Biographies of Tabla Players
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Pt. Anokhelal Mishra Expand| Birth | 1914 |
| Place | Varanasi, Banaras |
| Parents | Father: Budhuprasad Mishra |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | At very early stage he started learning from Pt. Bhairao Prasad Mishra for 15 Years. His speciality was his “Na Dhin Dhin Na” & “DhirDhir”. |
| Work-Field | 35 Years later from his death his records telecasted on AIR. He is titled as “Magician of – Na Dhin Dhin Na”. He is a well-developed player seems perfect in all aspects. |
| Honours | |
| Pupils | His Son – Pt. Ramji Mishra: Students – Sh. Mahapurush Mishra, Ishwar lal Mishra, Chhote lal Mishra, Kashi Nath Mishra. |
| Death | 10th March, 1958 in Varanasi, Banaras at age 44 years. |
| Birth | 1899 |
| Place | Bankheda, Meerut |
| Parents | Father: Ahmed Baksh Khan (Famous Sarangi Player) |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He got his first lessons from his father. Later, He learnt from U. Muneer khan Sahib (His uncle) for 5 years. He is well known for his command on Delhi & Farukhabad Gharana Syllabus. |
| Honours | He was a court Musician of the Nizam of Hydrabad. |
| Pupils | Pt. Arvind Mulgaonkar, Pandrinath Nageshkar, Gulam Rasool, Baba Sahib Mirajkar, Iqbal Hussain, Dr. Aban E. Mistri. |
| Death | 5th Janurary, 1968 in Mumbai at age of 69 Years. |
| Birth | 1915 |
| Place | Gurdaspur, Punjab |
| Parents | Father: Hashim Ali |
| Gharana | Punjab Gharana |
| Training | He started working in a Natak Company () at the age of 15-16 years. There he learnt from U. Lal Mohammad. After few years, he went to Lahore with his uncle where he met U. kadir Bakhsh and learnt Punjab Gharana Tabla. |
| Honours | He was renowned Music Director in Indian Cinema where he gives super hit songs in over 20 Movies like – Madari, Alam-Ara, Sabak, Ma-Baap, Jagga, Etc. In year 1958 as a repetitive of Indian Music Society and 1960 he performed at UNESCO. He was honoured with “Padam Shri” in 1977. Sangeet Natak Academy in 1982. He was well-known for his layakaris and command on Punjab Gharana compositions. |
| Pupils | Sons – U. Zakir Hussain, U. Taufiq Qureshi, U. Fazal Qureshi: Students – Pt. Yogesh Samsi, U. Kulvinder Singh, U. Joginder Singh, Shri. Anuradha Pal. |
| Death | 3rd Feburary, 2000 in Mumbai at age of 85 Years. |
| Birth | 1893 |
| Place | Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh |
| Parents | Father: Hussain Baksh Khan, Nana (Grandfather): Kalander Baksh Khan, Chacha (Uncle): Sher Khan, Mama (Uncle): Faiyaz Khan & Baswa Khan are prominent musicians |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started from his elders at a very early age. Then he moved to Bombay (Current name MUMBAI) to learn from U. Munir khan. He was named Thirakwa after his ustad watched his hand movement on tabla in a very special way. He got settled in Mumbai but he had two wishes – First, I play tabla till my life; Second, He wants to take his last breath in Lucknow. |
| Honours | He was a court musician at Rampur Darbar. He was appointed as a professor in Bhatkhande Hindustani Sangeet Mahavidyalay, Lucknow. 1953-54 He was honoured with “Rashtarpati Puruskar”. He got Padam Bhushan in 1970 from Indian Government. |
| Pupils | Sons – U. Nabi Jan, U. Muhammad Jan, U. Ali Jan: Students – Pt. lalji Gokhle, Pt. Nikhil Ghosh, Suryakant Gokhle, Sarvat Hussain, Prof. Sudheer Verma, Narayan Rao Joshi. |
| Death | 13th January, 1976 in Lucknow at age of 83 Years. |
| Birth | 1867 |
| Place | Mehmood Ganj, Lucknow |
| Parents | Father: U. Mohammad Khan a well-renowned musician associated with Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. |
| Gharana | Lucknow Gharana |
| Training | He started learning tabla from his Father, later he become student of U. Bade Munne Khan. After learning and practicing for years He got a very sparkling and powerful style in his hands. People started calling him “Khalifa”. He accompanied famous dancer Pt. Thakur Prasad Ji for years and himself master in ‘Nachkaran’. He created many compositions which his descends are still performing beautifully. |
| Honours | He was one of the first faculty of Meris Music Collage, Lucknow (Currently known as Bhatkhande Hindustani Sangeet Mahavidyalaya) |
| Pupils | Son-In-Law – U. Wajid Hussain Khan; Students – U. Jahangir Khan (Indore), Shri Hirendre Kumar Ganguli (Kolkata), Pt. Biru Mishra (Banaras) |
| Death | 1936 in Lucknow at age of 69 Years. |
| Birth | 1880 |
| Place | Kabir Chaura, Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Pt. Dilip Maharaj |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He learnt Tabla from Pt. Baldev Sahai who was a prominent tabla master of his time. Pt. Kanthe Maharaj was a dominant master and performer of Layakari, gat, fard, laddi-laggi, bol-bant, etc. He was also well-knowned for his bayan (bass drum) skills. He was a religious person and spent morning time in his prayers, that’s the reason why he never performed in morning programs. |
| Honours | He was honoured by President of India for his performance. |
| Pupils | Nephew – Pt. Kishan Maharaj, Grandson – Pt. Puran Maharaj; Students – Pt. Sharda Sahai, Pt. Ashutosh Bhatacharya, Natu babu. |
| Death | 1st August, 1986 in Varanasi at a great age of 106 Years. |
| Birth | Not Available |
| Place | Delhi |
| Parents | Father: Ustad Chhote Kale Khan |
| Gharana | Delhi Gharana |
| Training | He learnt Tabla from his father U. Chhote kale Khan in age of 5 years. At the age of 15 His father had died. But U. game Khan continuously worked hard with his syllabus and become a prominent tabla player of his time. |
| Pupils | Son – U. Inam Ali Khan, Students – U. Fakir Baksh, U. Tufail Khan, U. Akbar Hussain aka Balu Khan, Pt. Mahadev Indorekar, Shir Rijram Desad, Shri Maruti Rao Keer, Iqbal Hussain, Aayabhai Seth. |
| Death | 1958 in Pakistan. |
| Birth | 1869 |
| Place | Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Parents | Father: U. Ahmed Khan |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started learning tabla from his father. Later He also learnt from Mubarak Ali Khan (Patna), Chhanu Khan (Bareli), Firozshah (Delhi), Khalifa Abid Hussain Khan (Lucknow). |
| Honours | He got appointed in the main music artistry of Maharaj Tukojirao Holkar of Indore near 1911. He got National Award, 1959; Fellowship from Sangeet Natak Academy (Delhi); Doctor of Music from Indira Kala Sangeet Vishvavidyala, Khairagarh; Tabla Nawaz from Abhinav Kala Samaj in 1955. |
| Pupils | Narayan Rao Indukar, Mahadevrao Indukar, Pt. Chaturlal, Niyazu Khan, Dhulji khan, Mehboob Khan, Abdul Hafiz, Gajanan Tade, Sharad Khargaonkar, Madhav Khargaonkar, Ravi Daate, Dinkar Majumdar, Deepak Garud. |
| Death | 11th May, 1955 in Indore at an age of 86 Years. |
| Birth | 1st March, 1951 |
| Place | Mumbai |
| Parents | Father: U. Allah Rakha Khan |
| Gharana | Punjab Gharana |
| Training | He learnt tabla from his father U. Allah Rakha Khan. |
| Honours | Sangeet natak Academy Award 1990, Grammy Award fro his album in year 1992, 1988 Padam Shree, 2002 Padam Bhushan, 2012 for Guru Gangadhar Pradhan Lifetime Achievement Award at Konark Dance & Music Festival, Indo-American Award in 1990, |
| Pupils | Sufala, Emam, Rohan Singh Bhogal, Salar Nader, Aditya kalyanpur. |
| Life | Still serving the Music Community with his services. |
| Birth | 1875 |
| Place | Delhi |
| Parents | Father: U. Boli Baksh Khan, Grand Father: U. Kale Khan |
| Gharana | Delhi Gharana |
| Training | He learnt tabla from his father & grandfather. |
| Pupils | U. Habibuddin Khan (Merut), Shri Hirendre Kishore Chaudhari & Shri Keshav Chandra Banerjee (Kolkata). |
| Death | 1940 at an age of 65 Years. |
| Birth | 1884 |
| Place | Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Pt. Bhagwan Das |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He started learning tabla from Bhrahmchari Pt. Vishwanath Prasad of Kashi. Later He also learnt from Khalifa Abid Hussain Khan (Lucknow). He also got some gats from U. Munnu Khan of Farukhabad Gharana. |
| Honours | He got Sangat Ratan in 1919 at Kashi, He was a prominent player and famous for his “Dha Dhin Na Da, Dha Tin Na Da”, He also wrote 100 Kajari Compositions. |
| Pupils | Daughter – Girija Devi, Students – Narottam Prasad, Vasudev Prasad, Khairat Hussain Khan, Babu Ram Mishra, Ramnath Pandey, Ravi Mishra, etc. |
| Death | 1934 in mysterious conditions while on Nepal tour with Shri Sidheshwari Devi at an age of 50 Years. |
U. Maseet Khan Expand
| Birth | 1890 |
| Place | Uttar Pradaesh |
| Parents | Father: U. Nanhe Khan, Grand-Father: Hussain Ali. |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started learning tabla from his father and grandfather. |
| Honours | He got patronage of Nawab of Rampur. |
| Pupils | Son – U. Karamatullah Khan; Grand-Son – Sabir Khan; Students – Azim Khan, Pt. Gyan Prakash Ghosh, Kedarnath Haldar, Matindre Mohan Banerjee, Rai Chand Badaal, Harender Nath Sarkar, etc. |
| Death | 1970(approx) at an age of 80 Years. |
U. Munir Khan Expand
| Birth | 1863 |
| Place | Laliyana Village, Meerut |
| Parents | Father: Kale Khan. |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He learnt tabla from U. Hussain Ali for 15 Years, U. Boli Baksh for 10-12 Years, U. Naseer Khan Pakhawaji & U. Nazar Ali Khan for Years. |
| Honours | He got patronage of Raja Chakardhar Singh of Raigarh. |
| Pupils | Students – U. Amir Hussain Khan, U. Gulam Hussain Khan, U. Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, U. Habbibuddin Khan, U. Nazeer Khan, Prehlad Meher, Sadik Hussain Khan, Shamshuddin Khan, Nisaar Hussain Khan, Abdil Raheem Miyan, Etc. |
| Death | 11th September, 1938 in Raigarh at an age of 75 Years. |
| Birth | 1877 |
| Place | Pune, Maharashtra |
| Parents | Father: Ameen Ji. |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started learning tabla and pakhawaj from Shree Maheshwar Bua & Shree Balwant Rai Barwe. Later He learnt from U. Jugna Khan, Pt. Jiyalal Maharaj, U. Jahangir Khan. |
| Pupils | Son – Abdul Kadir, Grandson – Nawaaz Mirajkar Students – Basant Rao Bhendigiri, Narayan Rao Chikodikar, Abaas Avthekar, Baba Sahib Mirajkar, Rajaram Jadhav, Ganpati Parvatikar, Etc. |
| Death | 28th August, 1965 in Pune at an age of 88 Years. |
| Birth | 1916 |
| Place | Sholapur |
| Parents | Father: Hashim Khan |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He learnt tabla from U. Mohd. Kasim in early age, later he learnt from U. Allahdiya Khan, U. Mohd. Khan, U. Chhote Khan, U. mehmood Khan Mirajkar. |
| Honours | 1939 worked at Akashvani Radio in Hyderabad. 1991 Sangeet Natak Academy. |
| Pupils | Son – Shabbir Nissar, Students – Kiran Deshpande, Vijay krishna, Nand Kumar, Gautam Kodaikal, etc. |
| Death | 21st March, 1992 at the age of 86 years. He was paralysed during his last years. |
| Birth | 19th July, 1920 |
| Place | Kabeer Chaura, Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Pt. Bacha Mishra |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He started his training from his father but at a very young age of 9 years he lost him. After this he learnt from Pt. Bikku Maharaj for 15-16 years. |
| Honours | 1942 He performed first time at illahabad Vishwavidyala, He also performed for movies – Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Meri Soorat Teri Akhein, Basant Bahar, Soorer Payasi, Asmapat, Jalsa ghar, Shole, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. He also got prestigious awards like – Tabla Ka Jadugar, Taal-Martand, Taal-Shiromani, Tabla-Wizard, Tabla-Samrat, Taal-Vilas, Sangeet Natak Academy Puruskar, Hafiz Ali Khan Award, 1972 – Padhm Shree, 1992 Padam Bhushan. |
| Pupils | Son – Shree Kumar Lal. |
| Death | 31st May, 1994 at the age of 74 years. |
| Birth | 1899 |
| Place | Meerut, Uttar Pradesh |
| Parents | Father: U. Shammu Khan |
| Gharana | Ajrada Gharana |
| Training | He started his training from his father. Later he learnt from U. Nathu Khan and become master of Delhi & Ajrada Gharana. |
| Honours | He got “Sangeet-Samrat” at Akhil Bhartiya Sangeet Sammelan, 1970 – Sangeet Natak Academy, |
| Pupils | Son – U. Manju Khan, Student – Prof. Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Pt. Lokmanya, U. Ramzan Khan, etc. |
| Death | 1st July, 1972 at the age of 73 years. |
| Birth | 3rd March, 1933 |
| Place | Kanpur |
| Parents | Father: Razahussain Khan (Sarangi Player) |
| Gharana | Lucknow Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with U. Chhuttan Khan. He had a strong command on Solo and Accompaniment. |
| Honours | He serviced at All India Radio for a long period. He performed in movies also – “Sahab, Biwi aur Gulam”, “O Amaar Desher Mati”, He was on tour with Mohd. Rafi for several times to abroad. He got “Taal-Vilas” from Sangeet Peeth, Mumbai in 1992 |
| Pupils | Student – Tahir Hussain, Samar Abbas, Ganga Dyal Panday, etc.. |
| Death | 10th December, 1996 at the age of 63 years. |
| Birth | 18th November, 1938 |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with U. Baba Lal Islampur for 6 months. Later he joined U. Amir Hussain Khan for 1955-1969. Then after he learnt from U. Ahmed Jan Thirakwa and U. Atta Hussain Khan for three-three years. He had a strong command on Solo and Accompaniment. |
| Honours | He published a book with title ‘Tabla’. He was recognised for his performance and work in 1992 by Maharashtra Government. State Award from the Govt. of Maharashtra in 1992 for excellence in instrumental music, Award of Senior Fellowship from Government of India, Department of Culture for 1995/96, ‘Swara Sadhana Ratna’ award from Swara Sadhana Samiti, Mumbai on 8th March, 2003
ITC Sangeet Research Academy Award, 2006 for his lifelong and dedicated services to Indian classical music on 5th January,2007. Iyer Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, Mumbai, 2007 for his work in Indian classical music on 10th March, 2007. Late Mrs. Vasundhara Pandit Memorial Award, 2007 for his immense contribution to Indian classical music on 26th July, 2007. Participated in an all India Seminar on Hindustani Classical Music arranged by The Sangeet Natak Academy, New Delhi, held at Kolhapur in April 2009. ‘Chaturanga Sangeet Sanman’, a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, on 26th April 2015, for his dedicated work in music. He was invited to conduct a 6 day workshop at the International Convention of Music held by SIPC MACAY between 31 May and 6 June, 2015 at IIT, Mumbai. He conducted a 3 day workshop and did a 3 day archival recording at the Directorate of Art and Culture, Panaji, Goa between 15 June and 20 June 2015. ‘Vasantotsav Puraskar’, awarded by the Vasantrao Deshpande Pratishthan, Pune, for his work in musicology and contribution to Indian Classical music, on 17th January, 2016. ‘Kalashrunga’ Award bestowed upon him by the Cultural Department of Karnataka Government and Shri Rama Kala Vedike, Bengaluru in June 2017 for his tremendous contribution to Indian Classical music. Panditji received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for “Uttam Tabla Vadak” for the year 2016. |
| Death | 27 February 2018 at the age of 80 years. |
| Birth | 12th July, 1930 |
| Place | Lucknow |
| Parents | Father: U. Wajid Husssain; Grandfather – U. Abid Hussain |
| Gharana | Lucknow Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with his father & Grandfather. He had a strong command on Solo and Accompaniment (Vocal, instrumental & Dance). |
| Honours | He visited Afganistan in 1962; Indian Festival, Paris in 1985; He serviced at Lucknow Radio in 1972; 1973-77 He serviced at Kathak Kendre at Lucknow. He got Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1988 at lucknow. |
| Pupils | Son – U. Ilmas Khan & U. Iliyas Khan; Student – P.B.Nandshree (Sri Lanka), Bhopal Rai Chaudhary, Tamri Rai Chaudhary, Vivekanand Bhatacharya, Pankaj Chaudhary, etc. |
| Death | 1990 at the age of 60 years. |
| Birth | 1940 |
| Place | Bombay |
| Parents | Father: Inach P. Mistri |
| Training | He started his training in vocal from her aunt (mausi) at the age of 4 Years. After her she got trained by Pt. Laxman Rao Bodse for 27 Years. At the age of 13 years she also got training in sitar and tabla from Pt. Keki S. Jijina. She also got traning from U. Amir Hussain Khan. She learnt Pakhawaj from Pt. Narayanrao Mangalvedekar. |
| Honours | She wrote a very informative and famous book on tabla & pakhawaj gharanas with title “Pakhawaj Aur Tabla ke Gharne Avn Paramparayein”. She got awarded by Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyala Mandal with “Sangeetacharya” award. She also got “Sahitya Ratan”, “Sangeet Setu”, “Charmvadya Tabla Bhushan”, “Taalmani”, “Sangeet kala Ratqan”. |
| Death | 2012 due to multiple organ failiure at the age of 72 years. |
| Birth | 12th November, 1928 |
| Place | Delhi |
| Parents | Father: U. Ghame Khan |
| Gharana | Delhi Gharana |
| Training | He learnt Tabla from his father Khalifa U. Ghame Khan. He has a very strong hold on Delhi Gharana syllabus – Peshkar, Kayda, Rela, Etc. He worked at Bhartiya kala Kendra, Delhi as a Tabla professor. |
| Death | 28th January, 1988 in Delhi at the age of 60 years. |
| Birth | 12th August, 1959 |
| Place | Lucknow |
| Parents | Father: U. Afaq Hussain Khan; Grandfather: U. Wajid Hussain Khan |
| Gharana | Lucknow Gharana |
| Training | He started his training from his father and grandfather at the age of 7 Years. He pursued Sangeet Prabhakar & Sangeet Praveen from Prayag Sangeet Samiti. |
| Honours | He received honours Taal-Mani in 1982, Rashtriya Yuva in 1986. He is a high ranked artist on All India Radio. |
| Birth | 1918 |
| Place | Rampur |
| Parents | Father: U. Maseet Khan |
| Gharana | Farukhabad Gharana |
| Training | He started his training in vocal from his father at the age of 6 years. He serviced at All India Radio and attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. |
| Students | Son – U. Sabir Khan; Students – Narendra Ghosh, Shankh Chatterjee, Amar Dey, Kanhai Datt, Kamlesh Chakravarti, Etc. |
| Death | 3rd December, 1973 in Kolkata at the age of 55 years. |
| Birth | 1902 |
| Place | Lahore (Undivided India) |
| Parents | Father: Miyan Fakir Baksh (Pakhawaj Maestro) |
| Gharana | Punjab Gharana |
| Training | He started his training in tabla and pakhawaj from his father and after his death he continued with his srudent U. Karamilahi. |
| Students | Maharaj Chakardhar Singh Joodev, Maharaj Teekamgarh, Padmshree U. Allahrakha Khan. |
| Death | 1960 in Lahore (Pakistan) at the age of 58 years. |
| Birth | 3rd September, 1923 |
| Place | Kabirchaura, Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Shree Hari Maharaj |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with his uncle (Tau Ji) Pt. Kantha Maharaj. He had a great command on solo as well as accompaniment. He attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. |
| Hounours | He received Sangat Samrat from Prayag Sangeet Samiti in 1969, ‘Taal Vilas’ from a society in Bombay, Kendriya Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Ratan Sadasyta from Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy in 1972, Padamshree in 1973, Etc. |
| Students | Son – Pt. Pooran Maharaj; Students – U. Sukhwinder Singh Namdhari ‘Pinky’, Nandan Mehta, Pt. Kumar Bose, Tej bahadur Nigam, Sateesh Chaudhari, Sandeep Das, mahendra Singh, Jagdeesh Mishra, Etc. |
| Death | 4th Mqy, 2008 at the age of 85 years. |
| Birth | 3rd April, 1952 |
| Place | Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Shree Vishwanath Bose |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with his father but after his death he continued with Pt. Kishan Maharaj He had a great command on solo as well as accompaniment. He attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. |
| Birth | 1905 |
| Place | Varanasi |
| Parents | Father: Bikku Maharaj |
| Gharana | Banaras Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with his father. He had a great command on solo as well as accompaniment. He attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. |
| Hounours | He received Tabla Shiromani from Sangeet Samaj, Aara. |
| Students | Son – He has 6 six sons who are serving music. One is Pt. Vijay Shankar Mishra a very famous writer and performer, second is Pt. Rangnath Mishra who is appointed as a professor at Bhatkhande Hindustani Sangeet Mahavidyalaya, Lucknow. |
| Death | 16th January, 1974 in Lucknow at the age of 69 years. |
| Birth | 1925 |
| Place | Udaypur, Rajasthan |
| Gharana | Delhi Gharana |
| Training | He started his training with Pt. Nathu Prasad Ji at the age of 8 years. Then he joined U. Hafiz Miyan, After this he joined U. Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. He serviced at All India Radio, Delhi. He had a great command on solo as well as accompaniment. He attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. |
| Students | Son – Chiranjeet lal |
| Death | 14th October, 1965 at a very young age of 40 years. |
| Birth | 1947 |
| Place | Kolkata |
| Gharana | Lucknow Gharana |
| Training | He started his training in 5years age with Pt. Santosh Krishan Vishwas. He got first place in ‘Tansen Music Competition’ in just 8 years of age. He had a great command on solo as well as accompaniment. He attended hundreds of Music Conferences and festivals. He is currently active in Ali Akbar College Of Music, California. |