This is a beautiful composition of Ustad Amir Hussain Khan that I first learned in Delhi in 2006. Since I'm showing this to a few students now, it seemed like a good enough reason for a blog post on the subject. The theme is:
DhageTirakita gegeTirakita Dhinegene / DhageTirakita gegeNaNagene Tinekene
It's a composition that Pandit Yogesh Samsi plays beautifully, as evidenced in the two YouTube videos that I will link to. The first one is the one I transcribed (and by the way, if you haven't heard this solo before in it's entirety, be sure to! It's one of his very best):
...While the second is another example of the same composition but played in drut tintal as opposed to vilambit. The development is a little different, with some of the longer paltas excluded, but it's almost the same otherwise.
I'll stress at this point that the fact I took the time to transcribe Yogeshji's development, and the fact that I'm teaching this composition to my students, does NOT mean that I'm copying his development! I transcribe compositions like this to understand an artist's thought process, but then it's up to us as artists to find our own development for the same composition. Imitation is not creative expression!
That being said, let's take a look at the development. The most interesting part in my opinion (and perhaps the hardest to play) are the long variations with "Dhinegene + Tirakita" repetitions. Going straight from Dhinegene to Tirakita is unusual in my experience and it takes some special practice if you're not used to it. There are also chains of Tirakitas in paltas five and six, meaning that you really cannot play this development using full-hand technique. After the long paltas, Yogeshji switches the structure to begin on Dhinegene, which changes the feel of the groove. Then the development ends with one of Yogeshji's favorite Tihai structures, which is essentially (5+5+5+5+Dha)x3. Note the back-and-forth between bhari and khali phrases in the tihai also.
So there it is! I hope this is useful for a few Tabla players out there. If you'd like help transcribing a Tabla composition you've heard, feel free to write me and if I have the time and the inclination, I'll try to help out. :)
-Chaz