Tabla recital

Music Room Jalsa Ghar
by Pandit Sharda Sahai

A Tabla recital by Pandit Sharda Sahai at the residence of Pandit Shamta Prasad,October 1976.

The tabla played by Pandit Sharda Sahai in this recording was made by the tabla maker Shamshuddin of Benaras.He was famous for making tabla that could be tuned to several swar(notes) accurately.

To understand the importance of his recording one must understand the impact this concert made on the minds of those present that night, a ripple effect created by a musician performing at his peak , at a particular time and place in history.It was not that Pandit Sharda Sahai wasn't already a known name, but one must understand the context, the electricity he generated that evening,and the events leading up to it.Firstly, he was that mysterious entity, then reffered to as a 'foreing return'. He had been touring and teaching abroad in the U.S.A. for over six years,disconnected from the music community in India and the folks back home wanted to see what he could do. What they couldn't have known was that while in the U.S.A, Sharda-ji had taken the oppurtunity for another bout of dedicated practice.

Though away from his musical roots, he was guide by his ancestors and went deep in his practice , drawing from the well of pure and crystalline traditions of the Benaras Baj. He honed his practice in long marathon sessions refining what he played. This was the trait that we see repeated throughout his career, causing Pandit Kishan Maharaj to once comment "other people go abroad to relax, but you go abroad and practice".

Vilambit TeenTal : 49:26
Madhya Laya TeenTal : 22:03

Tabla : Pandit Sharda Sahai
Harmonium : Pandit Mannu Lal Mishra.