The enigmatic ustad from Punjab

Krishnaraj Iyengar

The mehfils of colonial Kolkata brimmed with classical stalwarts and gunijans. Among the traditional tabaliyas, dhrupadiyas, sitariyas and gawaiyas was a strikingly handsome Punjabi with his tall, imposing frame, fierce moustache and a royal sherwani fragrant with attar. From his sturdy, large hands resounded earthshaking drama. Never in their lives had the Bengali connoisseurs heard tabla of that flavour and dimension.

This flamboyant and whimsical genius had travelled all the way from Lahore to the royal court of Raigadh to the quaint gallis of Kolkata under the mentorship of the famed musician Pandit Anath Nath Bose (Anath Babu). It was here that Ustad Firoz Khan was destined to propagate his unique style of the age-old Punjab gharana.

It is believed that the gharana began with the revered Sikh Guru Arjan Dev as a Pakhawaj Jori tradition. According to late tabla maestro, historian and scholar Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar, the ‘Jori Pakhawaj’ or ‘Jodi’, a vertical pakhawaj, is the symbol of Punjab’s legacy of classical percussion. It was created to accompany Gurbani rendered primarily in dhrupad style.

This tradition was introduced to tabla by Miyan Faqir Bakhsh I and later evolved as a kind of synthesis of tabla and pakhawaj. Lala Bhavanidas is also said to be one of the pioneers of the gharana. Maestros like Miyan Faqir Bakhsh II, Baba Malang Khan, Karim Bakhsh Pairna and Allah Ditta to name a few, carried it forward. The repertoire of the Punjab gharana today lies divided between India and Pakistan.

Ustad Firoz Khan’s chief disciple was none other than the legendary composer and maestro Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh (Gyan Babu) of Kolkata. Along with Anath Babu and his elder son, Shyamal Bose, Gyan Babu inherited Khan saheb’s rich repertoire and passed it on to his disciples. Shyamal Bose was also Gyan Babu’s senior disciple.

“Firoz Khan saheb was one of the greatest composers of Punjab tradition. His compositions are extremely difficult and require tremendous physical strength and riyaaz to execute. The bols he employed were bold and imposing and their design and poetry were exquisite and sophisticated at the same time,” explains tabla stalwart Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, Gyan Babu’s disciple.

Syllables or bols like dhananana, dhadaan, tadaan were typical of Khan saheb’s compositions. The temperamental genius lived in Anath Babu’s home till the end. “Khan saheb would literally converse in the tabla language. He would answer questions in the form of spontaneous compositions! He was a true shauqeen with high tastes.  He loved to dress well, wear expensive attars and smoke ganja,” says renowned tabla veteran Pandit Gobindo Bose, Anath Babu’s younger son and Gyan Babu’s noted disciple.

He says Ustad Firoz Khan was the greatest composer and performer of the Punjab tradition and pillared it through his unparalled contribution. Gyan Babu’s seniormost disciple was Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, a Padma Bhushan awardee. His son, internationally acclaimed tabla and sitar maestro Pandit Nayan Ghosh, speaks passionately about Khan saheb. “From his compositions and works, it is evident that he had an unusually brilliant mind and fabulous imagination. Elements of contrast, surprise and brilliant tonal textures were found in judicious proportions in the works of his chief disciple, Gyan Prakash Ghosh ji too,” he says.

Though the enigmatic figure is said to have left behind no photograph and remained a bachelor, he lives on in the hearts of generations of tabla players. Having died mysteriously during the Bengal riots of the 1940s, there still remains a lot to be explored about him.

While many tabla players in Pakistan often render Ustad Firoz Khan’s exquisite repertoire, through Gyan Babu and his legacy of discipleship, Khan saheb’s tukda, paran, gat and chakradhar compositions still cast a spell on audiences in India and abroad.