Kirana gharana

History

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Brothers Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan became popular in the 1960s due to their jugalbandi performances. The duo earned much appreciation and respect from musicians, critics, and audiences. 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

Aesthetics

Vocalism

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.

Tempo

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.

Repertoire

Ragas

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.

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.

Bandishes

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

Teaching

Ancestral pedagogy of Kirana Gharana

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

Lineage

Exponents

19th century

• Sadiq Ali Khan, learned from Ghulam Taki Khan. Associated with Qawwal Bacchon ka Gharana.
• Bande Ali Khan (1826⁠–1896), learned from father Sadiq Ali Khan. Married daughter of Haddu Khan of Gwalior Gharana.

20th century

• Abdul Karim Khan (1872⁠–1937), gharana founder. Learned from father Kale Khan.
• Abdul Wahid Khan (1885⁠–1949), cousin of Abdul Karim Khan and gharana co-founder
• Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav (1885–1964), learned from Abdul Karim Khan.
• Sawai Gandharva (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 (1902⁠–1953), son of Abdul Karim Khan. Learned from father and Abdul Wahid Khan.
• Hirabai Barodekar (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 (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.
• Sangeetacharya 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 (1922–2011), learned from Sawai Gandharva
• Shakuntalaraje Jadhav (1923–2004), learned from husband Rajaram Jadhav and father-in-law Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav.
• Mani Prasad (1929⁠–2023), learned from father Sukhdev Prasad.
• Sheila Dhar (1929–2001), learned from Fayyaz Ahmed & Niyaz Ahmed Khan.
• Krishna Hangal (1929–2004), 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 (1936-2025), 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 (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 (born 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 (b. 1957), learned from father Shakoor Khan.
• Girish Sanzgiri (b. c. 1960s), learned from Firoz Dastur.
• Dr.Kanika Bhattacharya learned from her father Sangeetacharya Usha Ranjan Mukherjee.
• 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 (born 1972), learned from Shripathi Padigar.

21st Century

• Sanhita Nandi (born 1970), learnt from Pandit A kanan and Ustad Mashkoor Ali khan.
• Anand Bhate (born 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 (born 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.