States » EastPosted at: Jan 24 2026 12:41AM


Before Ustad Amir Hussain Khan came into picture tabla was used merely as an accompaniment: Suresh Talwalkar

Kolkata, Jan 23 (UNI) Eminent tabla maestro Pandit Suresh Talwalkar has observed that for a long time the tabla remained a supporting background character in Hindustani classical concerts, until Ustad Amir Hussain Khan changed the way the instrument was imagined and performed.
Speaking at the Kolkata Literary Meet 2026, focus state being Maharashtra, and continuing the discussion on the state's rich Hindustani classical music legacy, Talwalkar noted that in the earlier period, tabla playing focused mainly on maintaining the theka, a steady rhythmic framework that allowed vocalists to elaborate their khayal or other forms with confort and continuity. "Even though the theka was aesthetically refined, the tabla had not yet evolved a fully developed solo language," he said.
Talwalkar credited Ustad Amir Hussain Khan with fundamentally changing the situation by developing and organising an extensive solo repertoire for the tabla. He noted that once formats like peshkar, qaida, rela, tukda, paran and intricate tihai patterns took shape, the tabla began telling its own musical story. "From that point onwards, tabla was no longer just accompanying, it began conversing with the spectators," Talwalkar remarked.
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