Rashmi Rekha Das
Class IX student Abhibandita Rath’s keen sense of rhythm was discovered early in life and she is widely recognised as a tabla prodigy
Every child is special in his or her own way but some are exceptionally gifted. Abhibandita Rath is one of them. As a child, she found her true calling in music that alone gives her real mental peace. Her keen sense of rhythm was discovered early, and she was widely recognised as a prodigy in tabla , notwithstanding the fact that this instrument is a typically male bastion. That, till today, is her source of distinctiveness. Her hands had never stopped. Orissa POST chats with the Balasore-based Class IX student of St Vincent Convent School about her future plans.
Born to journalist-cum-tabla player Brahmanath and dietician Archana Rath, Abhibandita’s tryst with tabla began in childhood. “Abhibandita, aka Tisha, showed her desire to learn tabla when she was just 10 years old. When I advised her join music or dance class, her immediate answer was no. Since her childhood, she would often listen to devotional songs and try her hand at playing the tabla in rhythm. That apart, she used to watch me playing tabla, and imbibed the techniques and rhythms. Seeing her growing passion, I gave my consent. She progressed rapidly under the tutelage of her teacher Nanda Kishore Das, debuting at 10. Today, she is known for her technical virtuosity and mastery of compositions,” said the talented instrumentalist’s father.
Thanks to the supervision of her esteemed guru, Nanda Kishore Das, Abhibandita displayed her talent in playing at different cultural events frequently and was appreciated by classical performing arts centres. In the midst of her active performances, the child prodigy has always striven to complement her talent with her education. She achieved the first position in the Orissa-Chhattisgarh zonal level essay competition. Besides, she has carved out a niche as an artist in Balasore district. She has been felicitated by Prativashree, a cultural outfit, among other organisations.
Recounting her passion for the musical instrument, Abhibandita’s father said: “In a cultural programme in school, Tisha happened to be the lone girl playing the tabla among 40-odd boys. She wowed the audience with her mesmerising performance and received a standing ovation after her performance. This programme, in fact, increased her enthusiasm for the percussive instrument.”
Asked why she chose to pursue the tabla, Abhibandita had an interesting answer. “Everybody finds the tabla boring and not interesting. Youngsters of our generation, in particular, show little interest in tabla because they believe that it is meant only for classical songs. They don’t know that the tabla can be played with modern songs in modern ways. The instrument can be played for every genre of songs. I have started my experiment on it and will soon prove others wrong,” she said.
Asked whether she believed that a formal training in other forms of music or dance would have been better for her, Abhibandita replied: “I don’t have any regrets at all. I want to be unique. Everyone wants to be either a good dancer or singer. But I want to prove that the tabla is not a male domain. Once I asked my teacher the same question you asked me. He said try not to be best but the best among best. I feel that what he said was absolutely right.”
