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Pundit Kishan Maharaj passed away two days ago in his hometown Varanasi in India. This is a heartbreaking news for music lovers in general and tabla lovers in particular. Kishan Maharaj represented the Banares lineage of tabla which is one of the five major tabla lineages. His larger -than -life presence was as dominating as  his tabla playing. He  carried himself like a majesty-  something for artists to be proud of. It was said of the great vocalist Omkarnath Thakur that; during the British mandate in India; when all the provincial kings were made subservient to the British army; he was the one who still acted with the authority of an emperor. Kishan Maharaj did the same in modern times. His big bright red ’tilak’ on the forehead that was his signature; his glowing attire and above all; his unapologetic claim to prowess as a tabla player is an epitome of self respect. Sometimes that behavior had bordered on egotism according to some; but the fact remains that what he did for the art of solo tabla is unparalleled. One of his special concerts I heard was in my hometown Pune in 1994 where only months earlier; Samta Prasad; another great exponent of Banares line  had passed away suddenly. While the tabla lovers were still lamenting the loss, Kishan Maharaj gave a performance offering treasures of Banars tabla repertoire as if reassuring that as long as maestros like him lived; there was no fear of any void in the field of music. His last visit to US was almost nine years ago when he, late in his seventies,  gave a powerful display of his style at a concert in Long Island which I attended. His rendering of the Ganeh Paran- a tabla composition praising Lord Ganesh; and his explanation of the double meaning of the lyrics; was memorable. I used this Paran to create a vocal percussive song that found its way in the ‘Alms for Shanti’ rock band album ‘Kashmkash’ and became a hit.

In today’s age of quick fixes and instant gratifications; it is going to be more and more rare to find individuals in any field who have done something relentlessly for seventy years with a single dedication. This is why passing of Kishan Maharaj is a monumental loss.

Here is a small excerpt of his performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESqfkGu9MZo

After a successful debut last month, by popular demand the quartet is back on March 9th at 7.30 pm. For more information, check out cafevivaldi.com. And also see the earlier blog on this website in the upcoming events. Hope to see you all there!