Folk Archives: Tabla Tarang

The tabla tarang is a set of between 10 and 16 tablas, usually arranged in a semi-circle around a player, with each tabla tuned to a different note.

In the late 1800s, the famous Hindustani musician Vishnu Digambar Paluskar would use such tablas to teach singing. When one of his students joined the Uday Shankar Ballet’s music ensemble in 1930, this little-known instrument began to be popularised.

Kamalesh Maitra (1928–2005), a prodigious tabla player, joined the Uday Shankar Ballet in 1950 and was encouraged to master the tabla tarang, which he undoubtedly did, becoming one of its greatest exponents.

Performing on the S/S Île-de-France, a French cruise ship, in December 1951

Up to that point, the tabla tarang had been used for solos within a performance – Maitra was the first to perform whole concerts, raags, on the instrument.

In 1974 he was part of Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival of India touring party, then in 1978 he relocated to Berlin where he gave regular performances and attracted many students.

Soundcheck before a concert at the House of the Cultures of the World, Berlin, November 5 1993

In 1980 he formed the Ragatala Ensemble with Laura Patchen and Mila Morgenstern, and in 2003 he performed a final orchestral work, ‘Raag Symphonia’, fusing Western and Indian styles.

This year, Black Truffle are releasing Raag Kirwani on Tabla Tarang, a previously unheard recording of Maitra performing the raag kirwani on the instrument he made his own. 

Thanks to Laura Patchen for the photos & information