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Home , Agra gharana, Gharana, Gwalior gharana, Hafiz Ali Khan, Imdad Khan, Kirana Gharana

Chapter III : Concept and its Predominance in the Khayal Form Chapter III Gharana: Concept and its Predominance in the Khayal Form

The khayal form which has an inherent ability for the manifestation of individual creativity

became a vital means for the establishment of the gharana concept. The term gharana has

come to be associated with a musical ideology or a school of thought and is interpreted on

the basis of the salient features of the musical ideology it represents. It has its root in the

word ghar (in ) or griha (in ) which means a home and hence has a direct reference to family. The performing arts in have always been a part of a family tradition and the guru-shishya parampara or teacher disciple mode of instruction is the essence of this tradition. This is also the reason why the concept of gharana has been more

prominent in the performing tradition rather than in other disciplines. And the concept has

been most clearly defined in thekhayal genre of vocal music.

The guru-shishya parampara which is the basis of the gharana model traces its roots to

the vedic times. A text called ‘Vansha Brahman’ designates 200 names of sama-gayak

(samaveda singers) trained in the traditional guru shishya parampara (Bangre 2011: 203).

Vedic shakha-s were the different styles of singing akin to the gharana-s of today (ibid. 204).

Prabandha, which was a precursor to the genre, was categorized into three parts namely sooda prabandha, alikrama prabandha and viprakeerna prabandha. Additionally, many varieties of prabandha-s were prevalent based on the structural diversity of the form.

During the medieval period, the different forms of singing dhrupad came to be known as baani. The four baani-s were Gobarhaar, Dagur, Khandaar and Nauhaar; each of which

24 was identified by distinct musical and stylistic characteristics that they represented. The pre-dhrupad era also recognized mata-s which also meant ideology. There were four mata-s namely the Shiva-mata, Hanuman-mata, Brahma-mata and Bharata-mata. According to Bangre (2011:207), Sharangadev mentions a more inclusive term sampradaya in his thirteenth century text ‘Sangeet Ratnakar’. While gharana especially emphasized on familial tradition, sampradaya included the family of the founder as well as the lineage of the disciples.

This brings us to the understanding of the gharana phenomenon in the khayal genre, where it has been predominant and has profoundly influenced Hindustani music for two centuries. The emergence of the khayal genre as a prominent form and the establishment of the gharana tradition in Hindustani music towards the end of the eighteenth century seem to have coincided somewhat with the decline of the Mughal era. Deepak Raja (2005:

72) argues that during the Mughal rule there was considerable degree of homogeneity with most musicians concentrated in and around the region. With the decline of the

Mughal era, the musicians migrated to smaller centers in search of alternative patronage.

All these centers which included amongst many others , , Atrauli and Kairana later gave birth to several of the khayal gharana-s (Mukherji 2006: 52). The distinct feature of the khayal form has been that it has nurtured individual freedom unlike any other genre preceding it. This could possibly be one of the main reasons for the proliferation of distinctive styles within the broad framework of the khayal genre itself, which came to be addressed as gharana-s. Each of these gharana-s were shaped by a combination

25 of factors which included the voice quality of the founder, the regional influences under which the gharana-s flowered and the impact of other forms like dhrupad, and . Vamanrao Deshpande (1987) provides a conceptual framework by classifying gharana styles on the basis of the relative emphasis that they put on the two essential aspects of music-making namely swar and laya, these two being the opposite ends of a continuum . He further adds that a style attains the status of a gharana if it has a lineage of successful musicians for at least three generations (ibid.). While adhering to the three generation theory is not essential, what this implies is that the aesthetic viewpoint of every gharana must be clearly defined and for this to happen the style must be well established for a stipulated period of time.

To sum up, some of the salient features of gharana are the following:

• Every gharana follows a distinct musicological ideology and the main aspects of

music swar, laya and are given different weight-age in each of the gharana-s.

There is stylistic diversity on account of various factors like swar lagaav, treatment

of bandish, vistar of a khayal (vilambit and drut khayal), preference of -s,

choice of tala-s, ornamentations used ( meend, gamak, khatka, , kan), types of

tana-s , emphasis on layakari and forms/genres of music (apart from khayal) sung.

• Each generation of artistes assimilate new musical ideas while being faithful to the

basic tenets of their respective gharana. This phenomenon ensures perpetuation and

continuity of the gharana. This also results in stylistic diversity within a gharana.

• A gharana gains recognition if it produces successful musicians for three

generations or more (Deshpande 1987:12).

26 • Every gharana has been named after the place of origin of the founder or the princely

states that initially patronized the gharana-s. For instance we have Agra, Gwalior,

Patiala, Jaipur-Atrauli (also known as gharana) and Kirana.

• There are large numbers of gharana-s of khayal in vocal tradition today, the major

ones being: Gwalior, Agra, Jaipur-Atrauli, Kirana, Patiala, Bhendibazar, Rampur-

Sahaswan, Delhi, Banaras, Shyam-Chaurasia, Mewati, etc.

• Gharana-s exist in instrumental music also. and gharana-s include

Rampur/Maihar gharana, gharana ; gharana-s, known as baaj

(which connotes to the style of playing) are associated with Delhi, ,

Ajarada, , Farrukhabad.

Although the word gharana has its connotations to family, clan or lineage, today the gharana phenomenon has largely been governed by specific ideological principles.

Persons with no family background in music have taken it up in a serious manner and hence the gharana concept is no longer the sole domain of hereditary musicians and their families alone since the affiliations have been formed on the basis ofa musical ideology rather than familial or regional basis (Ranade 2006: 206) .

Historically, the is understood to be amongst the earliest in khayal vocalism. Gwalior had always been an important seat of music patronage with Mansingh

Tomar, ruler of the Gwalior court in the fifteenth century being credited with the propagation and popularization of the dhrupad form. It was but natural that the khayal practitioners of the Gwalior gharana were influenced by features of the dhrupad form. While it is neither the aim nor scope of this study to delve upon the stylistic features of the other gharana-s,

27 I would nevertheless mention in brief the influences that other gharana-s had and the subsequent impact on their respective styles. This only reinforces the idea that for the durability of any concept, constant change and transformation are necessary; and this is what most gharana-s tried to achieve.

Agra gharana was founded by Ghagge Khuda Baksh who apparently also trained from

Natthan Peerbaksh of the Gwalior gharana. Thus one finds similarity in thegayaki -s of the two gharana-s with both having a bias for medium tempo and giving due importance to the bandish. But since many early practitioners of the were dhrupad singers, they borrowed many elements from the dhrupad form to a greater extent; For instance, rendering nom-tom aalap before presenting the bandish and the varied layakari employed in the gharana gayaki are reminiscent of the accent on layakari in dhrupad singing. This is illustrative of how, within the khayal form, the characteristic features of the two gharana-s shaped up differently. It has been stated that the voice quality of the founder of a gharana influences the respectivegayaki . The Jaipur-Atrauli gharana as we know it today is a case in point. Alladiya Khan, who is associated as a pioneer of this gharana also had a sound training in dhrupad from his uncles thereby gaining proficiency in performing dhrupad, dhamar, hori and sadra apart from khayal. But the complex patterning of phrases in aalap-s and tana-s is largely understood to be a result of Alladiya Khan’s conceptualization borne out of shortcomings in his voice which he overcame by conceiving a style thriving on complexity. In fact Alladiya Khan even attributes this complexity to his tutelage under

Mubarak Ali Khan of the Gwalior gharana. So contrary to popular belief, the phenomenon of mutual exchanges between gharana-s has always existed and contributed to the

28 enrichment of individual styles within a gharana. , the scion of the

Kirana gharana, had a pin-pointed and extremely tuneful voice production which became a benchmark for future generations in his gharana. The predominant mood of poignancy and karuna rasa associated with this gharana is best portrayed in Abdul Karim’s gayaki accentuated especially through his unique voice production. A natural corollary of this and the influence of the beenkaar and sarangiya legacy is that melodic orientation dominates in the gayaki. The with as its most famous propagator is an ideal example of how regional forms or folk genres may influence the gayaki of a gharana. The bias towards fast and swift note passages and intricate tana-s is attributed to the influence of thetappa genre that originated in the Punjab region.

The above account on some gharana-s is essentially to portray the mutual exchanges which were taking place within the khayal form and which eventually led to the formation of distinct gayaki styles. It must be further noted that within each of these gharana-s, individual musicians have interpreted the gharana idiom in accordance with their aesthetic ideology without losing their allegiance to their respective parent gharana. Agra gharana has produced such a vast lineage of disciples that despite Faiyyaz Khan being a towering personality of the gharana there are many others who enriched the gharana in their own way. Ram Marathe certainly did not possess a low pitched and broad voice like Faiyyaz

Khan but had a rather high pitched and extremely agile voice. He exploited this ability to develop a gayaki primarily through the execution of complex patterning in bol-bant and tana-s. The disciples of the same guru can be different and this very process is vital for the continuity of the guru’s lineage. was an extremely successful guru

29 having groomed , , Firoz Dastur and many others but the

gayaki of each of his students is astonishingly varied.

We will now understand the unfolding of this process with particular focus on the

Gwalior gharana.

3.1 Gwalior Gharana

Gwalior gharana is considered as the fountainhead among gharana-s in khayal vocalism.

Royal patronage from the Gwalior rulers starting from the era of Daulatrao Scindia proved

instrumental in its propagation. However, the history of the Gwalior gharana khayal

tradition began in Lucknow. Ghulam Rasool a famous qawwal who belonged to the

Qawwal Bacche gharana, which is understood to be a precursor to the Gwalior gharana,

was a contemporary of Sadarang and Adarang, prominent propagators of the khayal gayaki

in Mohammad Shah Rangeele’s court in the eighteenth century. He served in the court of

Asafuddaula in Lucknow before shifting to Delhi. Ghulam Rasool’s disciples were Shakkar

Khan and Makkhan Khan.1 The most famous practitioner of the Qawwal bacche tradition was Bade Muhammad Khan who was to later have considerable influence in the Gwalior gharana gayaki. Daulatrao Scindia, an enterprising patron of music was attracted to Bade

Muhammad Khan’s music and thus appointed him as a court musician in the Gwalior court.

Bade Muhammad Khan was the son of Shakkar Khan. He was a towering musician and

adept at singing tana-s, palta, zamzama; and incorporated these elements (tana & phirat)

into khayal gayaki. Acharya Brahaspati (1976: 150) in his book ‘Khusro tatha anya

1 See Mukherji 2006: 57, 1996:15. According to some accounts, Shakkar Khan was the son-in-law of Ghulam Rasool. Makkhan Khan was Shakkar Khan’s brother (Mukherji 2004: 6).

30 Kalakar’ claims that the present Gwalior style that one hears today is a direct influence of

Bade Muhammad Khan’s gayaki.

Makkhan Khan’s son Natthan Peerbaksh2 was also appointed as a court musician in the

Gwalior court and was a contemporary of Bade Muhammad Khan. Natthan Peerbaksh had two sons Qadir Baksh and Peer Baksh.3 Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan were the sons of Qadir Baksh but due to their father’s early demise, they were primarily trained by their grandfather Natthan Peer Baksh and later by Bade Mohammad Khan.4 Natthu Khan was later on adopted by Peer Baksh. was Natthu Khan’s adopted son.

Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan were primarily responsible for the propagation of the Gwalior gharana gayaki as they taught extensively within and outside the family.

Before I delve into the extensive lineage of the Gwalior gharana, it will be interesting to look at the factors that made Gwalior conducive to music patronage.

Royal Patronage to Musicians in Gwalior :

The Scindia dynasty (1761-1948) played a vital role in the establishment of the Gwalior gharana, encouraging in providing the right environment for nurturing gifted musicians who subsequently enriched the musical prowess of Gwalior. Most Scindia rulers took

2 B.R. Deodhar gives the historical account of the Gwalior gharana as told to him by Rajabhaiyya Poochwale in his book ‘Thor Sangeetkaaranchi Parampara’. According to Rajabaiyya Poochwale, Makkhan Khan and Natthan Peer Baksh are one and the same person. See Deodhar 2007: 69. But on the contrary most other accounts point out to Natthan Peer Baksh as Makkhan Khan’s son or disciple (Mukherji 2006: 57, Pandit 1996: 15, Bangre 2011). 3 According to Sharad Chandra Arolkar, Natthan Peerbaksh’s sons were Karim Baksh (and not Qadir Baksh) and Peer Baksh (Arolkar interviewed by P.L. Deshpande, March 26, 1980). 4 Both Bade Muhammad Khan and Natthan Peer Baksh belonged to the lineages of two families which had developed very strained relations over a period of time. What started as a rivalry between Shakkar Khan and Makkhan Khan spilled over to later generations. So much so that Bade Muhammad Khan is suspected to have poisoned Haddu, Hassu Khan’s father Qadir Baksh. Notwithstanding this, it is believed that their patron Daulatrao Scindia of the Gwalior court in order that Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan become eminent vocalists, arranged for their training under Bade Muhammad Khan, from whom they even learnt clandestinely and imbibed his gayaki. See Deodhar 2007a: 71-72.

31 personal interest in music, which encouraged musicians in many ways. Some also became disciples of their court musicians.

When Mahadji Scindia (1761-1794) came to power, the political environment was very volatile, but despite this he ensured that Gwalior remained a prominent center of music. He used to sing -s in different raga-s and compiled 250 Marathi and 150 Hindi pada-s in

‘Madhav Vilas’ (Bangre 2011: 27). The patronage of musicians continued unbroken during the Scindia rule as we notice that many of the performers were supported by multiple rulers of the Scindia dynasty in successive reigns. Daulatrav Scindia (1794-1827) had many eminent musicians in his court prominent among them being Bade Muhammad Khan,

Natthan Peer Baksh and his grandsons Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan. Jankoji Scindia’s

(1827-1843) court musicians included Bade Muhammad Khan, Hassu Khan, Haddu Khan,

Natthu Khan, Vasudevbua Joshi, Baba Dixit and Ghulam Ali Khan (sarod). Khayal gayaki and dhrupad dhamar received equal encouragement during Jayajirav Scindia’s (1843-

1886) era. He patronized many prominent musicians like Natthu Khan, his son Nissar

Hussain Khan, Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan, Haddu Khan’s son Chote Muhammad Khan and Rehmat Khan , Bala Guruji, Joshi Bua, Baba Dixit, Shankar Pandit, Amir Khan (sitar),

Hussain Khan, Gulab Khan , Sadat Khan (sarod), Bande Ali Khan (beenkar) , Kudau Singh

(pakhawaj), Joravar Singh, and Sukhdev Singh. Madhavrao Scindia (1886-1925) helped

Bhatkhande establish the Madhav Sangeet Vidyalaya. His court musicians included Nissar

Hussain Khan, Mehendi Hussain Khan (), Nanhe Khan (sarod) and his son Hafiz

Ali Khan. Jivajirao Scindia (1925-1948) supported musicians like Krishnarao Shankar

Pandit, Hafiz Ali Khan, Parvat Singh (pakhawaj) and Balabhau Umdekar.

32 3.2 Lineage of Gwalior Gharana Musicians

On account of being a pioneering gharana of khayal vocalism, the lineage is bound to

be vast and widespread. The gharana, as mentioned earlier, has essentially propagated

from the tutelage of Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan. All three are said to

have taught both within and more vigorously outside the family. Thus the lineage of this

gharana covers a vast geographical area.

Haddu Khan and his Lineage :

Haddu Khan was appointed as court musician along with his grandfather by Daulatrao

Scindia and continued being there during the reigns of Jankojirao Scindia (1827-1843)

and Jayajirao Scindia (1843-1886) (Singh: 1995: 271). Haddu Khan’s sons were Chote

Muhammad Khan and Rehmat Khan. Chote Muhammad Khan learnt from his father all

the intricacies of his gayaki including the kadak bijli tana and mukhbandi tana (tana with

closed mouth). He also learnt tala and laya intricacies from Nana Saheb Panse of Indore.

His sweet, voluminous voice, intricate patterns of tana, beautiful rhythmic variations

and bol-tana-s marked him as an outstanding musician (Singh 1995: 274). Some of his prominent disciples included Bande Ali Khan, Bade Balkrishnabua, Vishnupant Chatre,

Banne Khan and Bala Guruji. Nanu Bhaiyya Telang belonged to the lineage of Bala Guru ji and taught Thakur Jaidev Singh, a very significant musicologist of the twentieth century.

Hassu Khan and his Lineage :

Hassu Khan’s disciples included his son Gule Imam Khan, Vasudev Joshi, Baba Dixit,

Banne Khan and Ramkrishnadev Paranjpe (better known as Devjibua). One of the most

33 prominent propagators of the Gwalior gayaki has been Balkrishnabua Icchalkaranjikar who was a disciple of Vasudevbua Joshi, Devjibua and Chote Muhammad Khan. Other disciples of Vasudevbua Joshi include Balwantrao Bapat, Krishnabua and Ravjibua

Masurkar (Gwalior). Balkrishnabua Icchalkaranjikar’s disciples amongst many others included , Anant Manohar Joshi, Gundobua Ingale, Yashwant

Sadashiv Mirashi (better known as Mirashi bua) and Nilkanthabua Jangam. Vishnu

Digambar Paluskar’s disciples spread to different corners of the country in order to fulfil the mission of their guru of mass propagation of music. Vinayakbua Patwardhan (Pune),

Omkarnath Thakur (from Gujarat, but settled in Banaras), B.R. Deodhar, Narayanrao Vyas,

Shankar Shreepad Bodas (Kanpur), V.A. Kashalkar (Allahabad) and many others. Anant

Manohar Joshi taught his son Gajananbua Joshi and Mirashibua trained C.R. Vyas and

Yashwant Joshi.

Natthu Khan and his Lineage :

Nissar Hussain Khan was the adopted son and disciple of Natthu Khan. Natthu Khan had a splendid repertoire of trivat and (especially slow tempo tarana) which he passed on to his disciples. Nissar Hussain Khan had a sweet and powerful voice and phenomenal memory. He also used to recite Sanskrit verses from the text ‘Bhagwat’. He initially served

Jayajirao Scindia and later went to live with Vishnu Pandit’s family and taught his son

Shankar Pandit for five years. He was equally adept at singing dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, trivat, tarana, and bhajan. His disciples include Shankar Pandit, Ramkrishnabua

Vaze, Gopalrao Marathe and Bhaurao Joshi (Singh 1995: 352). Vaze (1938:163) recounts

34 that his guru had a large repertoire of bandish-s and he often taught many separate ones to different disciples including Mehdi Hussain Khan (Hassu Khan’s grandson) and Jodhpur’s

Nazir Khan, amongst many others. He was also a part of the Patankar Sangeet Mandali and Theatre for some duration. Some disciples of Ramkrishnabua Vaze included his son

Shivrambua Vaze, Gajanbua Joshi, Deenanath Mangeshkar and Gururao Deshpande who propagated the gayaki in .

Shankar Pandit and his brother Eknath Pandit were disciples of Haddu Khan and Natthu

Khan and after their demise, they learnt from Nissar Husain Khan. They went to Dhar to learn tappa from Devjibua Paranjpe. Shankar Pandit trained his son Krishnarao Pandit and

Rajabhaiyya Poochwale. Krishnarao Pandit’s disciples included Sharad Chandra Arolkar and his son L.K.Pandit and Rajabhaiyya Poochwale taught Balasaheb Poochwale (his son) and Govindrao Rajurkar. Malini Rajurkar, a disciple of Govindrao Rajurkar is a senior contemporary female exponent of the gharana.

35 Ghulam Rasool

Shakkar Khan Makkhan Khan

Ahmad Khan Bade Muhammad Khan

Munnawar Khan Mubarak Ali Bakar Ali Khan

Amman Ali Khan

Natthan Peer Baksh

Qadir Baksh Peer Baksh ( Karim Baksh)

Natthu Khan Haddu Khan Hassu Khan

Nissar Hussain (1844-1916)

Gule Imam

Rehmat Khan Chote Muhammad Khan (d.1922) Mehdi Hussain

Daughter Daughter + + Bande Ali Khan Inayat Hussain ( Kirana) (Sahaswan)

36 Hassu Khan Haddu Khan Natthu Khan

Rehmat Khan Vishnupant Chote Mohammed Nissar Hussain (d. 1922) Chatre Chote KhanMuhammed Vasudev Joshi Ramkrishnadev (Devji bua) Khan

Shankar Pandit

Balkrishnabua Icchalkaranjikar (1849-1926)

Krishnarao Pandit Ramkrishna Vaze Rajabhaiya Poochwale (1893-1989) (1872-1943) (1882-1956)

L. K. Pandit S.C.Arolkar (1912-1994) Balasaheb Poochwale (1918-2005) V.D.Paluskar Anant Manohar Joshi (1872-1931) (1881-1967) Mirashi bua (1883-1966)

Gajananbua Joshi (1911-1987)

Yashwantbua Joshi (1927-2012) (1897-1967)

Vinayakbua Patwardhan (1898-1975)

Narayan Rao Vyas

D.V.Paluskar (1921-1955)

37 3.3 Salient Features of the Gwalior Gharana Gayaki

Every gharana is governed and known by certain characteristic features which give it a unique identity. The Gwalior gharana, as mentioned earlier, is considered to be the first established gharana of khayal vocalism. A detailed enumeration of the salient features of the gharana, is important from the perspective of the current study. The analysis of different vocalists within the gharana which has been undertaken as part of this work has been modeled on the basis of the features given below.

1. Swar Lagaav or Voice Production: Voice is the first noticeable aspect in a gayaki.

Swar lagaav or voice production is the manner in which swar-s are intonated and

approached in a rendition.

 The Gwalior gharana emphasizes on an open-throated and forceful voice production.

Having said this, forcefulness in this gayaki is coupled with due attention paid to

the overall melodic appeal.

 Due care is taken towards an avoidance of a nasal sound in voice projection.

 There is not much room for the modulation of voice in the Gwalior gharana gayaki.

 The Gwalior practitioners are known to sing in a high pitched voice. The fundamental

pitch for male vocalists is D # (kali 2) and E (safed 3) that of female vocalists is

usually A (safed 6) and A# (kali 5). It is probable that Gwalior being one of the

oldest gharana-s, the early representatives did not benefit from the advantages of

amplification of voice through microphones and audio amplifiers. Hence this could

be a factor in determining a preference for a high pitched voice in order to have a

38 wider reach; and subsequently, this was a feature adopted by future practitioners of

the gharana as a matter of style.

 One of the principle characteristics of this gayaki is voice control in all three

registers and a vocal range of three octaves. However in performance practice, a

vocal range of 2 -2 ½ saptak is more common.

 The gharana prescribes kharaj sadhana (though this is not mandatory) in order to

acquire depth, weightiness and stability in voice.

Swar lagaav, as stated above, is unique in every gharana. However the factors that

govern this such as the voice quality, vocal range and suitable voice pitch are traits which

vary from individual to individual even within a gharana. And it is this individuality

that leads to diversity within a gharana. For instance Sharad Chandra Arolkar had a

very different quality of voice than that of his guru Krishnarao Pandit; while Arolkar

had a thin and pointed voice texture, Krishnarao’s was broad and naturally voluminous.

Elaboration of a khayal: The methodical unfolding of a raga is popularly known as vistaar.

What follows is a description of the components that make up a khayal presentation in the

Gwalior gharana idiom.

2. Introductory Aalap: In the Gwalior vocalism aalap rendered just before the percussion-

accompanied bandish, is known as auchar or the introductory aalap. This is an essential

feature as it gives an indication on the mode of raga vistaar to follow.

 The prelude aalap is focused around, giving an outline of the raga. The idea is to

give the listener, a brief introduction of the raga in the first aalap or the first few

39 aalap-s and in the event, build up an immediate rapport with the audience. Hence

the prelude aalap does not resort to sequential rendering of the notes of the raga but

rather highlights the key phrases of the raga. Hence this would mean a free flowing

image of bandish emphasizing its melodic contours.

 Phraseology of introductory aalap may also indicate the focal region of the

improvisation to follow ( mandra , madhya or taar saptak).

 Aalap tends to be in relation to either the raga laya or bandish laya.

 The duration of such aalap-s naturally does not exceed more than a few minutes.

 Usually aakar is employed to render the introductory aalap. Some vocalists also

resort to using syllables like ri, da, na, tom.

According to Ranade (1997:136), auchar has evolved from the word ucchara meaning

articulation and mainly refers to the initial and primary spelling of melodic ideas in

raga-presentation.5 The melodic phrase is rendered keeping in mind the specific swar-

ucchar (swar/phrase intonation) of the chosen raga since the lagaav of notes in every

raga is different.

3. Bandish Treatment: The composition or the bandish is an important aspect of the

Gwalior khayal gayaki.

 The first part of the bandish which is the sthayi, is often rendered at least twice.

However, the number of times that it is rendered may vary amongst the practitioners

of the gharana but the main purpose of singing it multiple times is to reinforce the

5 The term auchar is more commonly associated with the initial aalap in instrumental music.

40 melodic structure of the bandish and in the event, establish the melodic contours

of the raga itself that is manifested through the chosen bandish. The first time that

the sthayi is rendered, it is to introduce the bandish and determine the laya of the

same. The second time it is sung, is more well-knit and re-affirms the bandish and

also involves the introduction of slight variations of the bandish sthayi. The antara

or the second part of a bandish is usually sung lesser number of times relative to

the sthayi.

 Sthayi and antara are sung successively in the beginning of the presentation after

which improvisation is taken up. The necessity to convey the meaning of the song

text (of the bandish) in its entirety is the reason why sthayi and antara are presented

successively. While this was the norm in some early practitioners of the gharana,

we find that some others resorted to singing the antara after sthayi improvisation

and this contributed to variations and diversity within the gharana.

 The bandish in the Gwalior gayaki also provides the primary melodic material for

improvisation. Hence, to repeatedly sing and assimilate the bandish is one way of

learning the nuances and phrases of the raga.

 The laya of the bandish determines the overall tempo of improvisation.

The Gwalior gharana musicians have a wide variety of bandish-s in every raga set to different tala-s, each bandish revealing different facets of the raga (Vyas 1995: 35).

Thus, it is often mentioned that knowing 15-20 bandish-s in the same raga is a necessary pre-requisite to explore the full potentiality of the raga. A musician with a varied and large repertoire of bandish-s was popularly referred to as kothiwale gavaiyye. Sharad

41 Chandra Arolkar (1995: 87) seconds this abundance and also points out to the complete

integration between the swar, shabda and tala in the bandish-s of the Gwalior gharana.

4. Laya Concept and Choice of Tala: The laya of khayal-s in Gwalior gharana gayaki

leans more towards a medium tempo or slow-medium tempo.

 The laya of the khayal tends to increase progressively in different tempi.

 The same bandish may be rendered in different laya-s.

 Aalap is done in barabar ki laya which is another way of saying that the gayaki is

known for being completely synchronous to the laya.

 The medium tempo for khayal-s implies that the bandish is set to more than one

avartan, usually two or three avartan-s.

 Tala tends to be divided into segments (khand-s) which in common parlance, refers

to the mode of employing khanepuri.

 Abundance and variety in the genres performed in the Gwalior gharana gayaki has

ensured a wide repertoire of tala-s. Common tala-s are ektala, , ,

and ada-chautala (occasionally) for vilambit khayal-s. The tala-s for other forms

include: teentala, ektala and jhaptala for drut khayal-s; punjabi theka, pashto,

addha for tappa and deepchandi for thumri.

 The same bandish may be rendered in two different tala-s.

5. Aalap/Improvisation: Aalap refers to the gradual unfolding of the raga through

specific melodic statements within atala cycle. The rendition of the bandish sthayi and

antara is usually followed by the aalap.

42  Aalap in the Gwalior gayaki is developed through phrases (or pitch clusters) of the

raga according to the melodic structure of the bandish. This means that the phrases

within the bandish are taken as the basis and further elaborated in the aalap section.

In fact this is why raga vistaar in this gayaki is frequently referred to as asthayi

bharna or ‘filling the sthayi’ (Bangre 2011: 265). The aalap seldom resorts to note

by note development.

 Aalap is systematic, methodical and progressive with the focus on the nyasa swar-s

and aalap patterns are built up around the nyasa swar-s of the raga.

 The most common modes of improvisation followed include, upaj anga wherein a

particular phrase is introduced as the central idea in an aalap and expanded further.

Khane-puri mode involves dividing the tala-avartan into specific segments with

each segment concentrating on a specific region of the melodic canvas. For instance

in a bandish set to tilwada of sixteen beats, the melodic material may be distributed

in four segments or alternatively the number of sections can also be reduced to

two segments of roughly eight beats each. This mode of improvisation also lends a

definite design and structure to the entire rendition.

 Aakar is the primary mode of articulation but the bol-s of the bandish are also used

sometimes. However, there is a tendency to treat the lyrics or the bandish song-text

(bol-s) as melodic material rather than emphasizing on the meaning of the text.

 As part of the antara vistaar, the upper tonic taara shadja is amply explored and

articulated through aakar, ikar, ukara. The improvisation of the antara is relatively

less than that of sthayi. In most cases a separate aalap for antara is dispensed with.

43  Aalap tends to concentrate on the upper half of the melodic canvas giving the

melody an uttaranga pradhan bias.

 Meend (execution of a smooth movement between pairs of notes, subject to

variability in the distance between the notes) and gamak are the principle melodic

expressions in Gwalior vocalism.

 Behelawa is considered to be an important section in the scheme of improvisation

of Gwalior khayal-s.

i) It’s usually a link between slower vistaar and fast tana-s and is characterized by

higher density of notes (as compared to aalap) rendered with an inherent swing

to the note patterns.

ii) Etymology of the word suggests that it is derived from behelna which is to

flow. Thusbehelawa can also be defined as the section comprising of sequential

patterns of two notes spanning a particular region of the melodic canvas. For

instance, gmJ gmJ J‘ J‘ ‘n ‘n nZr YZr nYnn J‘ J‘ Jao gmgm. Pauses between

phrases tend to be less than in aalap.

iii) According to Omkarnath Thakur behelawa involves rendering combinations of

3, 5, 7, 9 notes as short tana-s each time resting on a note (permissible nyasa

swar-s in the raga) and repeating the same sequence in avaroha.

iv) According to some sources, aalap singing in the Gwalior gharana gayaki is

commonly referred to as behelawa.6

6 Bangre (2011: 266), A review of the book ‘Tana Malika’, published and authored by Rajabhaiyya Poochwale notates traditional khayal-s in many raga-s along with the notation of improvisation also being provided. The book documents aalap and behelawa as being the same.

44 v) , a contemporary khayal vocalist tends to look at aalap and

behelawa as independent entities (personal communication, February 2012).

He opined that aalap concentrates on specific prescribed notes of the raga and a

melodic idea is developed through phrases keeping these notes as focal points.

For instance in raga I give an illustration of a melodic idea developed

ao ao around a phrase or note J gm, ‹Zr J @ gm, ‹Zr ao ‹Zr J @ @, ‹Y @ ‹Zrao, ‹Y‹ZraoJ,

‹Zr @ aoJ, ‹Zrao‹ZrJ, J ao ‹Zr ao ‹Y @ gm. In this example, different permutations and

combinations of a set of notes till the note gandhar is explored. Aalap is thus

developed in a similar manner till the notes in the upper registers. Behelawa,

however, is all inclusive. There is an inherent swing or laya, a particular design

of the raga phrases and spans a wider range of notes. An example of behelawa in

raga would be: ‹Zr gm‘J gm, gmJ‘n gm§ @ Zr n, Zr gm§ J§ gm§, Zrgm§J§‘§n§

J§‘§J§ gm§, J§ @ @ gm§, Zr n, J‘J @ gm. The above behelawa sequence starts from

the base tonic/shadja, comprises of raga specificswar designs also highlighting

samvad tatva (consonant relationship between notes and phrases) and rendered

with an inherent laya, no apparent pause between the phrases and generally

covers note patterns till the upper register pancham before winding up to the

base shadja.

6. Bol-bant /Bol-tana and Layakari: Bol-bant is essentially the distribution of the bol-s

of the bandish in different tempi within a tala cycle.

 Bol-bant forms the second section of improvisation and occurs after the completion

of aalap and behelawa. The tempo is slightly increased at this point. Deepak Raja

45 defines the bol-bant section as a pulse driven movement of medium density that

introduces a moderate degree of correspondence between the articulation (bol-s of

bandish in Gwalior gayaki, as sargam articulation is rare), the melodic contours of

the raga, and the beats of the rhythmic cycle (2007:221).

 Tana-s (high density melodic runs) rendered with the bol-s of the bandish as the

main articulatory device are termed as bol-tana-s.

 Layakari through bol-tana-s is executed in different tempi and also supplemented

by tihai-s to bring out the rhythmicity of the gayaki.

 The Gwalior vocalism pays due attention to the following aspects while rendering

bol-tana-s: correct pronunciation of the bol-s, ability to memorize all the bol-s of

the bandish, elongation of the appropriate vowels and consonants of the words of

the bandish.

 Gwalior gayaki is known for the command on singing intricate patterns of bol-

tana-s involving dugun, tigun, four notes and six notes.

 A notable feature of boltana and bol-bant in Gwalior gayaki is the inclusion of all

the words of the bandish in a melodic statement within an avartan, so as not to

distort the meaning of the song text (Bangre 2011: 279).

7. Tana-s: Tana-s are defined as the notes of the raga rendered in a fast tempo. The density

of swar-s is usually highest in this section and they are executed as part of the last stage

in the improvisation process of a khayal. The Gwalior gayaki specializes in a variety

of tana-s.

46  The Gwalior style is noted for its straight tana-s. Arohi, avarohi sapaat tana-s

(where notes appear in a straight sequence) and matthi tana-s (slow paced gamak

tana-s) are specific to Gwalior vocalism.

 An underlying feature is to sing sapaat tana-s even in vakra raga-s which have

notes in a non-sequential manner (Marulkar 1988: 115).

 Straight tana-s spanning three octaves is a common feature of this gayaki.

 Matthi tana-s or slow gamaka tana-s are often preceded or succeeded by a fast

paced tana and Gwalior singers are particularly adept at this type of patterning in

tana-s and deftly arriving on the sam ( ibid. : 115).

 In some raga-s, use of double swar-s in tana-s is common. For instance in raga

Bhupali, the phraseology of tana-s is specified as gmao Jn Ygm§gm§ Ynn Jao gmgm.

 Gamak tana-s are rendered forcefully often starting with a note employing the

humphita gamak (Bangre 2011: 280).

 Phirat tana-s are sung keeping a specific note as the focal point and weaving

patterns in arohi and avarohi mode , around this note (ibid.:282).

 Tana-s rendered with a defined jaw movement are termed as thejabade ki tana and

are prominent in the Gwalior gayaki.

 Gitkiri tana-s employ kana-swar-s to a large extent and are essentially a descending

movement of notes sung in drut laya.

8. Choice of Raga-s: The Gwalior khayal gayaki specializes in singing well known raga-s

or what are also known as siddha raga-s ( time –tested) like Yaman, , Multani,

47 Chayanat, , Kamod, Basant, Shankara and . However, as Ranade suggests,

the gharana has many rare raga-s in its repertoire but it tends to treat them as variants

of some known raga rather than as independent entities (1997: 93). Hence, instead of

presenting a raga such as Samantkalyan, it is projected as a Yaman-ka-prakar (a variant

of Yaman). The experience of hearing a familiar raga enables the listener to enjoy the

delineation of the raga since he/she already knows the basic chalan of the raga being

performed. The need to widen the access of the gayaki is also a factor in adopting

this strategy regarding the choice of raga-s. However, Gwalior gharana practitioners

enjoyed a wide raga repertoire evident from the documentation of many rare raga-s by

Ramkrishnabua Vaze in his book ‘Sangeet Kala Prakash Part 1’ (1938).

9. Preference for Genre: This gharana also specializes in a wide repertoire of bandish-s.

Apart from vilambit (slow tempo) khayal and drut khayal, the other forms include

tarana (a composition usually sung in medium or fast laya and uses meaningless sound

clusters like dere, na deem ), khayalnuma (a composition similar to tarana but sung in

vilambit laya), trivat (a combination of solfa notes or sargam, syllables of tarana and

sound clusters used in tabla or pakhawaj), chaturang ( a form similar to trivat but with

lyrics as an additional component), tappa, tapkhayal and ashtapadi. Gwalior gharana

also has a wide repertoire of thumri-s, though it has been comparatively neglected in

the concert repertoire.7

7 Sathe, personal communication, April 12, 2012. Sharad Sathe’s guru Sharad Chandra Arolkar was adept at singing thumri and dadra apart from khayal and acknowledged the inclusion of these forms in the Gwalior gharana repertoire.

48 The Gwalior gharana gayaki has been described as an ashtanga or ashtapradhan gayaki which literally means a style comprising of eight anga-s. There are alternative views as to what ashtanga stands for.

 According to Arolkar asthanga refers to the eight-fold ways of voice production

(which can also be understood to be melodic expressions used in improvisation)

namely meend, khatka, murki, andolan, kampa , ghaseet, patak and jhamjhama.

Sathe has opined that it may not be necessary that all the above expressions are used

in a performance (personal communication, April 12, 2012). The relative emphasis

of the melodic expressions would certainly be a possibility for diversity amongst

the gharana practitioners as will be noticed from the analysis carried out later.

 Krishnarao Shankar Pandit provides slightly alternative definition for ashtanga

with equal emphasis on melodic expressions and the stages of improvisation being

identified as the eight fold elements of thegayaki : aalap-behelawa, bol-aalap, bol-

tana, various types of tana-s, layakari, meend , gamak, murki-khatka.8

8 Panchakshari (1990) in his article on Krishnarao Pandit published in ‘Sangeet Kala Vihar’ opines the elements of ashtanga gayaki as told to him by Krishnarao Pandit. Also see Pandit 1996: 47.

49