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Taal · 8 matras

कहरवाKeherwa

Eight matras, four and four: the taal of bhajans, folk songs, ghazals and film songs, and of the dhuns a bansuri plays so often.

  • 8 matras
  • 2 vibhags: 4 + 4
  • X 0
  • Bhajans, folk, ghazals, film songs, dhuns
X0DhaGeNaTiNaKeDhiNa8matrasPractise with it on Meend’s tabla →
100 madhya
About these soundsMeend makes the harmonium and santoor sounds itself. They aren’t recordings of real instruments, so they sound close, but not quite the same. They are here to let you hear how the swaras go.The tanpura and tabla are recordings of real ones.

Keherwa has eight matras in two vibhags of four. It is the most played taal in Indian music outside the classical concert: in bhajans and kirtans, folk songs, ghazals and qawwalis, and in film songs beyond counting. For a bansuri player it is the taal of the dhun, the light, singing piece on a raag or a folk tune that ends so many recitals. It is not used for khayal or for classical gats: its home is the song.

The theka

  1. X
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2Ge
    3. 3Na
    4. 4Ti
  2. 0
    1. 5Na
    2. 6Ke
    3. 7Dhi
    4. 8Na

The first half opens with Dha, full and resonant; the second, the khali half, opens with Na, the dayan alone, and with the bayan's dry Ke. That open-closed, open-closed swing is Keherwa's pulse. Tabla players rarely play the plain theka for long: they ornament it with laggis, fast variations that keep the swing while filling it, and the theka here is the skeleton under them.

Counting with the hands

Clap, wave: X on the 1st matra, 0 on the 5th.

  1. XClap: sammatras 1–4
  2. 0Wavematras 5–8

With only two vibhags, Keherwa is easy to count; the challenge is to keep it steady, as a song can make you hurry.

The bols

BolHow it is playedOn
NaThe dayan’s rim, struck with the tip of the index finger, lifted at once so it ringsDayan
GeThe bayan, open: the bass, its pitch bent by the heel of the handBayan
DhaNa and Ge at onceBoth
TiAs Tin; inside TiRaKiTa, a closed stroke on the syahiDayan
KeThe bayan, flat-handed and closed: a dry knockBayan
TinThe dayan between the rim and the black syahi, ringingDayan
DhiTin and Ge at once (Dhin, said short)Both

How fast it is played

From a gentle madhya for a bhajan (about 80 to 120) to a brisk drut for a folk song or the end of a dhun, when the tabla's laggi takes off. In the fastest laggis the theka is half-hidden under the variations.

Layakari: dugun, tigun, chaugun

Dugun: two to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1DhaGe
    2. 2NaTi
    3. 3NaKe
    4. 4DhiNa
  2. 0
    1. 5DhaGe
    2. 6NaTi
    3. 7NaKe
    4. 8DhiNa
Tigun: three to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1DhaGeNa
    2. 2TiNaKe
    3. 3DhiNaDha
    4. 4GeNaTi
  2. 0
    1. 5NaKeDhi
    2. 6NaDhaGe
    3. 7NaTiNa
    4. 8KeDhiNa
Chaugun: four to each matra
  1. X
    1. 1DhaGeNaTi
    2. 2NaKeDhiNa
    3. 3DhaGeNaTi
    4. 4NaKeDhiNa
  2. 0
    1. 5DhaGeNaTi
    2. 6NaKeDhiNa
    3. 7DhaGeNaTi
    4. 8NaKeDhiNa

A tihai

TiRaKiTa Dha, a matra's rest, three times: eight matras, as long as the avartan itself. So it begins on the 2nd matra and its last Dha lands on the next sam.

1st avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2Ge
    3. 3Na
    4. 4Ti
  2. 0
    1. 5Na
    2. 6Ke
    3. 7Dhi
    4. 8Na

2nd avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2TiRaKiTa
    3. 3Dha
    4. 4–
  2. 0
    1. 5TiRaKiTa
    2. 6Dha
    3. 7–
    4. 8TiRaKiTa

3rd avartan

  1. X
    1. 1Dha
    2. 2Ge
    3. 3Na
    4. 4Ti
  2. 0
    1. 5Na
    2. 6Ke
    3. 7Dhi
    4. 8Na

For the flute

Start the tabla, then play these with it: they begin with its next sam.

One swara to a matra
SRGMPDNS
Two to a matra: down and up again
SNDPMGRSSRGMPDNS

Then make up phrases of your own, a vibhag long, as a dhun does: Keherwa is the place to begin playing freely with a tabla.

Questions

How many matras does Keherwa have?

Eight, in two vibhags of four: X 0.

Is Keherwa used in classical music?

Rarely in khayal or classical gats; it is the taal of bhajans, folk songs, ghazals, qawwalis, film songs, and of the light dhuns that often close a bansuri recital.

How is Keherwa different from Dadra?

Keherwa counts in fours, eight matras in two vibhags of four; Dadra in threes, six matras in two vibhags of three. Keherwa walks; Dadra sways.