Who among the following is a female Tabla player?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

Aban Mistry (1930-2003) was a truly groundbreaking and historic figure in the male-dominated world of Hindustani classical percussion, being one of the first professional female *Tabla* players to achieve wide recognition. Her rigorous training across multiple major *Tabla* *gharanas* (schools), including the Farrukhabad, Lucknow, and Benares traditions, under gurus like Pandit Keki S. Jijina, allowed her to develop a distinctive and versatile playing style. Her dedication helped challenge the deeply ingrained tradition that largely restricted the performance of percussion instruments to men, making her a pioneer who paved the way for future female *Tabla* artists in Indian classical music.

The incorrect option is 1:

Bageshwari Qamar is not recognized as a prominent female *Tabla* player in the history of Indian classical music. The field of percussion, though now seeing a rise in female artists, historically has a defined list of pioneers, and Qamar is not among them. The question specifically targets a well-known female exponent of the *Tabla*.

The incorrect option is 3:

Aruna Narayan Kalle is a celebrated and highly accomplished female artist, but her specialization is the *Sarangi*, a bowed, string instrument often called the "voice of a hundred colors." The *Sarangi* requires a unique bowing and finger-nail technique and belongs to the *Tat Vadya* (string instrument) category, which is fundamentally different from the percussion artistry required for the *Tabla*.

The incorrect option is 4:

Sharan Rani Bakliwal (1929-2008) was a legendary and revolutionary figure known as the "Sarod Queen." She was a master of the *Sarod*, one of the most respected plucked string instruments in Hindustani classical music. Her immense contribution was in popularizing the *Sarod* on the global stage and being one of the first women to achieve such eminence in this particular instrument. Therefore, her instrument is the *Sarod*, not the *Tabla*.