Gwalior Gharana

The Gwalior Gharana is the oldest Khyal Gharana. The rise of the Gwalior Gharana started with the reign of the great Mughal emperor Akbar (1542–1605). The favorite singers of this patron of the arts, such as Miyan Tansen, first amongst the vocalists at the court, came from the town of Gwalior.

During the time of Mughal kings Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh and his maternal grandsons were the legendary Haddu, Hassu and Natthu Khan. The main musician in the court at the time was Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan who was famous for his taanbaazi. Both Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan and Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh belonged to the same tradition of Shahi Sadarang.

Some sources believe that Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh settled in Gwalior and evolved the style features that led to this gharana. Others claim that individuals named Naththan Pir Bakhsh and Nathu Khan founded the gharana. The accepted version is that Naththan Pir Baksh left Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh to escape the professional rivalry with Ustad Shakkar Khan that had taken an ugly turn. He arrived in Gwalior with his maternal grandsons Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan.

Another great khayal singer, also originally from Lucknow, was Ustad Bade Mohammed Khan who brought the Taan into khayal singing. Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan further enhanced the style of the Gwalior gharana as we recognize it today. Hassu Khan died prematurely. Haddu Khan's sons, Rehmat Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Inayat Hussain Khan (1852–1922) was a widely acclaimed singer who liberated the Gwalior style from the methodical form it followed to the emotional style that he preferred.

Later it was the disciples of the duo-Ustad Haddu/Hassu khan- that both preserved as well as propagated the art. For instance, their pupils like Vasudeva Buwa Joshi, Ramkrishna Deva and Banne Khansaheb, who spread it further. It was Ramkrishna Deva's pupil BalRamkrishna buwa Ichalnikar , who took the Gwaliori Gaeki (singing stylistics) to Maharashtra.

However, the most beloved of the duo's was Banne khan, who was previously a dhurpad and dhamar singer from Amritsar. He took the art to Punjab and Sindh. It is said that he lived liked a son in their house and firstly served the duo so much that he was then treated like the eldest son of the family. Later when he had learnt the art to its perfection, the man trained a good number of pupils in Punjab and Sindh to carry it further. His pupils included his cousin-brother Amir Khan (aka Meeran Bukhsh Khan), Gamman Khan, Bhai Atta, Ali Bukhsh/Kale Khan, Mian Qadir(sarangi), Bhai Wadhava/ Bhai Wasawa and so on.

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