Dha Te Te
Dha Te Te Dha / Te Te Dha Dha / Te Te Dha Ge / Ti Na Ki Na
Ta Te Te Ta / Te Te Dha Dha / Te Te Dha Ge / Dhi Na Gin Na
It a small kaida, a basic kaida. It uses minimal bols and only two fingers, but boy can it pack its punch. A foundation kaida of the Delhi Gharana, Dha Te Te was a famous bol of Ustad Latif Ahmed Khan. He could play this deceptively simple kaida for hours if desired and never repeat a single variation or palta – that is called depth. But most tabla players or students today will know 15, maybe 25 variations of this kaida.
For a few fortunate souls, that changed.
It was a warm night and we had all gathered at Guruji’s.
“So, what is the mood? What do you want to learn?”, he asked.
We all looked at each other, no one really sure what to say. Then one voice speaks up. It was a senior disciple of Guruji, someone who has been learning for nearly 20 years.
“Guruji, you had said that you would teach me some Dha Te Te paltas.”
It was a kaida that the disciple has been teaching for years, to every student, young and old.
“Dha Te Te… Latifbhai’s favourite bol… Everyone else okay with Dha Te Te?”
Of course there was no dissent.
An hour and a half later, everyone’s hands were tired (from continuous writing) and minds were swirling from the teaching session that has just happened.
Guruji had taught 100 Dha Te Te paltas. ONE HUNDRED. To play them all would take close to a half hour.
When we finished number 100, he said like a true Ustad, “If you want, we can sit again tomorrow and I won’t repeat a single palta from today.”
Below is a video of one of Guruji’s disciples – Kaumil Shah, playing Dha Te Te.
Life of a Tabla Student 