A Unique Taal Found Only in Punjabi Folk Music

 

A Unique Taal Found Only in Punjabi Folk Music

Shrikant G. Talageri

 

There is a unique taal found only in Punjabi folk music, or so it seems to me, and I have already referred to it many times, including in the first two of my following five articles (the first article had to be posted in two parts since the article, with many charts, was deemed too long as per the google blog criteria, and was not getting posted as one article), but I felt in necessary today to devote a full article to the subject: My urge to write articles seems to oscillate nowadays between three subjects: Pseudo-Hindutva Politics. the AIT-vs.-OIT debate, and Music, and today it is Music. I have already written five major articles on music:

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2020/02/musical-scales-that-and-raga-i_48.html

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2020/02/musical-scales-that-and-raga-ii_88.html

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2012/04/list-of-hindi-film-songs-in-roopak-taal_30.html

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2012/04/list-of-marathi-songs-in-jhap-taal-of.html

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2012/04/list-of-marathi-songs-in-roopak-taal-of.html

https://talageri.blogspot.com/2012/04/list-of-marathi-songs-in-jhap-taal-of.html

 

What is this unique taal?

It is a taal of 14 beats. Actually, all taals of 14 beats are simply taals with 7 beats doubled. Thus, they are either 3+2+2 +3+2+2, but this unique Punjabi taal, apparently used only in songs associated with the romantic folk-legendary couple “Mirza-Saheban” (one of the many romantic folk-legendary couples found in the western parts of India, like Sasi-Punnu, Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwal, etc.), has the unique combination of beats: 3+3 +2+2+2+2. It is found in two film songs (at least I have not found any more known songs in this taal), both the films being named “Mirza-Saheban” (the first song is from 1957 sung by Mohd. Rafi to the music of Sardul Kwatra; and the second is from 1947, sung by Shamshad Begum, to the music of Husnlal Bhagatram). Note that the first song starts with a bhangda in a normal taal of 4 or 8 beats, and then, at 40 seconds in the video, changes to this unique taal in 14 beats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vch2S16GNfE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chRvWGs_fRM 

In fact, my above four blogs on Hindi and Marathi songs in jhap taal and roopak taal were the very first articles put up by me on my blogspot on 1  May 2012, and after that I did not put up any blogs till four years later on 5 May 2016, when the refusal of a “Hindu” online journal to publish my article on Manasataramgini (unless I made it a general article without any mention of this person who is apparently an icon in the eyes of many orthodox Tamil Brahmins and very popular among Hindu readers: this very same, or some other similar online “Hindu” journal, had apparently earlier rated him the “most popular Hindu blog”) made me think of using my blogspot to put up the article on the internet. On the whole, it was a fortunate thing, because it motivated me to launch a medium for my Hindutva and historical articles on the internet, where I could and can write freely without fear of editing and censorship by motivated vested interests.  

The first articles on taals were in fact motivated by a music circle whose monthly programs (where some film-music lover or the other put up a program of film songs on some particular topic with commentary, anecdotal reminiscences and audio-video presentations) I was regularly attending in 2008-2012. The organizer of the program, a tabla player himself, said that jhap taal was the rarest of taals in popular music and that a diligent search would probably not produce more than 10-15 songs from Hindi films. I found it a fascinating subject, and immediately started a diligent search in my extensive collection of Hindi and Marathi songs. I managed to get many more than 10-15: today my four articles list 38 Hindi songs (including  3 Pakistani ones) and 20 Marathi songs in jhap taal, and 126 Hindi songs and 51 Marathi songs in roopak taal.

 

There are many people who put up videos on youtube regarding taals. One video brought up a very interesting Marathi song “sāvara re” sung by Lata Mangeshkar (music by Hridaynath Mangeshkar), which uses three different taals in one song: the starting music and most of the between-verses music and the first main line (refrain) of the song are in 5 (10) beats or jhap taal, but the second line of the main line (refrain) is in 4 (8) beats, and the verses are in 3 (6) beats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUZ8EmudfLQ

There are many beautiful songs which use more than one taal in a song. Just one example, of a beautiful song “Kabhi Ae Haqeeqat-e Muntazar” sung by Lata Mangeshkar, in Madanmohan’s music, from the film “Dulhan Ek Raat Ki”, where the entire song is in roopak taal of 7(14) beats, but at the end of each verse, there is a short fast respite into a taal of 4 (8) beats which then smoothly moves back into 7(14) beats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItAznYnTRS0

But none of these music lovers and experts seem to know about this unique Punjabi taal of 3+3 +2+2+2+2 (=14) beats.

 

So, the purpose of my article is not only to bring this unique Punjabi taal of 3+3 +2+2+2+2 (=14) beats into focus once more, but to request the readers, if there are any music lovers and experts among them, to please let me know if they or anyone else of their acquaintance can provide me with the answers to these three questions:

1. What is the name of this unique Punjabi taal of 3+3 +2+2+2+2 (=14) beats? And is this taal or one with similar beats, found anywhere else in the folk (or classical or semi-classical) of any other part of India, or indeed outside India?

2. Is there anywhere (in any known or popular song, whether in film music, folk music or classical or semi-classical music) a similarly different version of jhap taal: i.e. with 3+3 +2+2 (=10) beats instead of the regular 3+2 +3+2 (=10) beats?

3. Indian music is also replete with all kinds of taals with odd (or “prime number”) of beats: 11 beats, 13 beats, 17 beats, etc. They are certainly there in Indian musical theory, and are known to have been in use (among skilful musicians) in classical music in olden times. But I personally have never been able to locate any song or vocal performance in any one of these (admittedly complicated to catch) taals. They are still used in instrumental solo or accompaniment to dance performances in kathak at least (see the following videos for example). But, is there any song or vocal performance in any one of these (admittedly complicated to catch) taals? For example 3 +2+2+2+2 (=11) beats or something similar?

Examples of instrumental solo or accompaniment to dance performances in kathak:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f5S6RVDPVo 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvZ-HQjr3vg 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZyu546Nfc8 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxhbg5eKpiw 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tyFrOOWO_A

 

I hope someone will be able to answer these questions. And, even more fervently, I hope there are music lovers and musicologists who will search through India’s folk, popular and classical and semi-classical wealth of music to discover more such unique taals.