Jaipur Atrauli Gharana
What is Gharana?
Gharana is a lineage of music performers who follow a legacy or a tradition of a specific type of Hindustani Music. The distinguishing style of music glorifies the easy identification of any Gharana.
The word Gharana originated from the Sanskrit word ‘Griha’ which means house. Gharana signifies the pioneering location of the specific music style. The teacher imparts his knowledge to a group of disciples under ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’.Additionally, the students from this group pass the teaching pedagogy and music style to their own set of students.
‘Khyals’ have been prominent features of Gharana gayaki . Khyal means imagination. As a result, Khyals refers to the explicit creative lyrical poetry, romanticising words and liberty of expression.
Subsequently, other forms of expression like Tarana style, Thumri, Tappa and Ghazal developed. Gharanas have now turned into music training schools holding the similar essence of legacy or the tradition that is followed. During Mughal rule many musicians had to relocate to other cities. As a result, emergence of new Gharanas and new Hindustani Music styles came to light.
Popular Gharanas in India:
Gharanas Location
1.Delhi Gharana Delhi
2.Gwalior Gharana Gwalior
3. Agra Gharana Agra
4. Kirana Gharana Awadh
5. Bhendi Bazaar Maharashtra
6. Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana Jaipur
7. Patiala Gharana Punjab
8. Mewati Gharana Jodhpur
9. Indore Gharana Indore
Jaipur Atrauli Gharana:
Pioneer of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana
Ustad Alladiya Khan established Jaipur Atrauli Gharana in the late 19th century. He was originally from Aligarh but relocated to Jaipur as ‘Raj Gayak’(royal vocalist). He was highly encouraged by the Maharaja of Jaipur. The main pillar of Jaipur Gharana is ‘Layakari’ or rhythmic verses. Many devotionals on Hindu gods are gifts of these gharanas. He belonged to musical family. His father and also his uncles majorly sang Dhrupad Raga. The Maharaja of Amleta was profoundly fond of music. Therefore, he asked the maestro to sing rigorously throughout day and night. As a result, he couldn’t sing and had to leave Amleta. After that, he decided to break the ice and came up with robustly innovative composition of ragas. However, this were different from the conventional way as more than one raga was mixed with other. The unique composition was also complex for most experts.
Interesting highlights of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana :
Layakari
Jaipur Gharana is an amalgamation of various Kathak families across Rajasthan. The style that flourished under the patronage of patrons of Rajasthan was the style of Jaipur Gharana.
Bhakti Shringaar was the main element of these Kathak dancers. Rajasthani legends revolve around Lord Krishna. Also, Meerabai has a high influence over the lyrical verses which are in the form of devotional prayers for Lord Krishna.
Pada, Kavitt, Chand have been the basis of the rhythmic verses that were majorly developed by devotees of Lord Krishna. The poets tuned them finely into music and the synchronization brought out the moods and emotions. Therefore, major renditions of the Kathak dancers are on these creations which are majorly bhajans or lyrical stories.
Later, the valor and sacrifices of warriors were also sung aloud as the system of Hindustani Music is part of the Royal court of Jaipur.
The Aakar or the long aaaa… sound shouldn’t be strained or too short. In other words, the key is to keep it organically flowing.
Ragas
Dhrupad raga dominates these performances. Jog ragas are a distinct feature of these Gharanas which involve mixing more than raga as per the Sama or the time of the day.
Ragas popularised by Ustad Alladiya Khan are:
Sampoorna Malkauns
Basanti Kedar
Basant Bahar
Bihagda
Khat
Gandhari
Nat Kamod
The rhythmic patterns, soulful devotion and valor of the heroes bring out the vigor of emotion which makes this Gharana unique. For instance, the style connects rhythmic aspect of music with the tonal aspect. However, this isn’t found in other Gharanas. There are 24 beats per minute as compared to 15-16 beats per minute in other Gharana styles.
Further, Ustad Alladiya Khan moved to the court of Kolhapur. The maestro genuinely believed in imparting knowledge to deserving disciples because of which he also taught students outside the family lineage like Vidushi Kesarbai, mother-daughter Mogubai Kurdikar and Kishori Amonkar. In Jaipur Gharana, not only men but also women musicians were part. As a matter of fact more women musicians of the Gharana are popular.
Did you know- Aathun Volunteers: A hope to revive folk music of Rajasthan
Tans of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana:
The exquisite feature of Jaipur Atrauli Gharana are tans. The tans are not only continuous music notes but also the unique looping of the sound.
Some of the famous Songs from the artists of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana:
In June, 2021 a song Naina Morey by Sabir Khan from Jaipur Gharana was a smashing hit on Youtube.
Another hit from Sabir Khan with Prateek Brothers is Tere Naam Aye Watan.
Girdhar Jhulat Radhe song and More Bansi Wale Kanha are two famous songs that relish the love for Lord Krishna by Laxmibai Jadhav.
The albums of Kishori Amonkar provide not only perfect contentment but also have left an international mark. She brought about more emotions in the vocal style and also connected the neo Jaipur generation with traditional music.
Secondly, one of the famous web-series of Amazon prime- Bandish Bandits portrays the Gharana culture.
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