, is much greater. Ustad Shabbeer does it not only in the way he speaks of his great father but in the way he plays the tabla as well — like his father — restrained and yet passionate, brief and yet impacting, minimalist and yet powerful. Shaik Dawood, in Ustad Shabbeer's words, "did not believe in wasting time while playing the tabla. Make the presentation, but make it quick, make it brief, but make it powerful. The end of all playing must be to communicate. Not how long, fast or loud you play."
Like his father
Ustad Shabbeer's presentation and style is much like his father's and in him we get a glimpse of what must have been Shaik Dawood's approach. The 20th anniversary celebration of Kallur Mahalakshmi Tabla Vidyalaya and Tabla Utsav held at the Town Hall in Bangalore lent occasion for Ustad Shabbeer to demonstrate his repertoire and reflect on the tabla. The Ustad presented compositions from four gharanas that his father only knew too well (and more of course) — Delhi, Purab (Lucknowi-Farukhabad), Ajrada and Punjab. The Ustad's presentations were effortless, quick, lively, and subtle. The tabla in his hands seemed so much more elevated, with Fayaz Khan's sarangi only heightening the feel. As the Ustad himself put it: "The tabla gives you the best when you know how to get the best out of it."
Ustad Shabbeer outlines his father's understanding of playing the tabla when asked why he preferred the short and terse style. "Once you have presented a composition, what is the need to go on with it? The composition can be stretched, but that would be a waste of time. It would be more fulfilling to create new compositions. My father believed in presenting a variety, the wholesomeness of the tabla, its many possibilities, so many more sounds, its own language..."
The brevity in Shaik Dawood's style came from the one man who influenced him heavily throughout his life and who is the source of the legendary lineage — the great Ahmed Jan Thirakwa held in high esteem by all generations of tabla players. It is this Thirakwa tradition that Ustad Shabbeer carries through his father.
The other elements Ustad Shabbeer carries from his father are the purity and accuracy of the bol and the bayan style of playing — Shaik Dawood's distinct tradition. "I don't say it because he is my father, but my understanding is that there is no one in India who can play with his kind of finger technique. It is the most unique finger technique in the country. He uses the thumb to produce the same effect that others produce using the hand. It is very, very difficult."
If the thumb is difficult, the bol is frightening. Shaik Dawood's compositions, says Ustad Shabbeer, were known for their mathematical ferocity. If you missed one bol, you had to play the composition from the beginning all over again. The Ustad recalls a most telling remark: "Swapan Choudhury the great tabla artiste was performing in New York. He was playing and he suddenly said: `I am scared to play Shaik Dawood's compositions because I cannot afford to miss a bol. If I do, I know I have to come back all over again..."
The mathematics, however, never did prevent Shaik Dawood's tabla to come to life, to emote, to excite. "If you play well, no matter whether you grasp the rules, you will somehow love this style of the tabla." Not surprisingly, Ustad Shabbeer chose to live with this style that he commenced at age four from his own father. He loves it and he wishes to further it. "Of course I have been able to play only ten per cent of the nearly 5,000 compositions my father has."
Intense riyaz
For Ustad Shabbeer it was riyaz all the time, from the age of five to 21. His father allowed him to perform only after this. He would always be worried how well his fingers played out.
Ustad Shabbeer, who has been with AIR, Hyderabad, for the last 20 years, teaches music at the Government College of Music and Dance, Hyderabad. He also heads the Ustad Shaik Dawood Academy of Music in Hyderabad that tries to preserve and promote the rich tradition of his father Shaik Dawood.
The Ustad, who travels all over the world to perform and teach, has accompanied greats like Vilayat Khan, Haleem Jaffer Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Sultan Khan, Irshad Khan, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Shahid Parvez, Nishad Khan and many more. He may have performed with the greats and may be the son of a legend, but he is a great admirer of Zakir Hussain. "When he comes to Hyderabad and when he plays with us, he plays the real Punjab with fabulous mastery. And when he goes on stage, he entertains. In fact, he himself tells us that he would like the audience to go back happy. In the green room is where you can see his mastery..." The Ustad has his favourites too. He says Nayan is a great carrier of tradition in India, while the exceptionally talented Bikram went the fusion way.
He feels that intimate attention alone can help in the making of good tabla students. "I don't believe in classes because you cannot go into the detail. Rigour requires detail..."
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Chennai and Tamil Nadu
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