From the provinces of Punjab and Utter Pardesh in United India blossomed a large number of rhythm keepers of high quality, whose imprints on the annals of sub-continental classical music have acquired special significance. Frontline rhythm-keepers or tabla players from these areas were Khalifa Qadir Bakhsh, Ustad Ahmed Jan Thrikva, Uatad Nabi Bakhsh Kalrewaley, Ustad Muneer Husain Khan, Ustad Mast Khan, Baba Malang Khan, Ustad Peshaware Khan, Ustad Shaukat Husain Khan, Ustad Karim Bakhsh Pairna and the lving Ustad Altaf Husain Tafo.
Late Ustad Karim Bakhsh Pairna became the envy of his illustrious contemporaries. So profound was has rhythmic and melodic erudition. Many classical vocalists and instrumentalists desired to have Pairna's tabla sangat (accompaniment) during their presentations.
Born around 1900 in Khankot, a village in the district of Amritsar (East Punjab) Karim Bakhsh could not resist the temptation offered by his family environment to opt for a career in music. From his early childhood, he showed unusual interest in music, especially in the art of rhythm keeping. Responding to his strong proclivity for music, Pairna's father Fazal Din gave him in the care of Buddey Khan Narowali, who was then known for his prowess in playing pakhawaj.
The Ustad motivated young Karim Bakhsh to learn the art of pakhawaj playing, which the shagird mastered in a relatively short period of two years. As a pakhawaj player he won appreciation from seasoned dhrupad singers of that period.
A large number of lovers of classical music who derive much pleasure from the renditions of asthai-antras rendered by inveterate classicists, are seemingly still unaware of the role rhythm plays in a music composition and how it augments the overall impact of classical formulations. Hence an explanation of this vital element of music becomes warranted.
Rhythm is an indispensable force underlying all music. It is an ordered recurrent alternation of strong and weak elements in the flow of sound, the distribution of strong and weak elements, and the general qualitative relations of these elements and their combination. Fundamentally, it involves the duration of length of musical sounds.
Tempo, the speed at which a piece is played or sung, is sometimes associated with rhythm. Essential to rhythm are pulsation (steady beat), metre and accent. When beats are combined in groups of two, three or four to a measure, the result is called metre.
A discerning father and a watchful Ustad did not take long to discover that Karim Bakhsh was instinctively in love with the art of rhythm keeping. Therefore, they provided him all possible facilities to carry on with his melodic pursuits, which included learning from other prominent rhythm keepers of the time, including Ustad Nabi Bakhsh Kalrewaley, whose fame as a master tabla player had spread throughout the length and breadth of the sub-continent.
Before making his debut Karim Bakhsh was required to make a solo tabla presentation at Takia Meeraseean, Lahore, as was customary in those days, in the presence of a large number of professional musicians, including Khalifa Qadir Bakhsh. After that marathon performance lasting six hours, his credentials as a competent rhythm keeper were convincingly established and accepted by the members of music fraternity.
After partition, Karim Bakhsh joined Radio Pakistan, Karachi, which he served until 1956, when he was transferred to Radio Pakistan, Quetta. In recognition of his ebullient talent Radio Pakistan, Karachi honoured Karim Pairna with the title of Ustad. So widespread was his popularity among the members of his fraternity and so high was his position in the hierarchy of professional musicians that he enjoyed the privileged position of an arbiter of disputes of academic nature arising among contesting tabla players. His verdict was taken as final, which the disputants were bound to accept.
Ustad Karim Bkhsh Pairna remained associated with the Quetta Station of Radio Pakistan until his death in 1975.