Seni rebab

This article is about the north Indian "Seni rebab". For the Afghan plucked instrument otherwise known as the "Kabuli rebab", seeRubab.For the bowed spike fiddle, as used in Arab countries and in the Indonesian gamelan, seeRebab.For the mediaeval European instrument sometimes called the "rubible", seeRebec.

Seni rebab

Mughal painting from 1630 byGovardhanwith a musician playing a seni rebab.
Classification	Necked bowl lutes String instruments
Related instruments
Arbajo,Dotara,Dranyen,Kabuli rebabPamiri rubab,Sarod,Tungna,Dutar,Tanbur

TheSeni rebab(Hindustani:सेनी रबाब(Devanagari),سینی رباب(Nastaleeq),Punjabi:ਸੇਨੀ ਰੱਬਾਬ), also known as theSeniya rabab(Hindustani:सेनिया रबाब(Devanagari),سنیا رباب(Nastaleeq)) is a plucked string instrument used innorthern Indiathat is said to have been developed by, and to have taken its name from, the notable musicianTansenin the time of the emperorAkbar the Great.It has "a large hook at the back of its head, making it easier for a musician to sling it over the shoulder and play it even while walking."It has been used inHindustani classical musicand religiously, inSikh music.The rebab influenced the development of thesarod,another Indian musical instrument.

Three types of Sikh musician -rababis,ragisanddhadhis- flourished during the period of the Sikh gurus.

History

As theDekhani rabāb,the instrument was listed as a native instrument of Central India by Mughal chroniclerAbu'l Fazl.It was played by different castes, from the highBrahminsleading religious songs to "low-caste entertainers."

The instrument was associated with the Seniya family, of whomTansenwas one.Tansen has been credited with "popularizing" the rabāb. The nameseni rabābmay be an Indian adaptation from a Persian designation of the instrument; "Sen-e-rabab"is supposed to mean rebab of [Tan] Sen.

Religion

Guru Nanakstarted the Sikhrababitradition by engagingBhai Mardanaas his accompanist. The Muslim singers known asMirasiswere "rababis", because they played on the rabab orrebec.Some notable rababis after Mardana were his son Shahjada, Balwand andSatta,Babak, son of Satta, Chatra, son of Babak, and Saddu and Baddu. Rababis used to performkirtanregularly at Amritsar before thepartition of Indiain 1947, after which many of the rababis migrated to Pakistan. The Sikh rabab was traditionally a local Punjabi variant known as the 'Firandia' rabab (Punjabi:ਫਿਰੰਦੀਆ ਰਬਾਬPhiradī'ā rabāba),however Baldeep Singh, an expert in the Sikh musical tradition, challenges this narrative.

The last of the line of rababis was Bhai Chand. During the 20th century CE the instrument's use in Sikh kirtan was eclipsed by theharmoniumbut it has been revived.

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  Women playing veena and seni rabab,1680-1700.

Prominent Performers of Seni Rabab

Ustad Baba Alauddin Khan, Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra were the prominent players of the Seni Rabab or the Tanseni Rabab. Pandit Joydeep Mukherjee, a grand disciple of Pandit Radhika Mohan Maitra, and a disciple of Late Guru Pranab Naha of Kolkata, has revived the Tanseni Rababin the year 2024.