The Kirana Gharana is a Hindustani music apprenticeship tradition (gharana) made popular by Bande Ali Khan in the 19th Century and his cousins Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan.[1][2] Evolved from the instrumental and vocal Gauharbani dhrupad lineages of medieval music maestros Nayak Gopal, Nayak Dhondu, and Nayak Bhanu. Later, this tradition came to be reputed for khayal, thumri, dadra, ghazal, bhajan, abhang, and natya sangeet. This gharana is known for producing acclaimed musicians like Sawai Gandharva, Sureshbabu Mane, Hirabai Barodekar, Amir Khan, Gangubai Hangal, Bhimsen Joshi, Roshanara Begum, Mohammed Rafi, Prabha Atre, Kaivalya Kumar Gurav, Anand Bhate, and Jayateerth Mevundi. Consequently, this gharana developed a reputation for its distinctly sweet, devotional, and intense vocalism.

An illustration of the Kirana Gharana's ancestry prepared by Mashkoor Ali Khan.

Background

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Photograph of Abdul Karim Khan in performance supported by his student, Sawai Gandharva, on tanpura.

Awareness about the Kirana Gharana grew with the rising status of Beenkar Bande Ali Khan in the Gwalior Court and Indore Court in the mid-19th Century.[3] Due to his fame, members of his extended family, such as vocalists Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan, began describing themselves as from the same gharana. The Kirana Gharana takes its name from the birth place of Bande Ali Khan, Kairana, though the family is said to originate from Saharanpur District.[4][5] Bande Ali Khan is arguably the most influential Hindustani Classical instrumentalist of the 19th Century.[6] In its initial decades, the importance of Kirana Gharana was derived from his status. Since, the fame of Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan extended the gharana's name which came to be associated with singing.

History

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Photograph of Bande Ali Khan playing the Rudra Veena.

In the 19th Century, the Kirana gharana coalesced around Bande Ali Khan, a renowned musician of the rudra veena. The gharana's style was further developed, and established as one of the prominent styles in modern Hindustani classical music in the early 20th Century by musicians Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan.[7]

The Kirana Gharana includes an extensive family of musicians and their traditions which can be distinguished by four lineages: that of Bande Ali Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, Abdul Wahid Khan, and Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan.

Bande Ali Khan

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Bande Ali Khan was one of the most influential musicians in the 19th Century. Though he directly taught few musicians, his influence expanded to many other musicians and their gharanas. Those claiming to be his disciples come from Mewati Gharana, Etawah Gharana, Sonipat-Panipat Gharana, Indore Gharana, and others.

Abdul Karim Khan

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Bhimsen Joshi, among the most famous members of the Kirana Gharana and heir of Abdul Karim Khan's style.

Abdul Karim Khan was one of the most influential classical musicians in the 20th Century. He was an extremely popular musician across the subcontinent. His success proved highly influential in popularizing the Kirana Gharana.

A frequent visitor to the Court of Mysore, Abdul Karim Khan was also influenced by Carnatic music.

Owing to his popularity, most contemporary Hindustani musicians from Karnataka are exponents of Kirana gharana, and Kirana gharana in turn has absorbed many of the features of the Carnatic tradition. The border region between Karnataka and Maharashtra is particularly associated with this gharana.[2]

Abdul Karim Khan's tradition continued with Sawai Gandharva, Sureshbabu Mane, Gangubai Hangal, Bhimsen Joshi, Kaivalya Kumar Gurav, Jayateerth Mevundi, and Anand Bhate.

Abdul Wahid Khan

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Photograph of Amir Khan. Though from the Bhendi Bazaar tradition of Moradabad, his time with Abdul Wahid Khan at the Indore Court left a great impression on his musical philosophy.

The other primary master of the gharana, in the early 20th century, was Abdul Karim Khan's cousin Abdul Wahid Khan who chose to settle at Lahore, Pakistan after the 1947 Partition of British India.

Abdul Wahid Khan's tradition continued with Pran Nath, Hirabai Barodekar, Amir Khan, Prabha Atre, and Venkatesh Kumar.

Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan

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Brothers Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan became popular in the 1960s due to their jugalbandi performances.[8] The duo earned much appreciation and respect from musicians, critics, and audiences.[9] They represent a branch of the Kirana Gharana family distinct from Bande Ali Khan, Abdul Karim Khan, and Abdul Wahid Khan, but share the same ancestors.

Philosophy

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Aesthetics

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Vocalism

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Photograph of Abdul Karim Khan who was celebrated for the extraordinary sweetness and tunefulness of his voice.

The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tuning and expression of notes. In the Kirana Gayaki (singing style), the individual notes (swaras) of the raga are not just random points in the scale, but independent realms of music capable of horizontal expansion. Emotional pukars in the higher octaves form a part of the musical experience. Another unique feature of this gharana is the intricate and ornate use of the sargam taan (weaving patterns with the notations themselves) introduced by Abdul Karim Khan under influence from the Carnatic classical style.[1][2]

Tempo

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In the late nineteenth century Abdul Karim Khan and Abdul Wahid Khan revolutionized the khayal gayaki by introducing the vilambit (a slow tempo section) to delineate the structure of the raga note by note.[7]

Repertoire

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Ragas

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Photograph of Gangubai Hangal with her daughter and student, Krishna Hangal. Both have become regarded for bringing feminine sensibilities to the Kirana style.

Ragas frequently performed by musicians of the Kirana Gharana include Miyan Ki Todi, Lalit, Multani, Patdeep, Puriya, Marwa, Shuddha Kalyan, Darbari Kanada, and Komal Rishabh Asavari. P. L. Deshpande commented that performers from the Kirana gharana are particularly fond of the komal rishabh note, a frequent feature of these commonly performed ragas.[2]

The Kirana Gharana also uniquely possesses many rare ragas including Suryakauns, Hindolita, Kalashri, Lalit Bhatiyar, Marwa Shree, and others.

Kumar Prasad Mukherjee noted Abdul Karim Khan's gifted ability to "revel" in "lighter ragas" like Gara, Barwa, Pilu, Khamaj, Kafi, and Tilak Kamod.[10]

Bandishes

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Mukherjee notes that Kirana Gharana musicians uniquely possess compositions by Hussain Ali Khan "Hingarang" and "Sabras."[11]

Teaching

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Ancestral pedagogy of Kirana Gharana

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This tree details the hereditary lineage of the Kirana Gharana based on several documented accounts.[12]

Nayak
Gopal
Nayak
Bhannu
Nayak
Dhondu
Ramzani Khan
(Beenkar)
Gullu KhanGazi
Khan
Mohammed Zama
Khan (Beenkar)
Hussain Ali
Khan "Hingarang"
Ghulam Maula
Khan
Rahim Ali
Khan
Allarakha Khan
(Dhrupadiya)
Langde Hussain
Khan
Ilahi BakshDhumi
Khan
Shahab
Khan
Vajid Ali
Khan
Ghulam Taki
Khan
Ghalum Kasim
Khan
Ghalum Zamin
Khan
Ghalum Azam
Khan
Abdul Majid
Khan
Abdul Rahim
Khan
Abdul Aziz
Khan
Nanne
Khan
Mehboob
Baksh
Kale
Khan
Abdulla
Khan
Shende
Khan
Sadiq Ali
Khan
Khadin Hussain
Khan
Hussain Ali
(Beenkar)
Habeeb
Khan
Abdul Wahid
Khan
Abdul Gafur
Khan
Abdul Razaq
Khan
Abdul Rehman
Khan
Rahim
Baksh
Hyder Baksh
Khan
Rahman
Baksh Khan
Abdul Karim
Khan
Abdul Haqq
Khan
Abdul Latif
Khan
Haider Ali
Khan
Bande Ali
Khan
(Beenkar)
Hafizulla
Khan
Abdul Haqq
Khan
Shakoor
Khan
Gani
Khan
Abdul Bashir
Khan
Majid
Khan
Hamid
Khan
Sureshbabu
Mane
Hirabai
Badodekar
Abdul Rehhman
Khan
Saraswati
Rane
Kanniz
Begum
Umrao
Begum
Samiulla
Khan
Akhtar Nawaz
Khan
Mubarak Ali
Khan
Mashkoor
Ali Khan
Niyaz & Fayyaz
Ahmed Khan
Noor Hasan
Khan
Sattar
Khan
Babu
Khan
Amjad Ali
Khan
Arshad Ali
Khan
Shahana
Ali Khan
Riyaz Ahmed
Khan
Sarfaraz
Ahmed Khan

Lineage

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Gopal Nayak
Nayak DhonduNayak Bhannu
Ghulam AliGhulam Maula
Utd. Bande Ali Khan
Utd. Eliahee Baksh KhanUtd. Abdullah KhanUtd. Kale KhanUtd. Nanhe Khan
Utd. Majid KhanUtd. Abdul Habib KhanUtd. Abdul Karim Khan (founder)Utd. Abdul Haq Khan
Utd. Abdul Wahid Khan
Pt. Balkrishnabuwa KapileshwariPt. Sawai GandharvaPt. Ganpatrao Gurav
Pt. Vishwanathbuwa JadhavPt. Sureshbabu ManePt. Ganpatbuwa BeherePt. Dasharathbuwa Muley
Smt. Hirabai BadodekarPt. Shankarrao Sarnaik
Pt. Pran NathBegum AkhtarPt. Sukhdev PrasadUtd. Shakoor Khan (sarangiya)Smt. Saraswati RaneMaster Krishnarao)Smt. Gangubai Hangal
Utd. Hafizullah KhanMohammed Rafi (playback singer)Pt. Ram Narayan (sarangiya)Pt. Baburao JadhavPt. Basavaraj RajguruFiroz DasturBharat Ratna Pt. Bhimsen JoshiRoshan Ara BegumPt. Nivruttibuwa SarnaikPt. Sangmeshwar Gurav
Pt. Rajaram Jadhav
Pt. Mani PrasadSmt. Shakuntalaraje JadhavDr. Prabha AtrePt. Chandrakant KapileshwariSmt. Krishna HangalShrikant DeshpandePt. Madhav GudiSripathi Padigar
Pt. Pandurang Jadhav
Utd. Mashkoor Ali KhanSmt. Pranati MhatrePt. Parameshwar HegdeMilind ChittalAnand BhateShrinivas JoshiRajendra KandalgaonkarPt. Kaivalya Kumar Gurav
Arati Thakur
Nachiketa YakkundiSrivani JadePt. Nagaraja Rao HavaldarPrasanna GudiJayateerth MevundiBalachandra PrabhuVijaykumar Patil
Amjad Ali KhanArshad Ali Khan
Omkarnath Havaldar

Exponents

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19th century

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20th century

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  • Abdul Karim Khan[7][1][2] (1872⁠–1937), gharana founder. Learned from father Kale Khan.
  • Abdul Wahid Khan[7][1][2] (1885⁠–1949), cousin of Abdul Karim Khan and gharana co-founder
  • Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav (1885–1964), learnd from Abdul Karim Khan.
  • Sawai Gandharva[2] (1886⁠–1952), learned from Abdul Karim Khan.
  • Panchakshara Gawai (1892–1944), learned from Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Sukhdev Prasad (c. 1890s–c. 1960s), learned from Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Balkrishnabuwa Kapileshwari (1896–1982), learned from Abdul Karim Khan.
  • Abdul Ghani Khan (c. 1900s–c. 1970s), learned from father Abdul Gafur Khan.
  • Deenanath Mangeshkar (1900–1942), learned from Sukhdev Prasad.
  • Sureshbabu Mane[2] (1902⁠–1953), son of Abdul Karim Khan. Learned from father and Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Hirabai Barodekar[2] (1905⁠–1989), daughter of Abdul Karim Khan. Learned from brother Sureshbabu Mane and Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Shakoor Khan (1905⁠–1970), sarangiya who learned from maternal uncle Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Amir Khan (1913–1974), influenced by ans possibly learned from Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Saraswati Rane (1913–2006), daughter of Abdul Karim Khan. Learned from siblings Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Badodekar.
  • Gangubai Hangal[2] (1913⁠–2009), learned from Sawai Gandharva.
  • Puttaraj Gawai (1914–2010), learned from Panchakshara Gawai.
  • Baburao Jadhav (1915–1976), learned from father Vishwanathbuwa jadhav.
  • Basavaraj Rajguru (1917⁠–1991), learned from Panchakshara Gawai, Sureshbabu Mane, and Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Roshan Ara Begum (1917–1982), learned from uncle Abdul Karim Khan.
  • Pandit Pran Nath (1918–1996), learned from Abdul Wahid Khan.
  • Firoz Dastur (1919⁠–2008), learned from Sawai Gandharva.
  • Manik Varma (1920⁠⁠–1996), learned from Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Barodekar.
  • A. Kanan (1920–2004), learned from Girija Shankar Chakraborty.
  • Usha Ranjan Mukherjee (1920⁠–1992), learned from Amir Khan.
  • Pandit Krishnanand (1920–2003), learned from Bheema Rao.
  • Vasantrao Deshpande (1920–1983), learned from Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Barodekar.
  • Rajaram Jadhav (1921–1976), learned from father Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav.
  • Bhimsen Joshi[2] (1922–2011), learned from Sawai Gandharva
  • Shakuntalaraje Jadhav (1923–2004), learned from husband Rajaram Jadhav and father-in-law Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav.
  • Mani Prasad[2] (1929⁠–2023), learned from father Sukhdev Prasad.
  • Sheila Dhar (1929–2001), learned from Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan.
  • Krishna Hangal (1929–2004),[14] learned from mother Gangubai Hangal.
  • Prabha Atre (1932⁠–2024), learned from Sureshbabu Mane and Hirabai Barodekar.
  • Chandrakant Kapileshwari (1935–2024), learned from father Balkrishnabuwa Kapileshwari.
  • Tej Bahadur Sahney (1936⁠–2012), learned from B. N. Dutta Lahorwale.
  • Chhannulal Mishra (b. 1936)[2], learned from Abdul Ghani Khan.
  • Madhava Gudi (1941⁠–2011), learned from Bhimsen Joshi
  • Shripati Padigar (c. 1940s–c. 2010s), learned from Bhimsen Joshi.
  • Pandit Arun Bahaduri (1943–2018), learned from A. Kanan.
  • Nagnath Wodeyar (b. 1944), learned from Gangubai Hangal.
  • Niaz Ahmed[2] (1946–2019), maternal descendant of Kirana Gharana.
  • Shrikant Deshpande (1948–2011), grandson of Sawai Gandharva. Learned from Bhimsen Joshi.
  • Ashique Ali Khan (1948⁠–1999), learned from grandfather Allah Rakkha Khan and father Mehfooz Ahmed Khan.
  • Sumitra Guha (b. c. 1950s), learned from A. Kanan.
  • Venkatesh Kumar (b. 1953), learned from Puttaraj Gawai.
  • Shree Rani Madalsa (b. 1957), learned from Chandrakant Kapileshwari.
  • Pandit Vishwanath (b. 1957⁠), learned from Mani Prasad.
  • Nagaraj Rao Havaldar (b. 1959), learned from Madhava Gudi
  • Milind Chittal (b. 1959), learned from Firoz Dastur.
  • Padmini Rao (b. c. 1950s), learned from Prabha Atre.
  • Mashkoor Ali Khan[7][1][2] (b. 1957), learned from father Shakoor Khan.
  • Girish Sanzgiri (b. c. 1960s), learned from Firoz Dastur.
  • Rafiq Ahmed Khan (Sarangi)
  • Kaivalya Kumar Gurav (b. 1963), learned from father Sangameshwar Gurav.
  • Pandit Harish Tiwari (b. 1960s), learned from Bhimsen Joshi.
  • Jayateerth Mevundi (b. 1972), learned from Shripathi Padigar.

21st Century

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  • Sanhita Nandi (b. 1967), learned from Mashkoor Ali Khan.
  • Anand Bhate (b. 1971), learned from Bhimsen Joshi.
  • Shirin Sengupta Nath (b. c. 1970s), learned from A.Kanan and Arun Bhaduri.
  • Sandip Bhattacharjee (b. 1980), learned from Mashkoor Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan.
  • Amjad Ali Khan (Indian vocalist) (b. 1980), learned from uncles Mashkoor Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan.
  • Arshad Ali Khan (b. 1984), learned from father Akhtar Nawaz Khan and uncles Mashkoor Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan.
  • Balachandra Prabhu (b. 1990s), learned from Shripathi Padigar and Jayateerth Mevundi.
  • Mohd Danish (b. 1996), learned from grandfathers Afzal Khan and Irshad Ahmed Warsi.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Jyoti Nair Belliappa. "Fine sample of Kirana gharana". The Hindu newspaper. Archived from the original on 3 January 2004. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Torch-bearers of kirana gharana, and their followers". The Times of India. 26 January 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  3. ^ Divekar, Hindraj; Tribhuwan, Robin D. (2001). Rudra Veena: An Ancient String Musical Instrument. Discovery Publishing House. p. 34. ISBN 9788171415816.
  4. ^ "Bandé Ali Khan". Oxford Reference.
  5. ^ Neuman, aniel M. (1990). The Life of Music in North India: The Organization of an Artistic Tradition. University of Chicago Press. p. 268. ISBN 9780226575162.
  6. ^ Sanyal, Ritwik; Widdess, Richard (2023). Dhrupad: Tradition and Performance in Indian Music. Taylor & Francis. p. 117. ISBN 9781000845433.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Kirana gharana". ITC Sangeet Research Academy website. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  8. ^ Nadkarni, Mohan (1999). The Great Masters: Profiles in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music. HarperCollins Publishers India. p. 29. ISBN 9788172232849.
  9. ^ Nadkarni, Mohan (22 May 1988). "Tributes to Fayyaz Ahmad Khan". The Economic Times.
  10. ^ Mukherjee, Kumar Prasad (2006). The Lost World of Hindustani Music. Penguin Books. p. 292. ISBN 9780143061991.
  11. ^ Mukherjee, Kumar Prasad (2006). The Lost World of Hindustani Music. Penguin Books. p. 292. ISBN 9780143061991.
  12. ^ Dasasarma, Amala (1993). Musicians of India: Past and Present Gharanas of Hindustani Music and Genealogies. Naya Prokash. pp. 133, 134, 142, 143, 145, 222. ISBN 9788185421186.
  13. ^ Khanna, Amit (2019). Words. Sounds. Images.: A History of Media and Entertainment in India. HarperCollins India. p. 1846. ISBN 9789353573522.
  14. ^ Shafi, Afshana (2017). The Legacy of Gangubai Hangal. Horizon Books. p. 93. ISBN 9789386369567.

Bibliography

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