Benares gharana
Benares gharānā (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian tabla. History. The Benares tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At the age of nine, Ram moved to Lucknow to become a disciple of Modhu Khan of the Lucknow gharana. After some time performing in Benares, Pandit Ram Sahai felt the need to make a significant change in his tabla playing. For six months, he withdrew into seclusion, and worked to develop what is now known as the Benares baj or  style of tabla playing. The philosophy behind this new style of tabla playing is that it would be versatile enough to perform solo, and to accompany any form of music or dance. The tabla would be able to play delicately, as required for khyal, or more aggressively, like pakhawaj, for the accompaniment of dhrupad or kathak dance. Ram Sahai developed a new way of fingering the tabla strokes; especially important is the sound Na, being played with a curved ring finger to allow for maximum resonance of the dahina. He also composed numerous compositions within existing compositional forms (gats, tukdas , fard, parans etc.) and created new forms, such as uthan, Benarasi theka, and fard. Characteristics. Today, the Benares tabla gharana is well known for its powerful sound, though Benares players are also very capable of playing delicately and sensitively. The gharana is categorized into the Purbi (eastern) baj, which includes the Farukhabad, Lucknow, and Benares gharanas. The Benares style makes use of the more resonant strokes of tabla, such as Na (played on the lao), and Din. Exponents. Other noted artists include Kanthe Maharaj, uncle and guru of Kishan Maharaj, and whose disciples were Badri Maharaj and Ashutosh Bhattacharya. The  Benares baj makes use of over 20 different compositional types, and has an enormously varied repertoire of each type. Reputed players of the gharana include Anokhelal Mishra (1914–1958), Samta Prasad (1921–1994), Kishan Maharaj (1923–2008), Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), Chandra Nath Shastri (b. 1948), Ananda Gopal Bandopadhyay (b. 1942-2021), Kumar Bose (b. 1953), Udai Mazumdar (b. 1970), Sandeep Das (b. 1971), Nandan Mehta (1942–2010) and Pt.Ravinath Mishra.