Indore gharana explained

Indore gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music. It was founded by Amir Khan,^[1] who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan and amalgamated their style.^{[2] [3]}

Amir Khan grew up in Indore, India but he did not like the factionalism inherent in the gharana tradition. In an interview to Akashvani, Indore, he said:

Performances in the Indore gharana are noted by the vilambit tempo in the style of Abdul Wahid Khan, and the taans reminiscent of Rajab Ali Khan. The merukhand structure is similar to that practiced by Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendibazaar gharana. The khayal gayaki in the 'Indore gharana' retains the slow development and restraint from frills as in the dhrupad. Mohan Nadkarni says of Amir Khan's music that whereas Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's music was extroverted and exuberant, Amir Khan's music was an introverted, dignified 'darbar' style^[4]

Amir Khan's conviction about the importance of poetry in khyal compositions (he used to compose under the pen name, Sur Rang), has also marked the singing of the 'Indore gharana'.

Characteristics of the Indore gharana include:

• slow-tempo raga development
• improvisation mostly in lower and middle octaves
• tendency towards serious and expansive (darbari) ragas
• emphasis on melody
• bol alap and sargam using merukhand patterns
• sparing application of murki and other embellishments to preserve introspective quality
• use of kan swaras (acciaccatura) in all parts of performance
• rare use of tihai
• careful enunciation of text of bandish - the bandish performance may or may not include antara
• multiple laya (tempo) jatis in a single taan
• mixture of taan types in a single taan
• use of ruba'idar tarana (considered similar to chhota khyal)

After Amir Khan's death in a car accident in Kolkata in 1974, the "Indore gharana" has become a powerful stream in modern Hindustani music. Direct disciples of Amir Khan included Pandith Amarnath, Shankar Lal Mishra, Kankana Banerjee, Purvi Mukherjee, and others. However, a number of influential musicians including Sultan Khan (sarangi player) have developed their music under 'Indore gharana' influence.

Prominent exponents

• Gokulotsavji Maharaj^[5]
• Kankana Banerjee ^[6]
• Shanti Sharma^[7]
• Baldev Raj Verma ^[8]
• Ramneek Singh^[9]
• Akhil Kumar Das^[10]
• Amarjeet Kaur (a disciple of Ustad Amir Khan and Pandit Amarnath)^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stirring Compassion of Cosmic Vibration. The Times of India.
2. Web site: Susheela Mishra . 2009-04-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081202181414/http://www.caferisko.ca/ak/smishra.html . 2008-12-02 . dead .
3. News: Metro Plus Bangalore / Music : Beat Street. https://web.archive.org/web/20100504065625/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/03/23/stories/2005032300210300.htm. dead. 4 May 2010. The Hindu. 23 March 2005.
4. Mohan Nadkarni, Great Masters: Profiles in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music, Rupa 1999, 453 pages, .
5. Web site: Swarganga . Swarganga . 2015 . February 5, 2015.
6. Web site: Kankana Banerjee - the Official Web Site - . 2022-07-10 . 2012-04-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120425152219/http://www.kankanabanerjee.com/ . dead .
7. Web site: City News, Indian City Headlines, Latest City News, Metro City News .
8. Web site: Baldev Raj Verma, Delhi, India. panditbaldevrajverma.com.
9. Web site: Ramneek Singh. RamneekSingh.Com.
10. Web site: Pandit Shrikant Bakre Memorial Foundation.
11. News: Sinha . Manjari . Melody that captures soul . 10 November 2021 . Newspaper article . The Hindu . Online . The Hindu . 10 March 2017 . Newspaper article.
12. News: Mishra . Garima . On a Song . 10 November 2021 . Newspaper article . The Indian Express . Online . The Indian Express . 9 August 2013 . On a song.