Pandit Kishan Maharaj (benares gharana)

[Onlyclassicify]

Apart from all tirkit dhirkit and tayari, there are also emotion which is must, in Indian classical music, Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji was not an ordinary person, and only it was possible by him to bring up this divine mood with the tabla.Pranam to him.

[vishant1800]

one of the most legendary tabla player !!

[2gautamc]

HARI BOL MAHARAJ HARI BOL

HARE KRSNA

[KumarTabla]

Kyaa baat hai Panditji!!! Powerful Tabla playing indeed!

[benji100008]

this man sings and plays with a fire like no other tabaliya. only a great and fearless person could play this way. his performance is fierce and unique. shabash panditji!

[tabla714]

@benji100008 to be honest this guy sucks his style of tabla is very sloppy

[vishant1800]

try playing the tabla at his age..then you would know !!

[Mamoni123]

Man one cannot define what is a tabla bol and what is not. If someone plays it in tabla and it sounds nice then it is a tabla bol.

Even if you dont know the 'dinn' bol cant you just learn it and appreciate it. Just listen to it how beautiful it sounds. Why are you so influenced by your kind of tabla playing? Open your minds to different tastes, then you will understand the versatility of Tabla.

[KumarTabla]

I understand your opinion. But Pandit Kishan Maharaj has set such a high bar in tabla playing and has done wonders in benares gharana. He has made very difficult compositions with such creativity (which may not be aurally pleasing to everybody, it is very respectable). To verify panditji's greatness, look at his disciples: Pt. Pooran Maharaj, Pandit Kumar Bose, Ustad Sukhwinder Singh Namdhari.

[Saattvic]

just to clear the air, sheraz, 'dinn' is very much a tabla bol, and its used in benaras gharana a lot. it derives from the pakhawaj antecedents to which benaras is very close in style. i can see why you may not have heard of it, as you listen to a lot of sufi tabla which adopts a different style of play focussed more on closed bols. if you listen to any pakhawaj recital, dinn figures very prominently. i have learnt tabla for over 14 years now, and i know several compositions with 'dinn'.

[Saattvic]

also, as regards issues of beauty in his playig, please realize that he is a hindustani classical player, not a sufi player, so you cannot judge him by the same yardstick. in sufi music, there is a huge focus on chhands (repetitive patterns) which require the bol to be very clear and melodious to be appreciated. in hindustani classical, while making the bols sound nice is important, the work you do with the bols is equally important (eg fitting 13 bols in 4 matras)...

[Saattvic]

he was a master at the latter. it is for no small reason that he was awarded india's second highest civilian honour. further, i have heard recordings of him in his younger days, and the beauty of his bols was as good as anyone back then.

when people praise him, they do not praise his execution of a piece at the current instant, they praise his lifetime contributions to hindustani classical music.

i have the greatest respect for sufi players, but do not compare him to one as he isnt sufi..

[Callie1981]

Rhythm is my religion and music is my god.

This is all i need to know

[BanarsiPaan120]

ur just a white dude that went 2 India a couple of times and learned a lill tabla with a commercial guru and now ur telling owr own people who 2 live and what owr religion and culture is.. well fuck u..

Let`s talk about the fucking brittisch, i can open several chapters about ur race and ur country..

[BanarsiPaan120]

Sheraz William gandoo ur nothing but a hypocrit..

One that sell`s the soul 4 material life.

Regards pearl1729, what a backwards person u r.

U dont have the right 2 say these things about religion and it has nothing 2 do with music. Music is universal. I`m muslim and from India, India has more then 160 million muslims, more as Pakistan so what r u afraid of.. OF all the musicion`s 80%r muslims in the field of Qawali, Ghazal, Classical, pop.

Ur Neighter a neighter a Indian or Pakistani

[BanarsiPaan120]

Great Playing by Pandit ji, I`ve the hole dvd.

My respect 2 this late master of Benares..

[manu175]

Best Tabla Player ever. No one compares to him

[grb63]

I agree with allfieldsreq-200%.He was too good.

Kaushik&Kashyap(though v r 2 young to comment)

[thehappiestman]

wetal

[atracurium1]

Guys, there's 2 aspects of playing the tabla. One is 'haath ki safai', which admittedly Maharajji was poor at. What he was exquisitely good at was the 2nd aspect ... laykari. Absolutely brilliant. And that is the reason why he is regarded and will continue to be regarded as one of the best tabla players India has produced. May his soul rest in peace....

[sonofthedestroyer]

What does 'haath ki safai' mean? I dont speak hindi.

[atracurium1]

Basically means manual dexterity... in this case obviously with hands!

[sonofthedestroyer]

thanks for that.

[allfieldsreq]

He is 83 in this video. I heard him play in his late 40s, if you heard that recording you would have taken your hath ki safi comment back. Rest of ur post i agree with.

[r8rdarklord]

@atracurium1 You would know about poor haath ki safai. May I ask your qualifications - who did you train with, how many years and where have you performed. It is hilarious to read rank novice comment on the one of the greatest exponents of his art.

[thatoneguycom]

R.I.P. pandintji

[MuZicaManiac]

R.I.P Panditji

[GurmiLovesKirtan]

kkkkhyyyyyaabhaaaaat!!

WJKK WJKF!

[ebisu2001]

I,m sorry to hear that Panditji had passed away. To me, who saw a few of his live-performances in Varanasi he wasn,t a good Tablaplayer as well. In Varanasi I kind of didn,t understand why evrybody treated him like one of the Masters. Please don,t be angry with me its just my understanding!

[diverboy1988]

Just so you understand, the number of taals that Kishan Maharaji had mastered were numerous. Like in his old age for sure he had difficulty playing pieces, but that comes with age right, but if you look at the knowledge that he had. The way he played it was phenomenal, like still i think very few people can do in a lifetime what kishanji did. Also look at the intricacy of what he is doing too. It takes a lot of time to appreciate this art form, so like dont judge very quickly, no offense at all

[r8rdarklord]

@ebisu2001 Wow! here comes another one. There is no reason to be angry with you . You know when I started learning quantum mechanics, I didn't appreciate it much either. However, it meant that Quantum mechanics was not my cup of tea. Maybe the same applies to you.

[vatsalshah85]

My deep respects to Pandit Kishan Maharaj

[tabla524]

R.I.P to an amazing tabla player.

[Karandebuwa3]

Today, Pt. Kishan Maharaj passed away, at the age of 84.

We thank him for his service to India and the world of music.

We pray for his peace.

[Meerajasmineslave]

He is a mediocre tabla player who became popular probably because he was good at marketing his name. He is not very good though sorry to say.

[dparmar01]

Meerajasmineslave must be a idiot. Pandit isover 70 yrs old and still playing tabla. Give some repect - though his hands can't move fast as when he was younger - is timing is there

[Meerajasmineslave]

I am sorry sir I do have a level of knowledge in tabla and I didn't think this was that good. I didn't mean to offend you. There are many out there that know so much more than I do. You may very well be one of them and perhaps can asses music better than I can. I do believe in listening to everything out there and I love to explore different styles of music so perhaps if I was to listen to more of his music I can appreciate it more. Sorry again.

[abhikhare7]

well obviously most people disagree with you... he has been awarded the padmabhushan... they dont give that to any mediocre tabla player do they?

[pearl1729]

I don't know who started this pakistan dhol and paki tabla players debate.

[sherazwilliam1]

why? people can't debate on that? U do know that this is a debating website. WOW, u are a very funny person..............

[anukasia]

I like his manner, he is a big player!

[sherazwilliam1]

not with those notes.......hahaahhhhaa.

[anukasia]

These are tabla notes! Dhin is one of them!

[AzamatBagatov101]

It looks like he is bleeding in the middle of his forehead.

[ajrahi]

I hate people who know nothing about this beautiful music and then leave nasty comments. I am sick of such people.

[sherazwilliam1]

diiiinnnnnnnng> why does he do that? u think thats rite, he making that up, there is no such teyka like ddiiiiiiinnng, u understand? or not?

[malatewalla]

you suck, wasting time, yours and others. really with the internet allowing almost any information to be available for anyone, you still havent heard of the regional differences in tabla bols/padhant? ignorant..

[muzaan7]

or just listen to his nephew.....I have eard many of these players who dont play Indian classical and make the instrument sound like a mere percussion instrument...

beauty of listening is in the beholders ears or...in his experience of listening...

man ..in your ..words..abe bajaana nahin ayaa to sunna tu sikho

[muzaan7]

There some really irresponsible people making irresponsible comments...Pt Kishen Maharaji is a legend..all tabla players know what he is capable of...the beauty of tabla lies in solo performance of which Pt Kishen Maharaji is a master of... im sure this person above wouldnt be able to clap in time along with panditji..I would reckon him to listen to Panditji`s recording and listen to the amazing intensity and clarity of his playing..

[sherazwilliam1]

that was bullshit, sorry for my terms> i really belive in pure sufi tabla and music...that guy is really bullshit....

[manu175]

go fuck yourself dumbass

[ajrahi]

What do you mean the guy is bullshit? What do you mean by sufi tabla? What is sufi tabla? Never heard of that before. Clarify please.

[sherazwilliam1]

think this guy has a clear hand? sounds are not even coming clearly. its not the recording. all we see on this site is all the tabla players tryin to play classical and go fast fast fast..no one ever plays sufi> like the style in qawwalis.what everyone is forgetting is the sweetness of it when you play, it sounds good to the ears. everyone thinks if they master fastness that then thats all to it....I've been playing for 13yr. now i'm playing for Amjed Sabri Qawwal.

[rnulu]

interesting.. so what I think what sharazwilliam1 refers to by 'sufi tabla' is the qawwali tabla style esp that of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khans tabla nawaz Dildar Hussain (I'm a huge fan btw of him btw)- the style is not classical but that does not mean it deserves any less respect... its just different

[sherazwilliam1]

You've never heard of sufi? your a dick, if u haven't heard of sufi. Think u know alot about tabla players and musicians...u don't know shit buddy, com 'in my way asking me what is sufi, i should slap for that...

[pearl1729]

Sufi ? haha !!! it's a great music, I know that and I listen to it very often. The difference is you say bad about classical music and praise "sufi" which is foolish, I don't say bad about sufi, instead I appreciate it, that's the difference between you and me. Ask each and every Sufi singers you like and get back to me to tell what is their view on hindustani classical music.

[pearl1729]

You can't care Sufi without caring hindustani music, upon hearing their view you will sure slap on yourself. You remind me of the saying: "little knowledge is dangerous", you heard of that ?

[Meerajasmineslave]

What on earth are you talking about and why are you getting so emotional on a beautiful classical music video forum.

[rnulu]

at the same time what Kishanji does here is clearly not 'bullshit', the composition is actually quite brilliant and one well versed in tabla should see that- we should be more open to different styles that we come across and enjoy them for what they are...

[sherazwilliam1]

I guess your rite. aaahhhhhhhh but that is the only styles you see on youtube like 85% of the time. I am very much interested in different styles but the truth is alot of players don't fuck with sufi? sorry....

[rnulu]

I'm really into sufi music also (as you can tell by my videos) ...really great that you are playing qawwali, I recently got in contact with Ustad Dildar Hussain and hoping to start learning from him this summer! but just as a lot of ppl dont fuck w/ Sufi players, no one can really question Kishanji's mastery here

[sherazwilliam1]

I truely respect that, And I admit that he is a great player. People have to know when to stop someone and tell them that hey thats not a right note or taal that they are playing. they just keep going in that same direction with just a blindfold on them. Don't be scared of pointing out. I'm not saying this to you but u understand me....

[TheCaptainRoy]

ding daga daga....my ass yo

[njpal2]

This has got be one of the best clips on youtube. I am addicted to it. First time I've heard Pt. Kishen Maharj. I love people like that, so powerful. Thanks to the uploader.

[pratopathak]

nice vid,,, the harmonium player looks scared tho ;)

[omradiocom]

saminamdar and others, please ignore the professed ignorance of Vishkanya. Those who speak with such words reveal themselves by speaking. Don't take the bait.

[nasirtabla]

Adab Ustad Adab

[MickyFinnMainz]

Dat lehra sounds dangerous! And as for the material, vaaah vah :P

[aumentada]

more more more!

[XsquarebrownieX]

oh, and I suppose you can do better , vishkanya? >_>

[sherazwilliam1]

no i can't!! cause i can't play with ddiiiinnnnnnngggggg. That is a made up note that does not exist in the music world buddy. Go do your research and homework then write some comments? Your just a follow eerrr, "if everybody is saying he's good, then he's good"?

[sherazwilliam1]

my bad dog, really sorry. thought u wrote that to me....peace.

[vishkanya12]

He is an India,s most worst tabla player

[AzamatBagatov101]

U got that right! Dhiiinnnnggg hehehe

[tintala]

no waaay, Benares GHARANA depicts "pakhawaj style " which he plays very well and is the LEADING EXPONENT of the Benares gharana. Just a different style , he is old too, furthermore he my NEPALI GURUS < GURU ,and has passes many nepali and benares compositions down for many generations.

[saminamdar]

how dare u to say something bad things about kishan maharajji?????apani aukad main reh.......

[sherazwilliam1]

like a little boy that sees candy? no sweetness in his hand, i don't think hes good...doesn't mean if he's playin the hardest beat, no sweetness, not good, and also doesn't mean who he learned from...i learned all by myself and now play for amjed sabri.....?

[ajrahi]

You answered the questions very well. You LEARNED BY YOURSELF. LOL. You know nothing and your comments are rubbish. Since you learned by yourself, you know nothing and if you leave any comments about Pandit Mahraj, you only resonate your stupidity and your dumbnes. Take care

[sherazwilliam1]

don't get me wrong, learned on my own in the beginning, but had to get a tabla teacher to teach me book terms of the beats, no duhh? but after that bro, i took a step forward proved myself, but still i'm only a student of music and never will reach to the top...i'm not tryin to put this guy down that playin, but just sayin that i don't hear that sweetness in his hand.. dildar hussain> check him out..his not that classical, but still keeps that sweetness in his hand..take care?

[ajrahi]

Why don't you ask Dildar Hussain about this guy (Kishan Maharaj). See what he says about him. I am sure the guy you learned from has alot of admiration about Maharaj. If your teacher respects him, then why shouldn't you? YOu better learn the ethics of this music before you play the instrument. This tradition of music starts with respect and instilling moralily and ethics..

[sherazwilliam1]

understanding and playing is two different things?

[ajrahi]

Yes, they are. However, you are supposed to respect someone who knows, play, or does both. Calling them 'bullshit' and such foul American-European words shall excommunicate from the circle of this music. Honestly, I don't like the hand of Europeans and Americans in this beautiful tradition of music, because they will mess it up big time.

[sherazwilliam1]

by the way, i'm not american or european, i'm from pakistan.....the big difference even comes in the sufi dhol players of pakistan and india....check that out? you will see the differnce...u probably have no idea what i'm writing about, personally, i think pakistan's dhol players are the best at what they do..u heard of Pappu Saeen, check that out? there is a very big difference in the style and how it sounds?

[ajrahi]

I care only for Hindustani music. There are thousands of musical styles in the world, I am not intent to study all of them. Pakistani dohl or whatever is least of my concern. By the way, Pakistan doesn't have anything of its own. It has stolen all of India's ideas and identities. Now, Pakis are after making an identity for themselves. I don't recognize any country as Pakistan.

[sherazwilliam1]

Go suck on a dick!! your not even in this conversation so shut the fuck up. no one cares about your "hundustani music".

[pearl1729]

See how offensive comment you made in this post ? this is your identity, you can't do better than that. If you don't care hindustani music, Pakistan has no other music but hindustani. You really a model, an item.

[TaalPanchamSawari]

i just wanted to say, that his bols are exactly. and sure, pakistan has got good dhol and tabla players, pakistan has got good musicians, india, afghanistan, bangladesh..etc.. its not important, who from which country is better, somebody likes this dhol /tabla player, the another one likes the other dhol/tabla player.. good luck in the future, byee

[sonofthedestroyer]

sherazwilliam1 you are correct about that Pakistani dhol player. I have never seen anyone play dhol like that. Sounds much better than the Indian dhol style.

[malatewalla]

are you a musician? low level i presume, since name dropping and stupid comments seem to be your greatest skill... please rethink your point of view

[sherazwilliam1]

Go burn yourself.........

[sherazwilliam1]

why don't u go and ask him, cause i don't have time to get a leave from my job, then buy a plane ticket and go personally and ask him....stupid!!!

[saminamdar]

vishkanya12,how dare u to say some bad words about maharaj ji?????apni aukad main reh.......

[sherazwilliam1]

thank you, u are so freakin rite? but i still do respect his video?

[sherazwilliam1]

whats up with the diiiiinnnnnng> thats not rite man, don't you think so?

[TaalPanchamSawari]

LOL... he is a grandmaster in tabla.. and u think his notes are not right? dont be stupid!

[sherazwilliam1]

what the fuck is diiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng? can u please explain that. come out of your fuckin box, and have an open mind....

[pearl1729]

Open mind ? Are you open ? Don't compel me say the ugliest truth about you. It will show how closed minded you are, anyway about this clip I don't know, but yes pandit kishan maharaj is known for his art of tabla playing. And who the hell is talking about Pakistan ? how many pandits (pandits will not be there as they will kill the pandits), tell me how many ustads are there (in tabla) all that you know do have some link with india no matter which religion they are from.

[sherazwilliam1]

I don't care, say the ugliest truth about me. U can't judge me. Oh, so now u don't know about this clip? U don't no shit...there is pandits in pakist. and also alot of hindu people. Thats why you guys come to pakistan and get our best singers. Its ok to say that someone is not good enough when everybody is saying he is the best. Not after that clip...

[pearl1729]

So you are from Pakistan ? haha !!! I heard Pakistan never existed, it has just 50 years of History. Rest of all is just Indian, don't fool around. Yes, I don't like this clip but that doesn't allow me to say bulshits about this Pandit, same goes for all ustads you put on your youtube profile, but sadly you can't accept that truth,

[pearl1729]

so your little knowledge is commenting about this giant. You are funny because you want to debate on these topics, ugliest truth is about your religion and your country. can you accept that ?

[sherazwilliam1]

thats where your knowledge comes out. U think I'm from Pakistan and must be a muslum. First off I'm a catholic from pakistan..U really need to stop fuckin judging people first off..sheraz william>>>>daaaa.

[pearl1729]

Yes Pakistan never existed, don't you know that ? Pakistan came into existence before around 50 years, so it has 50 years of history. You don't even understand the common sense, really common sense is not so common. Oh, you are a catholic ? but you don't behave like a catholic, if you behave like foolish Muslim Pakistani but you accept me to guess you are catholic ?

[pearl1729]

how fool are you, don't dare to name that religion from your mouth, if you really think you are a catholic, then you are corrupted as you behave like one. Stop behaving that way then I will call you catholic, ok ? otherwise you know what will I call you. :) funny man you are

[Meerajasmineslave]

Religous tolerance is a great quality. Whether one is Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian, we are all human beings. I wish people like you would learn the concept of religous tolerance because it would make this world so much more peaceful to live in.

[pearl1729]

1st: Yes, this piece is not at all good, I know Pt ji, I was shocked to see this video, but I don't dare to comment: he is mediocre, so that show how much music you know or how much is your little knowledge. 2nd:

You are teaching me religious tolerance ? where did you find my intolerance ? what I say is was and always will be the truth, no matter you dare to accept the truth or not. Quote my comment about religion and I will give you a reason.

[Meerajasmineslave]

Why do you get so angry? Kishan maharaj may be a great individual as you point out. He just isn't a good tabla player. There are several players who are millions of times better than he is. Listen to Tari Khan, Anindo Chatterjee, Surinder Mann, Swapan Chaudari and then let us see if you are still as fond of Kishanji, again just because Kishanji cannot play tabla to save his life doesn't make him a bad person, please don't feel offended after reading this.

[dhruvsodha]

Kishan Maharaj was part of the Benaras gharana. It was a completely different style of playing compared to how others played like Anindo Chatterjee and others you have mentioned. For a player in the Benaras gharana he was simply GREAT!!!!!!!

[add9191]

The word mediocre should never be used when describing Panditji. Apart from being a man of great morals and culture, he was a genius at laaykari, an aspect of tabla sangat which has been overlooked by the speed and flash of today's tabla players. It is a shame that you cannot appreciate the beauty and skill in his playing. Ask any knowledgeable musician their opinion on Panditji, ESPECIALLY Pandit Anindo Chatterjee and Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri and they will give you the same response.

[allfieldsreq]

Yes, he was only 84 and suffering from arthritis.

[Sa1981]

I think he would have played this particular piece much better in his youth.

What you are commenting on is his clarity which I can hear has deteriorated; Tabla playing is physically demanding and he is as you can see an old man..

[sherazwilliam1]

LOLZZZZZ yes i'm a pakistani but also a catholic dood, so please don't compare?

[sherazwilliam1]

U can't accept the truth of this clip and that this pandit fucked up... thats the truth.. I'm not calling him a bad player, I'm just sayin that was a bullshit clip. And if you've heard pakistan never existed, what cheap ASS school you've been going to...

[sherazwilliam1]

ah yeah loser, there is no such note as diiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnggggggg...st­upid.

[5oldier5ingh]

@sherazwilliam1

m8 its not ding u little shit.

the bol is dhin but it is pronounced dhee (similar to dhin) as it is played with an open hand with 4fingers, and pandit kishan ji maharaj is saying like he does in the video to stress the gap in between and because masters speak the tabla bol as it is played.

Just out of curiousity, who did you learn from, also can you please post a video and direct us to a recording of yourself playing.

[bhilaj]

Anyone who dares laugh at this legend should hang their head in shame as he is a true soul of Tabla and his knowledge is immense. he can also play across the beat better than anyone.

[TaalPanchamSawari]

yes...this pandit is amazing..i have a tabla solo clip of him..very interesting and amazing...but of which gharana he is?

[bhilaj]

Hi, He is definitely Benares Gharana & his father was Kanthe Maharaj 1890-1969 who was a disciple of Baldeo Sahaya of the Royal Nepalese Court in Kathmandu. There are various styles of Benares But this style is the master of Laya especially Ar lay-3 sawai lay-5 & Jhulna lay-7 across the beat. Remember this Pandit is very old now.

[TaalPanchamSawari]

ah ok...thank you! :)

[aumentada]

please upload the solo clip

[TaalPanchamSawari]

sorry, this is not a video clip :(

[aumentada]

put the audio clip with some some slide show, i don´t care :D

[kakkaface]

haha,dhiiiiinggg lol

[gurubhai]

I love his style of grunting. Hehe

[dotorman]

Legend at work. Thanks for upload, Please upload more long clip.

[hhelloo]

He's good