Seni rebab explained

Seni rebab
Classification:
Related:Arbajo, Dotara, Dranyen, Kabuli rebab Pamiri rubab, Sarod, Tungna, Dutar, Tanbur

The Seni rebab (Hindustani: सेनी रबाब (Devanagari), (Nastaleeq), Punjabi: ਸੇਨੀ ਰੱਬਾਬ), also known as the Seniya rabab (Hindustani: सेनिया रबाब (Devanagari), (Nastaleeq)) is a plucked string instrument used in northern India that is said to have been developed by, and to have taken its name from, the notable musician Tansen in the time of the emperor Akbar the Great. It has "a large hook at the back of its head, making it easier for a musician to sling it over the shoulder and play it even while walking."[1] It has been used in Hindustani classical music and religiously, in Sikh music.[1] [2] [3] The rebab influenced the development of the sarod, another Indian musical instrument.[2]

Three types of Sikh musician - rababis, ragis and dhadhis - flourished during the period of the Sikh gurus.

History

As the Dekhani rabāb, the instrument was listed as a native instrument of Central India by Mughal chronicler Abu'l Fazl. It was played by different castes, from the high Brahmins leading religious songs to "low-caste entertainers."[4]

The instrument was associated with the Seniya family, of whom Tansen was one.[4] Tansen has been credited with "popularizing" the rabāb. The name seni rabāb may be an Indian adaptation from a Persian designation of the instrument; "Sen-e-rabab" is supposed to mean rebab of [Tan] Sen.[5]

Religion

Guru Nanak started the Sikh rababi tradition by engaging Bhai Mardana as his accompanist. The Muslim singers known as Mirasis were "rababis", because they played on the rabab or rebec. Some notable rababis after Mardana were his son Shahjada, Balwand and Satta, Babak, son of Satta, Chatra, son of Babak, and Saddu and Baddu. Rababis used to perform kirtan regularly at Amritsar before the partition of India in 1947, after which many of the rababis migrated to Pakistan. The Sikh rabab was traditionally a local Punjabi variant known as the 'Firandia' rabab (Punjabi: ਫਿਰੰਦੀਆ ਰਬਾਬ Phiradī'ā rabāba),[6] [7] [8] [9] however Baldeep Singh, an expert in the Sikh musical tradition, challenges this narrative.[10] [11]

The last of the line of rababis was Bhai Chand. During the 20th century CE the instrument's use in Sikh kirtan was eclipsed by the harmonium but it has been revived.[12]

Prominent Performers of Seni Rabab

Ustad Baba Alauddin Khan, Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra were the prominent players of the Seni Rabab or the Tanseni Rabab. Pandit Joydeep Mukherjee (musician), a grand disciple of Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, and a disciple of Late Guru Pranab Naha of Kolkata, has revived the Tanseni Rabab[13] in the year 2024.[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The roar of Afghan's 'lion of instruments' . . 16 August 2021 . English . 10 April 2016.
  2. Web site: Kasliwal . Suneera . Rabab . India Instruments . 10 September 2021 . English.
  3. News: Nair. Jyoti. Gurbani: Flavour of Sikh devotion. 2020-02-27. The Hindu. 2020-03-01. en-IN. 0971-751X. Rabab is associated with the Sikh sacred music and can be traced to Guru Nanak Devji’s bhajans, almost 500 years ago.
  4. Encyclopedia: Sadie . Stanley . Rabab, #4 . The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments . 1984 . Volume 3 . 181–182 .
  5. Web site: David Courtney . chandrakantha.com. Seni Rabāb .
  6. Web site: Rabab . 2022-08-18 . Sikh Musical Heritage - The Untold Story . en-US.
  7. Web site: Raj Academy Rabab . 2022-08-18 . Raj Academy . en-US.
  8. Web site: Rabab . 2022-08-18 . SIKH SAAJ . en.
  9. Web site: Sikh Instruments-The Rabab . 2022-08-18 . Oxford Sikhs . en.
  10. Web site: Bharat Khanna. Nov 1, 2019 . Punjabi varsity's Firandia rabab helps revival of string instrument Ludhiana News - Times of India . 2022-08-18 . The Times of India . en.
  11. Web site: Singh . Baldeep . 2012-06-27 . Rabab goes shopping… . 2022-08-18 . The Anād Foundation . en.
  12. Web site: PTI . 2022-05-25 . SGPC to revive 'gurbani kirtan' with string instruments in Golden Temple . 2022-08-29 . ThePrint . en-US.
  13. Web site: Mukherjee . Joydeep . Strings attached: How I revived near-extinct musical instruments . 2024-06-26 . Deccan Herald . en.
  14. News: Kirpal . Neha . 2024-06-05 . Meet musician Joydeep Mukherjee, who has revived some ancient musical instruments . 2024-06-26 . The Hindu . en-IN . 0971-751X.