Whenever my mind is free, I think primarily about two things: experiences with my gurus and experiences with my students. The truth is what I learned from my gurus was half-learning.  I fully learnt their teachings when I, in turn, taught them to my students.  A beginner kayda like Dha TeTe, Dha TeTe, I might have taught more than a thousand times.  This means I have learned Dha TeTe more than a thousand times.  It is only through teaching the kayda that I have truly digested the kayda.  The more I taught the kayda, the more familiar I became with and attached to the composition.  It has gone so deep in my soul that whenever I teach it, it comes with in a new form (paltas or design).   Every composition has its own mood, identity.  To maintain the basics elements of the composition and create paltas of the composition is the greatest fun.

Let me talk for Dha TeTe today.

Dha TeTe Dha TeTe Dha Dha TeTe DhaGe Tina Kina/
Ta TeTe Ta TeTe Dha Dha TeTe DhaGe Dhina Gena

This composition is one of the famous compositions of Delhi Gharana.  This composition has existed for over 200 years in the field of music.  In Hindustani classical vocal, we have raagas.  We divide raagas in three main scales: odav-jati, raagas with five notes; shadav-jati, raagas with six notes; sampurna-jati, raagas with all seven notes.   In tabla compositions, they have maintained this concept.  We, too, have compositions of five notes, six notes and seven notes.   Dha TeTe is a composition of five notes – Dha, TeTe, DhaGe, Tina, Kina.  These are the five major notes of this composition.

As I mentioned, this is a composition of Delhi Gharana.  The use of only the first two fingers is permitted.  Almost all the compositions of Delhi Gharana are played solely with the first two fingers.  That is why Delhi Gharana is also known as Do Ungaliyo Ka Baaz, the Gharana of Two Fingers.  The most important thing in a kayda is its paltas or variations.  Without disturbing the main composition’s form, with the small changes, we create paltas.

There is an interesting combination between technique and creativity.  You can make hundreds of paltas of each kayda, but in performance, generally we play 7 to 15 paltas of each composition (according to time limit and nature of performance).  The challenge is that every palta must have its own identity and we don’t have create paltas that seem repetitive or very similar to others.  With this challenge in mind, one has to take of balancing the bayan and dayan, the rules of the gharana and aesthetic values.  From creation of paltas, we can assess the understanding and strength of the performer.