The school of the Punjab, descended directly from pakhawaj lineages — its early masters were pakhawaj players, and the older drum's open, muscular language never left the style. The baaj is khula with a commanding bayan; the repertoire is heavy with parans, gats, and above all layakari — crooked ratios and audacious tihai mathematics are house specialties.
Mian Qadir Baksh is its revered fountainhead in the modern line; Alla Rakha carried the style to global fame, and his son Zakir Hussain made it the most heard tabla sound on earth.