Gwalior gharana explained

The Gwalior Gharana (Gwalior school of classical music) is one of the oldest Khyal Gharana in Indian classical music. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605).

The favourite singers of this patron of the arts, such as Miyan Tansen, who was the most famous vocalist at the court of Akbar, came from the town of Gwalior.

History

The Gwalior Gharana evolved during the time of the Mughal Empire (1526CE 1857 CE). Among the early masters (ustad) were Naththan Khan, Naththan Pir Bakhsh and his grandsons Haddu, Hassu and Natthu Khan.[1] The head musician in the imperial court was Bade Mohammad Khan, who was famous for his taan bazi style. Both Bade Mohammad Khan and Naththan Pir Bakhsh belonged to the same tradition of Shahi Sadarang (also known as Nemat Khan, dhrupad singer and veena player in the court of Mohammad Shah (1702 CE 1748 CE).[2]

Hassu Khan (died 1859 CE) and Haddu Khan (died 1875 CE) continued to develop the Gwalior style of singing.[3] Haddu Khan's son Ustad Bade Inayat Hussain Khan (1852 1922) was also a singer but his style departed from the methodical Gwalior style.

Among the brothers' students were Vasudeva Buwa Joshi (died 1890), who became a teacher; and Ramkrishna Deva, who became a musician in Dhar.[4] It was Ramkrishna Deva's student, Balakrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar (1849 1926) who brought the Gwaliori gaeki (singing style) to Maharashtra state.[5]

Another prominent disciple of the duo was a Muslim dhrupad and dhamar singer from Amritsar, Miyan Banney Khan. He introduced Khyal in Punjab and Sindh and then took a musical position at the court of Nizam of Hyderabad.[6] Miyan Banney Khan's pupils included his cousin, Amir Khan (also known as "Meeran Bukhsh Khan"), Gamman Khan, Bhai Atta Muhammad, Ali Baksh Khan(father of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan), Kale Khan, Mian Qadir(sarangi), Bhai Wadhawa, Bhai Wasawa, Baba Rehman Baksh.

These all disciples started their own Gharanas and their descendants are still the most respected musicians of the subcontinent. Amir Khan also shared Miyan Banney khan's cheejs with the pupils of Pt. Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar when he stayed in Miraj for sometime. However, his disciples included among others his four sons. One of the sons, Pyare Khan, became a professional musician.[7] Another son, Baba Sindhe Khan (1885 18 June 1950) became a music teacher and trained pupils such as the educator B. R. Deodhar (1901 1990); the singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902 1968),[8] and Farida Khanam (born 1935).

On 19 August 1922, Pyare Khan performed at the second annual celebration of the independence of Afghanistan. He became a mentor to a singer from Afghanistan, also performing at the celebration. This was the singer, Qasim Afghan ("Qasimju") (born 1878, Kabul).[9] Pyare Khan also remained a musician at the court of Maharajadhiraj Maharawal (Sir Jawahir Singh) of Jaisalmer (1914 1949). He was also a teacher of Seth Vishandas of Hyderabad in Sindh near Karachi and Mahant Girdharidas of Bhuman Shah, Punjab.

Mian Pyare Khan's sons were Ustad Umeed Ali Khan (1910 1979) and Ustad Ghulam Rasool Khan. They became respected classical vocalists of their times.[10] Ustad Ghulam Rasool Khan had two sons, Ustad Hameed Ali Khan and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan.[11] Ustad Fateh Ali Khan's son is Izat Fateh Ali Khan.[12]

Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893 1989) was a musician of the Gwalior gharana heritage. His father, Shankarrao Pandit was a student of Haddu Khan, Nathu Khan and Nissar Hussain Khan, Nathu Khan's son. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit practiced Khayal, Tappa and Tarana singing as well as layakari.

In 1914, Krishnarao Shankar Pandit opened a school in Gwalior, the Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. In 1921, he was awarded the title Gayak Shiromani at the All India Congress. Pandit became the court musician to Madhavrao Scindia of Gwalior; the State Musician of Maharashtra, an emeritus professor at Madhav Music College, Gwalior and an emeritus producer at All India Radio and Doordarshan. For his contribution to the world of classical music, he received awards including the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and the Tansen Award in 1980.

The students of Krishnarao Shankar Pandit included his son, Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, Sharadchandra Arolkar, Balasaheb Poochwale, and his granddaughter Meeta Pandit.

Pedagogical genealogy

The following map is based on accounts that Makkan Khan and Shakkar Khan were not related.[13] These accounts are supported by research indicating that Makkan Khan's descendants were dhrupadiyas and Shakkar Khan's descendants were khayaliyas, thus reflecting different genealogies.[14]

Recent pedagogy

Singing style

A distinguishing feature of the gharana is its simplicity: well known ragas (melodic modes) rather than obscure ones are selected and sapaat (straight) taans (fast melodic sequences) is emphasized. While there is raga vistar (melodic expansion) and alankar (melodic ornamentation) to enhance the beauty and meaning of the raga, there is no extra-slow-tempo alap as in many modern Kirana singers. Vilambit khyal-s are still rendered relatively briskly, rarely below 30 bpm. For Gwalior khyaliyas, the bandish (composition) is key as it provides the melody of the raga and indications on its performance. While doing bol-baant (rhythmic play using the words of the bandish) the Gwalior style uses all the words of sthayi or antara in proper sequence, without disturbing their meaning.

The behlava is a medium tempo rendition of the notes which follows the pattern of the aroha (ascent) and the avaroha(descent) of the raga. The behlava is divided into the asthayi (notes from Ma to Sa) and the antara (noted from Ma, Pa, or Dha to Pa of the higher register). The asthayi section is sung twice before the antara. Then follows a swar-vistar in a medium tempo using heavy meends (glides) and taans. The dugun-ka-alap follows in which groups of two or four note combinations are sung in quicker succession while the basic tempo remains the same. The bol-alap is the next part where the words of the text are sung in different ways. Then there is in faster tempo the murki where notes are sung with ornamentation. The bol-taans have melodic sequences set to the words of the bandish. The other taans, including the gamak, follow.

The sapat taan is important to the Gwalior style. It is the singing of notes in a straight sequence and at a vilambit pace. Both Dhrupad and Khyal singing evolved in Gwalior and there are many overlaps. In the khyal style there is one form, Mundi Dhrupad, that incorporates all the features of dhrupad singing but without the Mukhda.

Exponents

19th Century and Earlier

20th Century

Contemporary artists

Notes and References

  1. Book: Mukherji. Kumar Prasad. The Lost World of Hindustani Music. 2006. Penguin Books. Delhi. 978-0-14-306199-1. 57. 2006.
  2. News: Kumar. Kuldeep. Exploring the syntax of syncretism. The Hindu. 14 October 2016. 27 November 2017.
  3. Web site: Hassu Khan Haddu Khan. Oxford Index. 28 November 2017.
  4. Book: Wade. B. C.. Khyal: Creativity Within North India's Classical Music Tradition. 1984. CUP Archive. 0521256593. 47. 28 November 2017.
  5. Book: The Gazetteer of India vol 2. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. 9788123022659.
  6. Book: Wade, Bonnie C.. Khyal: Creativity Within North India's Classical Music Tradition. CUP Archive. 1984-01-01. 9780521256599.
  7. Book: Ranade. A. D.. Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries. 2006. Bibliophile South Asia. 9788185002644. 207.
  8. Web site: Gwalior gharana. ITC Sangeet Research Academy website. 23 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120523232059/http://www.itcsra.org/sra_story/sra_story_guru/sra_story_guru_links/sra_story_guru_gharana/gharana.asp?gharanaid=1. 2023-12-29.
  9. Web site: Afghanistan Ustad Qasim Afghan. www.afghanland.com. 2016-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20170704111747/http://www.afghanland.com/entertainment/music/qasim.html. 2017-07-04. dead.
  10. Web site: Ummeed Ali Khan. Vijaya Parrikar Library of Indian Classical Music. 2016-01-06.
  11. Web site: Oriental Traditional Music from LPs & Cassettes: Hameed Ali Khan & Fateh Ali Khan (Gwalior Gharana) - Vol. 2 - Lok Virsa CL-0023 (1987). Oriental Traditional Music from LPs & Cassettes. 2011-06-12. 2016-01-06.
  12. Web site: Hasan . Shazia . 2023-03-06 . Soulful music tugs at the audience's heartstrings . 2023-05-26 . DAWN.COM . en.
  13. Book: Te Nijenhuis . Emmie . Emmie te Nijenhuis . Indian Music: History and Structure . 1974 . E. J. Brill . Belgium . 90-04-03978-3.
  14. Book: Nadkarni . Mohan . The Great Masters: profiles in Hindustani classical vocal music . 1999 . HarperCollins Publishers India . India . 38.
  15. Book: Joshi . Lakshman Dattatray . Sangeetshastrakar va Kalavant Yancha Itihas . 1935 . Aryabhushan Press . Pune . 108–109.
  16. News: Music from the 'school' . 29 March 2013 . 19 October 2014 . Kumr, Ranee.
  17. Web site: Impassioned recital by Arolkar | the writings of Mohan Nadkarni .
  18. Book: Deodhar . B. R. . Gayanacharya Pandit Vishnu Digambar . 104–105.
  19. Book: Bakhle . Janaki . Two Men and Music: Nationalism in the Making of an Indian Classical Tradition . 2005 . Oxford University Press . 9780195166101 . 297.
  20. News: Mahal, once the citadel of musicians, now strums broken notes | Nagpur News - Times of India. The Times of India. 9 April 2017 .
  21. Web site: Sahitya Akademi broadcasts recitation of Sant Singaji verses under 'Gamak'.
  22. News: Pandit Narayanrao Bodas no more. The Hindu. 27 November 2017. Banerjee. Shoumojit.
  23. Web site: Shankar Abhyankar.
  24. News: The eternal note . 5 October 2012 . The Hindu . 7 October 2014 . Sarvamangala, C.S..

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