About the author: Pt. Madhavbua Ingle is a stalwart of the Gwalior gharana. His grandfather, Pt. Gundubua Ingle passed on the Gwalior gaayaki to his father, Pt. Keshavbua Ingle, which was then further passed on to him. Thus, he has three generations of Gwalior musicians behind him.
Gwalior gaayaki
Any discussion on Gwalior gaayaki would first need to begin with how this style originated, who started it and when, and how it spread far and wide. It is also essential to understand what the distinctive features of this style are, such that it became so popular.
It would be helpful to first look back at who created this style. Essentially, two vocalists are considered to be its originators: Haddukhan and Hassukhan. In fact, many of the gharanas in Hindustani classical music are said to have its roots in Gwalior gaayaki. There is no documented history of the Gwalior gharana. However, this is a brief account of what is indicated in the available records. Sadarang set the stage for khyal-gaayan at the court of Mohammadshah (1719-1748), the ruler of Delhi. Records suggest that Ghulam Rasool also lived in the 18th century. So it would be safe to infer that these musicians came within a gap of 10-20 years after Sadarang. Ghulam Rasool, who was from Lucknow, was an exponent of dhrupad style. However, he was particularly fond of khyal-gaayaki, which had just begun to find its roots. He liked to compose new khyals and to sing them. He is credited with having made khyal-gaayaki popular among the masses. Ghulam Rasool’s son, Ghulam Nabi (Shaurimiya) had a good grounding in khyal-gaayaki. But his voice was thin, and he was especially keen on taans; therefore, he created the tappa style, and made it popular. Ghulam Rasool had a younger sister, who was married to a singer. But her husband died early; she, therefore, entrusted the responsibility of her sons’ (Shakkarkhan and Natthanpirbaksh) music education on her brother, Ghulam Rasool. Both the boys were immensely talented, and Ghulam Rasool took it upon himself to teach them; thus, they matured into good singers within a few years’ time. They later came to be known as Shakkarkhan and Makkhankhan, and soon, their fame spread far and wide.
Shakkarkhan’s son, Bade Mohammad Khan, was employed with a good salary at the court of Gwalior, and he was famous as an exceptional vocalist. Makkhankhan (Natthanpirbaksh) had two sons: Kadarbaksh and Pirbaksh. The former also had a place of honour at the Gwalior court, just like Bade Mohammad Khan, whereas Pirbaksh was engaged at the court of Lucknow. Kadarbaksh was a very talented singer, because of which Bade Mohammad Khan was jealous of him. This story is probably apocryphal, but it is believed that out of jealousy, the latter fed Kadarbaksh a lion’s moustache through his food and killed him. Shrimant Daulatrao Shinde Maharaj, the ruler of Gwalior was greatly pained to hear the news of Kadarbaksh’s death. However, he did not wish to lose a singer like Bade Mohammad Khan either. Therefore, Shrimant Daulatrao Shinde Maharaj hatched a plan to teach Bade Mohammad Khan a lesson. Kadarbaksh had three sons: Hassukhan, Haddukhan and Natthukhan (aged 8, 6 and 4 respectively), who are considered to be the originators of the Gwalior style. Daulatrao Maharaj wanted to train these children in music, and get them to defeat Bade Mohammad Khan in a contest. With this in mind, Maharaj called Pirbaksh (the children’s uncle) from Lucknow, and shared this plan with him. Pirbaksh, in turn, promised the Maharaj that he would teach the children music for 20 years and make them ready. However, Daulatrao Maharaj died within this period and Jankoji Maharaj ascended the throne of Gwalior. The latter, too, was a great connoisseur of music, and thus, Pirbaksh told him of Daulatrao Maharaj’s wish, which Maharaj promised to fulfil. When Hassu and Haddukhan had finished their training, Pirbaksh told Jankoji Maharaj that they should be able to listen to Bade Mohammad Khan singing, so that they are not found to be lacking in any aspect. According to this wish, for six months, Maharaj hid the children behind the curtains in the court so that they could listen to Bade Mohammad Khan. In this short span of time, Hassu and Haddukhan imbibed the music of Bade Mohammad Khan, and following the plan, beat the latter in the contest. However, in this contest, Hassukhan injured his ribcage while singing a thundering (kadak bijli) taan, because of which he died in 1850. Hassukhan’s grandson, Mehndi Hussain, was also a good vocalist. Bannekhan, the elder Balkrishnabua (blind), Vasudevrao Joshi and Baba Dikshit are also considered to be his prominent disciples. Haddukan too, is very famous. His sons were Chhote Mohammad Khan and Rahimatkhan (who gained immense popularity in Maharashtra). Haddukhan died in 1875. Their youngest brother, Natthukhan, who was adopted by Pirbaksh, had been further trained in music. Natthukhan then trained his sister-in-law’s son, Nisar Hussain. Pt. Ramkrishnabua Vaze of Maharashtra and Pt. Shankarrao Pandit of Gwalior were disciples of this very Nisar Hussain Khan.
The complete credit of bringing Gwalior gaayaki to Maharashtra goes to Pt. Balkrishnabua Ichalkaranjikar. He went to Gwalior, and with great difficulty, brought this gaayaki to Maharashtra, after having learnt with Vasudevrao Joshi. He had trained his only son, Annabua, in music very well. Unfortunately, Annabua died young. Apart from his son, Balkrishnabua also trained many other students. Important among them are Pt. Gundubua Ingle (Aundhkar), Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, Pt. Anant Manohar Joshi and Pt. Mirashibua. Pt. Gundubua Ingle further passed on his knowledge to Pt. Keshavbua Ingle (the father of the present author), and I, after having learnt with my father, Pt. Keshavbua Ingle, am trying to keep the tradition alive. There is no need to detail the prolific work of Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar in the field of music. He opened music schools in places like Mumbai and Lahore, and trained many students there. He also wrote a number of books on music, and thus helped spread this gaayaki. He can be credited with having given a high status to music in society. Pt. Mirashibua and Pt. Anantbua Joshi also trained some students, authored books like ‘Bharatiya Sangeetmala’ and ‘Khyal-gaayaki’ (Mirashibua), and thus kept this tradition alive.
Now let us enumerate the characteristic features of Gwalior gaayaki.
It is customary in Gwalior gaayaki to present a couple of raag-defining aalaps in the beginning, and then to sing the complete asthai and antara of the khyal. There is a wealth of many stylish compositions in this gaayaki, even with a number of them in the same raag having different kinds of mukhdas and structures. The raag-vistaar (elaboration) begins only after the asthai and antara have been presented clearly. Therefore, one has to be able to immediately tune the voice in all the three octaves, according to the structure of the raag. Every gaayaki has its own specific way of voice training and delivery. This is true of Gwalior gaayaki as well. In this style, the voice is expected to be full-throated. Apart from this, great importance is given to straight, clear and palledaar (coming in waves) taans and boltaans in laya and taan (threading the words of the bandish into the taan / laykari). For this purpose, gamak in the voice is very important, the training for which is introduced right at the beginning with different kinds of swar exercises and dhrupad-dhamar. With this practice, the voice becomes clear, pinpointed and palledaar. This gaayaki places prime importance on singing in the natural and pinpointed voice. Similarly, a lot of practice in the kharja (lower octave) is recommended, so as to give the voice a certain weight and quality.
It is very important here to sing in a clear, natural and rounded voice with gamak. Just like it is essential to sing the bandish in a clear and pinpointed voice, it is also important to keep it faithful with the taal. The bandishes that have been passed down from the guru to shishya (student) traditionally are meant to be sung in exactly the same way through the generations – both in terms of sur as well as taal.
After the rendering of the bandish, it is customary to sing aalap in aakar, followed by bol-aalap. Due to this, the way the bandish fits in with the raag, and the beauty of the swar in the raag is highlighted. Since the words of the bandish are intertwined with the aalap, there is a natural laya (tempo) to it. In this manner, every aalap unconsciously carries the laya. When singing the aalap, aakar, ikar, ukar, etc. are used according to the words of the bandish to hold the swar. Even if the aalap is slow, it is never lethargic, weak or unstructured. The aalaps are sung keeping the taal and laya in mind, i.e. the singer can use even half or one-fourth of the beat (matra) to dwell on and to begin the aalap. Also, the duration of the swar can be short or long. Meend and khatkas (staccato) with gamak resonate in the aalap, which gives it a certain weight. When the swar (particularly shadja or pancham) is stretched, a khatka like ‘Sa Sa’ or ‘Pa Pa’ after that sounds fitting. Varieties of this with the use of gamak are as follows: ‘SaReSaSa, PaDhaPaPa, MaPaDhaDhaPaMaPa, DhaDhaPaMaPaDhaPaMaPa’, etc. Such khatkas demonstrate the mastery of the singer over the swar. After presenting aalap with the asthai, it is customary to start the antara and then sing palledaar taans with it. These taans are replete with khatkas, gamak and double swars. With the use of double swars in the taan, the skill and clarity of delivery of the vocalist becomes clear. These kinds of palledaar and straight taans require a lot of practice. It is a misconception that straight taans are easier. In fact, sometimes, it is simpler to sing a vakra taan, as one can occasionally use single swars here, which is not acceptable in a straight taan.
For example: Bhoop – vakra taan – ‘SaReGaPa GaReGaPa DhaSaDhaPa GaReSa’,
Bhoop – straight taan – ‘SaReGaPa DhaSaSaDhaPaPaGaReSa.
Thus, it is clear that it is more difficult to use the double swar in a taan intermittently. Instead of the double swar, the use of single swar in a straight taan (i.e. ‘SaReGaPaDhaSaDhaPaGaReSa’) sounds weak.
Therefore, it is essential to have a good breath-span to sing taans in this gaayaki. One can hear many different kinds of taans here: for example, aarohi, avrohi, vakra, and complex or kut-taans , as well as taans that go together with the laya, and fast taans as well. After presenting taans in the antara, it is customary to complete the antara, come back to the asthai, and then raise the tempo (laya) a little for boltaan. Almost no other gharana uses boltaans as much as in Gwalior gaayaki. Boltaans in laya and taan (weaving the words of the bandish into the taan) are sung in various tempos: slow, double, quadruple, offbeat, five times, six times, ten times, twelve times, etc. These different kinds of boltaans establish the laya in various ways. Similarly, it is also common to show different layas in the same boltaan. Because of this range of different layas, it is necessary to master the pronunciation of the words of the bandish, short and long swars, the chalan of the raag, etc. for effective presentation of the boltaan. Only if the singer is totally immersed in the laya will he/she be able to successfully perform the boltaan. The various styles of boltaan also give the accompanying tabla-player the chance to fill in the taal according to the laya. In this manner, after the khyal is presented with all this embellishment, the tritaal begins. In the beginning, the mukhda of the bandish is presented in various ways: for example, with aaghat (on the beat), anaghaat (off-beat), and avsaane (without showing the sam) of the laya, as also with different combinations of swar, just as in a boltaan. Subsequently, small taans, and aalaps and bol-aalaps that would suit the fast tempo are presented. Then, small taans are sung with the antara. After this, the antara is completed, and the singer returns to the asthai. Then, the tempo is increased for boltaans in laya and taan.
Another important feature of this gaayaki is the clear voice and pleasant facial expressions of most singers while performing, in keeping with ‘sudh baani, sudh mudra’. The accompaniment usually consists only of two tanpuras (tuned to the pancham) and the tabla. Singers sit in padmasan for a recital.
The Gwalior gharana style is one of the oldest gaharanas. One can found the tradition bound discipline and the unfettered flowering of imagination in Gwalior Gharana or also called gayaki. In Gwalior Gharana, the raga is a movement, a particular chalan which is a characteristic gait of the raga. Apart from the emphasis on notes (swara), another distinguishing feature of the Gwalior gharana is its simplicity because through simplicity alone can the singer and the listener arrive at the full beauty and impact of the raga. One means to this is of course the selection of well-known ragas so that the listener is saved the effort of trying to identify the raga. Attention can be focussed on the raga and the presentation of it. The raga is revealed soon after the performance starts.
Nowadays, there is a growing misconception about the nature of alaaps in the Khayal music. Whereas all gharanas have played their role in the enrichment of our classical music, insofar as khayal gayaki is concerned, the pioneering role was played by the Gwalior gharana. Under the patronage of the rulers of Gwalior, the gharana attained astounding perfection in the art, so much -so that the Gwalior tradition has been considered the spring from which stalwarts of other gharanas have drawn inspiration and sustenance from time to time.
Taking up one note and elongating it beyond reasonable limits without reference to other notes or the overall structure of the raga is not the correct way to sing the alaap. A raga has a dynamics of its own. Such alaaps place obstacles in the dynamics of the raga. In the Gwalior style as represented by the Krishnarao Shankar Pandit line the dynamics of the raga are constantly evident. Both dhrupad and khayal singing evolved in Gwalior and there are many overlaps. In the khayal style there is one form, mundi dhrupad, that incorporates all the features of dhrupad singing but without the mukhda. The Gwalior gharana usually prefers to begin ragas in the medium tempo (madhya laya) rather then the slow tempo (vilambit laya) as is the norm with other gharanas.
Born in the XVIIIth century the khyal of the Gwalior school has flourished on such an inheritance : Dhrupad has nearly vanished, leaving the front to a new and fashionable style : khyal. In this gharana a large number of poems have been composed on each raga. Those poems are structured by different tals such as Ektal, Tilvara, Jhumra, Adachautal and Saveri. The concert is composed of an alap followed by the presentation of numerous poems with melodic et rhythmic improvisations, on a tabla accompaniment.
The chosen ragas include Alahya-Bilawal, Yaman, Bhairav, Sarang, Shri, Hamir, Gaud-Malhar, Miya-ki-Malhar.
Renowned singers of this gharana are Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, Pandit Shankarrao Vishnu Pandit, Pandit Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, Pandit Eknathrao Vishnu Pandit, Pt. Balkrishnabua Ichalkaranjikar, Pt. Vishnu Digamber Paluskar, Pandit Rajabhaiyya Poonchhwale, Pt. Baluwa Joshi, Pandit Vinayakrao Parwardhan, Pt.Narayanrao Vyas, Pandit Dattaraya Vishnu Paluskar, Pt.Kundalgura umdekar, Pt.Pandurangrao Sitaram Umdekar, Bhausahab Kale, Kashinath pant Marathe, Pt.Sharat Chandra Arolkar, Prof. BR Deodhar, Omkarnath Thakur who authored the Sangitanjali (a text on the nature of ragas), Eknath sarolkar, Narayan K. Pandit, Lakshman K. Pandit, Balasahab Poonchhwale, Gangadhar Bhagwat.
The Instrumental Gwalior Gharana The Gwalior school of instrumental khyal is one of the most ancients indian classical school.
It is more exactly the reunion of two branches of this school that had been separated for centuries : Ratna Rahimat Khan has reunified the instrumental khyal of the Gwalior played on sitar in the 19th century (his own family tradition) and the instrumental dhrupad of the Gwalior, a style that has become very rare, played on the been.
This last style was taught to him by the great master Bande Ali Khan.
Based on the classical structure of the raga, this famous style includes a long alap, jor and jhala (slow then accelerating improvisation) without percussion as it is played in dhrupad followed by the khyal composition with the tabla, developed in numerous improvisations on rhythm and note like tans and laykaris. A duo ( jugalbandi), of two grand-sons of Ratna Rahimat Khan on sitar : Ustad Hameed and Chhote Rahimat Khan.
Since there are a number of musical clans claiming descent from the Gwalior gayaki, there is confusion about what constitutes the authentic Gwalior gayaki.
According to Pandit Sharatchandra Arolkar, who was recognized as an outstanding exponent of the Gwalior gharana, the real Gwalior tradition begins with Natthan Peerbaksh who was a direct descendant of Sadarang and Adarang, the originators of the Khayal gayaki. Nathan Peerbaksh was also the grandfather of Hassu, Haddu and Natthu Khan who not only developed the Khayal form which they inherited from the Nathan Peerbaksh line but also developed it further as an art form. Therefore, those who were trained in the Hassu, Haddu - Natthu tradition were the original practitioners of the Gwalior gharana. Since the tradition is oral, this assumes significance. As generations went by, disciples who turned to spreading music through schools like Shankar-Gandharva Mahavidyalaya made the Gwalior form 'palatable', which was an aesthetic compromise of sorts.
Under his pioneering leadership, such great musicians as Pandit Anant Manohar Joshi (the father of Gajananbuva Joshi), Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar and Mirashibuva came into the limelight and the Gwalior gayaki took firm root in Maharashtra. Pandit Paluskar carried on his mission to the far corners of the country after Balkrishnabuva, with such disciples as Omkarnath Thakur, Narainrao Vyas, Shankarrao Bodas and Vinayak-buva Patwardhan and his own son Great Pt. DV Paluskar.
This gharana is the only which continues to follow the original temporal canvases of talas like Tilwada, Adachowtal, Jhumra etc without extension into ati-vilamhit laya which came later and was adopted by almost all other gharanas. A raga is akin to a chariot which is set into motion by the sound and laya waves which the singer generates." This eloquent description of the Gwalior gayaki is by the late Pandit Ramesh Chandra Nadkarni, musician and musicologist of the Bhendi Bazar gharana. It is one of the aptest appraisals of the Gwalior Khayal.
Broadly one can discern four streams of the Gwalior gayaki today. The first and the original fountain is the one associated with the 'Gwalior' of the Gwalior variety.
It means those like
1. Gaan Maharshi Gayak Shiromani Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (Taan Kaptan, Taan Samrat, Laya Samrat, Taappa Shiromani) who stayed in Gwalior and retained the original flavour of the gayaki. Like: Eknath Pandit, Baluwa Joshi, Vishwanathbuwa Joshi,Daji Sarolkar, sharatchandra Arolkar, Pandurang rao Umdekar, Ramji Agnihotri, VG Ringe, Amrutfale, Narayan Pandit, Chandrakant Pandit, sitaram sharan.
Present day Vocalists - Pt. Laxman Krishnarao Pandit,Vishnu Purushottam Manvalkar, Pt. Malvankar, Pt. Martandbuwa Joshi, Sadhna Gore, Bhanurao Umdekar, Suryakant Umdekar, Anant Mahajani, Meeta d/o Pt. Laxman, Neelesh Ishwarchandra,and many more....
2. There is another sub-stream, which remained in Gwalior but was also lured by the Bhatkhande clan. Rajabhaiyya Poonchwale and his musical descendents headed this current.
Like Dattu Bhaiyya Poonchhwale, Narayan Pathak, Balasahab Poonchhwale, Manohar Harkare, Gangadhar Bhagwat, Present: Madhav Afle, Jayant Khot, Sripad Devkar, Dr. Ishwarchandra R. Karkare, Vanita Vaidya, P.L. Gohadkar.
4. The fourth sub - tradition belongs to the musical progeny of Balkrishnabuva Ichalkaranjikar like Mirashibuwa, Gajanan Joshi, Yeshwantbuwa Joshi and the present day vocalist Ulhas Kashalkar, Sadhna Mohite Deshmukh.
The founder of the gharana, Ustad Natthan Pir Baksh is believed to have taught khayal gayaki to Ghagge Khuda Baksh of the Agra gharana, The celebrated Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan and Natthu Khan were the grandsons of the founder who in turn helped to popularise khayal singing. Among their disciples were Rehmat Khan, Baba Dikshit, Masurekar Buva, Shankar Pandit and Eknath Pandit, Rajabhaiyya Poochhwaie, Ramkrishnabuva Vaze, Balkrishnabuva Ichalkaranjikar, Vasu-devbuva Joshi and Devjibuva Paranjape.
While the khayal singer does include raga vistar (melody expansion) and raga alankara (melody ornamentation to enhance the beauty and meaning of the raga, there is no attempt to include the tirobhava feature i.e. using melodic phrases to obscure the identity of the raga in the interest of adding interest or mystery to the listener's experience.
Pandit Arolkar describes the Gwalior gayaki as multidimensional and multi-layered in its conception as well as execution. Mastery of the basic language of music making is to be taken for granted here. The Gwalior Khayal singer unites the notes and patterns of the raga, waves of the theka and words of the lyrics in a composite whole and develops the composition in its entirety.
"Creation is a process. Simultaneous and dynamic interaction between the three elements of music, the raga, taal and the words gives rise to the beauty of the Gwalior Khayal, which is like a 'fluid sculpture'. There is singing of the raga here; but something much beyond that. There is singing in taal here; but it is not obvious equidistant interplay with the motion of the taal. It is far subtler and goes much beyond that. Control of technique has a specific aesthetic function here. It is not meant to be flaunted for its own sake. It is supposed to express the emotion of the Khayal which is basically a song-form", says Pandit Arolkar.
Gwalior Gharana presents a harmonious blend of the swara and laya and places considerable importance on the enunciation of the word-content of the 'bandish'. The other salient features of the style include boltaans, bol-alaps, and tappa-like movements which may be marked out as the characteristics of the gharana. The gharana is also well known for its repertoire of tappas, thumris, taranas, chaturang, tirvat and sapat taans.
It is notable that whereas the singing of Pandit Sharatchandra Arolkar shows a leaning for tappa-ang in conformity with the style of the original Gwalior gharana, the style that Balkrishnabuva brought to Maharashtra is free of the tappa bias as evident from the singing of Pandit D V Paluskar, Yashwantbuva Joshi.
Pt.Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, together with other celebrities like Malini Rajurkar, Padma Talwalkar (who has also learnt the Jaipur gayaki), Veena Sahasrabuddhe, Sharad Sathe and Jal Balaporia form the vanguard of the Gwalior stylists today.
Another great khayal singer, also originally from Lucknow, was Bade Mohammed Khan who brought the tn into khayal singing. Haddu and Hassu Khan further enhanced the style into the Gwalior gharana as we recognize it today. Haddu Khan's son, Rehmet 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.
Pandit Jal Balaporia, a senior and highly venerated figure of ' Gwalior ' of the Gwalior variety says that the concept of sthayi-antara is central to the exposition of the Gwalior Khayal. After having musicalised the sthayi for a while, the singer goes on to the antara which is developed with the help of notes in the higher octave. While exploring the bandish the principle of graha, ansha and nyasa is at work. Pandit Sharad Sathe who is another senior exponent of the school has learned from Pandit D.V. Paluskar, Prof. B.R. Deodhar and Pandit Arolkar. In that sense he is one of the most well educated Gwalior singers. He explains the principle of graha, ansha and nyasa."You begin a phrase with a particular note, say sa. Then go on to develop the phrase with the help of notes of note-combinations comprising re-ga-ma and then round it off with 'ma'. Hence the first 'sa' is graha, the middle portion is ansha and the concluding note is nyasa." While applying this principle the character or the chalan of the raga should not be lost sight of. The Gwalior singer, thus has to be ashtavadhani, the one who is alert to things happening in eight different dimensions. Contemporary singers include Pandit V.R. Athavale, Pandit Vinaychandra Maudgalaya, Pandit Jal B8alporia. Others while not performing in the pure Gwalior style nevertheless retain the distinctive features of the gharana. Malini Rajurkar is an example of this. Her singing reveals influences of the Kirana style as well as that of the independent singer Kumar Gandharva but the clear rendition of each word in the manner of a short tn stamps her singing with the Gwalior tradition.
The Gwalior gharana owes its establishment to Ustad Haddu Khan and Ustad Hassu Khan. From this source not only have several branches of the Gharana emerged but almost all gharanas of vocal music today seem to trace a part of their origin to this great source.Maharashtra owes its musical wealth to this Gharana, thanks to Pandit Balakrishnabua Ichalkaranjikar.
Stylistically the gaikee of this gharana is best described as wholistic and, in a sense, representative of the original form and principle of khayal. The Vilambit Khayal bandish constitutes the nucleus of this style. Improvisation is seen fundamentally as variations along contours of the composition. Alaap is more appropriately Sthai-Bharna in akaar and with bols - leading progressively through behlava and boltaans to taans. Alankars emplnyed are predominantly meends, choots, gamaks, laheks and khatkas - all sensibly balanced towards a copybook approach. Taans are strongly raganga.
VazeBuwa
Among the great Gwalior masters of the early 20th C was Ramkrishnabuwa Vaze. Very little of his life is documented, as is the case with many Indian greats. In the West, utter mediocrities are often enshrined in biographical tomes. We, on the other hand, are content with writing a sketch or two. This state of affairs can be easily remedied by inculcating in Indian children the admirable Western habit of never letting lack of knowledge and detailed study get in the way of writing books.
Vazebuwa brought to his gAyaki certainty and attitude. Both are on display in this scintillating Tarana.
Gwalior Gharana Links
Classicist's Heart Beats For Ricky
Ulhas Kashalkar
Classical Music Link
Young artistes steal the show
Saratchandra Arolkar Icon of Indian music and a doyen of the Gwalior Gharana. Disciple of Pt. Krishnarao Shankar Pandit and the latters uncle Eknath Pandit. Masterful rendering of khayal, tappa and thumri. Leaves behind many ardent disciples. His recorded music is not easily available.
Veena Sahasrabuddhe
Ariticle 2
Maharashtrian Musicians at Gwalior...
The popularization of classical music in Maharashtra began through Gwalior. The Maharashtrian-Brahmin singers of Gwalior were greatly benefited by the current Gwalior school of music. Many of the pupils of Hassu and Haddu were Maharashtrian Brahmins among whom were eminent singers like Babasabib Dixit, Vasudeva Rou Joshi, and Balasoheb Guruji. Their disciples have preserved classical traditions to a great extent. We also owe a lot to the Maharashtrian disciples of Nissar Hussain (of Hassu-Haddu family). The late reputed musician Shanker Rao Pandit was very famous and very favourite among his followers. Music-lovers still recall Shanker Pandit's name with great love and respect. His son Krishna Rao Shanker Pandit is a wel known musician of Gwalior, and is running a Music school in his father's name-"Shanker Gandbarv Vidyalaya".
Raja Bhaiyya Poonchwale:-the Principal of the "Madho Sangeet Mahavidyalaya" is another reputed disciple of Shanker Pandit. He had the privilege of learning a large number of Dhrupads from the great Dhrupadiya, Wamanbuva Deshpande ; and later on, Khayals from Shanker Pandit. What was more, since the opening of the Pandit music school, he was for a long time able to avail himself of Bhatkhand ji's valuable association and Guidance -thanks to which today raja Bhaiya is regarded as a skilled singer and a learned scholar in the art of music.
Chaturpandit Bhatkhandeji:-The Madho Sangeet Mahavidyalaya is the triumphant fruit of Guruvarya Bhatkhandeji's selfless endeavours and a proof of Madhav Rao Mahara 's lofty musical tastes and patronage of music. This and similar schools of music have contributed in no small measure to the revival of interest in classical music which had cooled down to a deplorable level. Among the long array of Maharashtrian musicians who went to Gwalior and achieved commendable mastery over the Gwalior-style of ragdari sangeet, comes the name of Balkrishnabuva-a pupil of Vasudevrau Joshi.
After under going a prolonged training, he returned to his native town and devoted the rest of his life rekindling musical tastes among his people. The most eminent of his pupils of course was Vishnu Diagambar Paluskar whose name is familiar to all. We all know how ceaselessly lie strove to popularise music by establishing music schools at various places. But his training and efforts were not comprehensive. The limitation may have been due to the queer circumstances of those days when musicians selfishly concealed their art. Anyway Digambar did revive interest in one aspect of our music-namely, the devotional aspect of it (Bhajans) and for this we shall be always grateful to him.
Balakrishnabuva's son Annabuva was a good musician but he died prematurely. The former's disciples Anantbuva Joshi of Oundh and Mirasibuva of Poona are two of our contemporaries. They have tried to Preserve the musical traditions of their schools. Another pupil is Gunduhiiva whose son is still the court musician of Ichalkaran" Classical music penetrated into Maharashtra from Gwalior, but since its penetration there, it has undergone numerous changes, under various influences. For instance, good musicians of Aera, Delhi, Jaipur etc., migrated into the big cities of India (Bombay, Calcutta and Madras ) when they ceased to get royal patronage ; and in these big cities they were forced to earn their livelihood by giving music performances. The names of Tanaraskhan, Haider Khan, Nath ti Khan, Mahmud Khan, Miyajan, etc., are familiar in this connection. They have influenced music in Maharashtra to a great extent. Though the original G Gwalior-style is rarely to be heard in its pristine purity today, the traditions have been preserved to some extent luckily.
Very good information
ReplyDeletevah ! good article .although i already know many things regarding Gwalior gharana but still this article added certain new things. very informative .*dr. karkare . pathologist and classical singer . .
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