Introduction to Laggi

The laggi is one of the few simple, repetitive forms that you will hear in the classical tabla repertoire. So if you are completely new to the tabla, or if you find other classical tabla forms difficult to follow, then laggis may be a good place to start.

Laggis are most often heard in light classical genres such as thumrī, bhajan, and gazal. These genres are commonly performed in the tals of kaharawa (8 matras) and dadra (6 matras), but also in tals with other divisions, such as rupak tal (7 matras) or dipchandi (14 matras).

Because laggis are performed in these “light” genres, they do not have the same status as most other classical forms. However, light classical forms are very popular, and most classically trained tabla players know and perform laggis. And because they are repetitive and use many fundamental strokes, many students practice laggis to strengthen their hands.

Laggi, Rela, Rao, and Lari

The laggi form has historical connections to other forms such as the rela, rao, and lari. In most traditions, these are all short, repetitive forms played at high speeds. Like so many tabla forms, their definitions may overlap; a laggi in one tradition may be a rela, lari, or rao in another.

However, in recent times, most players play very similar kinds of laggis. These usually have a clear folk groove and are made from a limited set of open bols. This is the modern laggi form we will look at below.

The Modern Laggi

Most modern laggis are short, repetitive pieces of 4 or 8 matras (beats) in length. The rhythm or groove of these laggis has a folk feeling, similar to many kaharawa tal thekas. 6-matra laggis are also heard, but they are less common.

The folk groove in laggis is not surprising, since they likely evolved from drums such as the dholak and naqqara. Laggi-type patterns are extremely common in folk drumming traditions across India, performed on many different instruments.

Although classical tabla players perform laggis mostly in light-classical forms, they will also occassionally use laggi patterns in classical accompaniment, especially at high tempos, where laggis might be used as theka variations, or for soloing.

Laggi-type patterns or divisions may also form parts of some classical compositions, including kaydas, relas, and, as mentioned above, the Benares bant.

Laggi Structures

Most laggis have a 2-part structure which is similar to other cyclic forms such as the kayda and rela. And so most laggis repeat the same phrase twice, but with a different bass drum pattern: one or more bols (strokes) played as khali (closed) rather than tali (open).

The first example laggi above has this simple 2-part structure; the second line is a repetition of the first line with just one change of bol, tin becomes dhin:

Other laggis might also begin the second half begins with khali bols, as in the kayda or rela. The second laggi example above begins with the khali bol tatin (tali bols are in bold):

Notice that this laggi has the bols tin, and its counterpart dhin, in the same place as the first laggi (the up-beat of matras 3 and 7). In this case, the entire phrase of dhin dhara in the second half is the tali counterpart to the khali phrase tin tara in the first half.

Laggi Phrase Divisions and Stress

Though there are many possible laggi divisions and stress, many of today’s popular laggis follow patterns similar to the kaharawa theka, which has a 3–3–2 division. This includes variations of this combination such as 3–2–3.

We can hear these patterns in both the phrase divisions, and/or the stressed bols. The first example laggi above follows a 3–2–3 phrase division:

The second example laggi above has a 2–2–2–2 division of bols. However, as we will see below, this laggi’s stress pattern is closer to 2–3–3:

The stressed bols (strokes) in a laggi often follow the phrase divisions, though not always.

In the first example above, the stress follows the divisions, except for the stress added to ge in the bol dhagena, which is a common way to play this phrase (stressed bols are in bold italics):

In the second example, the phrases could be divided as 2–2–2–2 as shown above: dhadhin-dhara-dhatin-tara. However, the baya’s stress pattern is closer to a 2–3–3 pattern:

6-Matra Laggi

6-matra laggis are sometimes performed, but they are less common than 4- or 8-matra laggis. My own teacher Chhotelal Misra did not mention them in his books, nor was I taught any. In other traditions, they are more common.

6-matra laggis are usually heard in dadra tal (6 matras). They will also have a simple 2-part structure, and follow the general structure of dadra tal:

6-Matra Laggi in Dadra Tal:

At high speed, this laggi has a flow which feels more like a rela of 6 beats. In fact, I have seen this particular laggi (or similar variations) given as both a laggi (Stewart, p. 132 and Wegner, p. 342) and as a dadra rela (Naimpalli, p. 146 and Leake, p. 218).

Another kind of 6-matra laggi uses phrases of 6, with 4 phrases over 6 beats:

(Stewart, p. 132)

These kinds of laggis or relas are very easy for advanced students to compose or improvise based on compositions in tintal, ektal, etc. This might explain why some teachers do not always teach them.

Laggi Bols

Though there are many different kinds of laggis with many different bols, most modern laggis are made from a limited set of basic bols. Below are some of the most common:

• dhāti – धाती
• dhārā – धाड़ा
• dhādhin – धाधिं
• ginā – गिना
• teṭe – तेटे
• tirakiṭa – तिरकिट

If you look at any of the laggis on this site, or from other modern sources, you should see that most laggis are made primarily from these basic bols.

Laggi Development

Laggis are not usually developed systematically like theme-and-variation forms such as the kayda or rela. In light classical performance, they are often not developed at all, but different laggis may be performed one after the other, such as in the improvisational video above.

Because these laggis are often very similar to one another, some may think of these as variations, while others may think of them as similar, but different, laggis in succession.

When laggis are developed, players often create variations by rearranging the order of bols in simple ways, or by keeping the sequence, but changing the starting point (known as lout-palat).

For an example, we can look at a laggi taken from a Benares bant (the second half of Benares Bant 3). The variations below are all rearrangements of the bols, or lout-palt-type changes (change of starting point):

Main laggi:

Variation 1:

Variation 2:

Variation 3:

Variation 4:

Below is a short improvisation of a similar laggi by Rajneesh Tiwari. The variations are not exactly the same as those above, but are similar. Most are lout-palat type variations:

Laggi in Light-Classical Performance

As mentioned above, laggi are often heard in light-classical performance, most commonly in kaharawa tal (8 matra-tal) and dadra tal (6 matra-tal), but also in other tals such as rupak tal (7-matra tal) and dipchandi tal (14-matra tal).

In light-classical tals other than kaharawa, it is common for the music to shift into 8 matras during tabla solos. Here laggis of 4 or 8 matras would be performed during the solo, and then everyone will shift back to dadra, or end the performance. Laggi in Dadra Tal 3 and Laggi in Dipchandi Tal below for examples of this.

Laggi in Kaharawa Tal – Lal Mani Misra (vichitra veena) and Chhotelal Misra (tabla)

These are common 4/4 laggis such as those above (laggis begin around 00:13):

(listen online)

Laggi in Dadra Tal 1 – N Rajam (violin) and Chhotelal Misra (tabla)

Begins with laggis of 6 which use common laggi-type bols, and then moves into rela-type bols in 6 before ending in a tihai (begins around 00:20):

(listen online)

Laggi in Dadra Tal 2 – Om Prakash Chaurasia (santoor) and Chhotelal Misra (tabla)

This solo uses rela-type bols only. Note that not everyone would call these laggis (solo begins around 00:23):

Laggi in Dadra Tal 3 – Lal Mani Misra (vichitra veena) and Chhotelal Misra (tabla)

Here the entire performance shifts from a meter of 6 to 8. Chhotelal plays laggis in 8 and concludes with a short tihai, and then they move back to dadra in 6 (the solo begins around 00:23):

(listen online)

Laggi in Dipchandi Tal – N Rajam (violin) and Chhotelal Misra (tabla)

Like the last example, the performers shift from a meter of 14 to 8. Here the performance concludes with the tabla solo and so does not return to dipchandi (laggis begin around 00:20):

References