Denise Nuttall
Sensing Tabla I: Vancouver and Seattle 1996Stefan had been learning tabla from Abbaji, Zakirji, and Satwantji, a
senior disciple of the Punjab gharana, for three years now. In the pro-
cess of doing so, he had become a dedicated disciple. His love of and
passion for tabla was taking him on a new path, providing him with
a new direction in his life. When we first met in 1994 he had been out
of high school only a few years and was working as a sales clerk at a
record store in Vancouver. The job barely allowed him to pay the bills,
but it meant survival by day so that he could practice tabla (riaz) by
night. Riaz was fast becoming his only activity outside work. At times
I wondered whether this was a passion, an obsession, or an intimate
type of dedication. His every waking moment centered on learning
and practicing tabla.
In the summer of 1996 we began to practice together in anticipation
of Zakirji’s upcoming classes in Seattle. We usually met at his home
before leaving for class. One day as I entered his room I noticed its ar-
rangement was similar to the rooms I had seen of other tabla players
while in India. It was filled with tabla; a lahra machine, which play-
ers use as a metronome for keeping time to practice playing in Hin-
dustani classical style; powder canisters; and an altar dedicated to Za-
kirji and Abbaji. The altar consisted of a large picture of Zakirji and a
separate one of Abbaji, lovingly placed on the top of a table and sur-
rounded by rose petals, a carefully selected assortment of stones that
Stefan had picked up by the ocean, and burning incense. I remem-
bered also that Satwantji had carefully selected photos of Abbaji and
placed them on the walls of his tabla room. Whenever I went to visit
Satwantji, Abbaji’s presence in the room was a very comforting feel-
ing. Here, too, in Stefan’s house, our teacher’s presence was always
felt. As I practiced dha ge tin na ke na na ge dhin na ge na over and
over again, I would glance over to their pictures on the table.
Traveling to Seattle from Vancouver by car took us through rocky
mountain passes along the Pacific Ocean. We listened to tabla so-
los, recited our own compositions (or tried to remember them), and
talked of Zakirji’s latest recordings, concerts, and movies. Zakirji had
always been a major topic of conversation with most tabla players I