Ustad Akram Khan | Tabla Solo in Rupak Taal | Live in Reading | Kala Festival 2025

Ustad Akram Khan, seventh-generation keeper of the Ajrada Gharana, performs a tabla solo in Rupak Taal at The Great Hall, University of Reading, on 14 September 2025, as part of the Kala Festival 2025 programme in Reading. Satwinder Pal Singh provides lehra on sarangi throughout, holding the 7-beat cycle as a reference point for the solo.

Rupak Taal opens on khali, the empty, unaccented beat, which gives the cycle its characteristic forward lean from the first mathra. Akram Khan begins with measured peshkar before moving into composed kayda, unfolding variations that stretch and compress the tala's shape. The solo builds through layakari passages where rhythmic density increases, and closes with a sequence of precisely timed tihais that resolve the cycle and mark the cadence of the performance.