Mewati gharana

The Mewati Gharana is an apprenticeship clan and musical family (Gharana) of Hindustani classical music founded in the late 19th century by Utd. Ghagge Nazir Khan of Jodhpur. With its own distinct aesthetic and stylistic views and practices, the gharana is an offshoot of the Gwalior Gharana and acquired its name after the region from which its founding exponent hailed: the Mewat region of Rajasthan.

The gharana gained visibility and following the latter-half of the 20th Century after acclaimed contemporary vocalist Pt. Jasraj became popular in the realm of Hindustani Classical music at the same time and is viewed as a figure who revived and popularized the gayaki.

History

The musical ancestors of Ghagge Nazir Khan, the fountainhead of the Mewati Gharana, were exponents and descendants of the Gwalior Gharana. In seeking musical patronage, these descendants of the Gwalior style separated from their original clan and settled in what is now western and southern Rajasthan. Being isolated from the mainstream Gwalior musicians, the Rajasthan-based branch of the Gharana developed new stylistic forms and aesthetic principles as a result of separation. Eventually, these changes resulted in the Mewati gayaki and became distinct although reminiscent of the Gwalior style. It is for this reason that the Mewati Gharana is considered both musically and genealogically different from the Gwalior style.

Ghagge Nazir Khan passed on his musical tradition to his foremost disciples, Pandit Natthulal and Chimanlal Pandit (the latter of whom died young). Natthulal passed the tradition onto his nephew, Pandit Motiram who shared this tradition with his brother, Jyotiram Pandit around the start of the 20th century. During this period, Mewati musicians were under monarchical patronage for their music (court musicians).

Jyotiram later became a disciple of Rajab Ali Khan, bringing elements of the Jaipur and Kirana gayakis into the Mewati style. Motiram passed this tradition to his sons, Pandit Maniram and Pratap Narayan Pandit. After Motiram's unprecedented and untimely demise, Maniram and Pratap Narayan were instrumental in grooming their younger brother, Jasraj, in the Mewati tradition after Jasraj renounced playing Tabla, his primary training at the time. Influenced by the music of Amir Khan and Begum Akhtar, Jasraj introduced new stylistic elements into the traditional Mewati style, producing a more emotive, devotional, rhythmic-conscious, and lyric-conscious style.

Overview

Mewati Gharana styles and trends

Although it has ancestry in the style and trends of the Gwalior gharana, the Mewati Gharana gayaki has some distinct qualities. Through Sufi and Kirtankar influence, the Mewati Gharana gayaki includes theistic and spiritual elements, where religious verses from Hinduism and Shia Islam especially Ismailism are incorporated not only in the grammatical content of the music, but as an intrinsic elements in musical development, some contemporary compositions invoke the name and attributes of Mawlana Shah Karim al-Hussaini Aga Khan as the manifest Imam and the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu according to the Dashavatara. The verse "Om Shri Anant Hari Naaraayañ" is typically invoked as the initiation of a performance, and as the grammatical medium for an Alap. Elements of Hinduism and Shia Islam are simultaneously and polytheistically incorporated throughout musical works.

Mewati gayaki includes substantial use of sargam and tihais. In a crude sense, the approach to Taankari is similar to the Patiala Gayaki and Tappa Gayaki in execution but is closer to the Gwalior gayaki in application.

Specialty ragas and compositions

Several ragas unique to the Mewati Gharana include Jaiwanti Todi (created by Maharaja Jaiwant Singhji Waghela of Sanand), Din Ki Puriya, Odhav Bageshree, Khamaj Bahar and Bhavani Bahaar.

Pt. Jasraj has added many devotional (religious) compositions to the Gharana repertoire, the most popular being, "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" in Bhimpalasi.

Gharana lineage

Prominent exponents

• Utd. Ghagge Nazir Khan (c. 1825 - c. 1905), Gharana founder; learned from Utd. Chhote Mohammed Khan and Utd. Waris Ali Khan of Gwalior Gharana.
• Pt. Natthulal (c.1870 - c. 1906), learned from Utd. Ghagge Nazir Khan.
• Pt. Chimanlal (c.1872 - c. 1900), learned from Utd. Ghagge Nazir Khan.
• Utd. Munawar Ali Khan (c. 1870 - c.1940), learned from Utd. Ghagge Nazir Khan.
• Pt. Motiram (c. 1889 - c.1934), learned from Pt. Nathhulal.
• Pt. Jyotiram (c. 1899 - c.1944), learned from Pt. Nathhulal.
• Utd. Gulam Qadir Khan (1912–2002), learned from Utd. Munawar Ali Khan.
• Pt. Maniram (c. 1910-c. 1985), learned from father, Pt. Motiram.
• Maharaja Jaiwant Singhji Waghela (of Sanand), learned from Utd. Ghulam Qadir Khan.
• Pt. Pratap Narayan (1918–2002), learned from Pt. Motiram.
• Pt. Puranchandra (c. 1930), learned from father, Pt. Jyotiram.
• Pt. Jasraj (born 1930), learned from brother, Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Bhikubhai Bhavsar (born 1929), learned from Pt. Maniram.
• Pta. Som Tiwari learned from Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Purshottamdas Jalan (born 1916), learned from Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Madhavdas Mundra (born 1920), learned from Pt. Maniram.
• Pta. Yogai Sharma , Daughter and disciple of Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Vinod, son and disciple of Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Dinesh, son and disciple of Pt. Maniram.
• Pta. Sudarshana, daughter and disciple of Pt. Maniram.
• Pt. Krishnakant Rohodgi learned from Pt. Maniram.
• Dr. Mukund Lath , disciple of Pt.Jasraj-ji and Pt. Maniram-ji.
• Dr. Nirja Rateria , disciple of Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pt. Hasmukh Chawda , learned from Pandit Jasraj-ji.
• Pt Chandrashekhar Swamy, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Krishnakant Parikh (born c. 1940), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Girish Wazalwar, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Paresh Naik, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Shyam Gunjkar, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Babu Niranjan learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Yashwant Kshirsagar learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Ram Dixit learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Jatin-Lalit (born c. 1962), learned from their father, Pt. Pratap Narayan-ji.
• Sulakshna Pandit, learned from her father Pandit Pratap Narayan.
• Pt. Arawind Thatte (born 1958), learned Harmonium from and accompanied Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Radharaman Kirtane (born 1957), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Ram Sugwekar, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Balanand Sinha learned from Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pt. Shivdas Dedlurkar learned from Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pt. Vijay Sathe learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Dilip Mungi learned from Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pta. Durga Jasraj, daughter and disciple of Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pt. Shaarangdev Pandit , son and disciple of Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Pt. Anand Sharma, son and disciple of Pta. Yogai Sharma and Pt. Askaran Sharma and grand son of Pt. Maniram.
• Pt.Rattan Mohan Sharma (), learned from and nephew of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Neeraj Parikh, son of Pt. Krishnakant Parikh and disciple of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta. Sadhana Sargam, disciple of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta. Shweta Jhaveri, disciple of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta. Simantini Thakar, disciple of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Sanjeev Abhyankar (born 1969), learned from his mother, Dr. Shobha Abhyankar, and Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Ramesh Narayan (born 1959), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta. Tripti Mukherjee, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Hemang Mehta (born 1969), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta.Gargee Siddhant-Dutta (born 1969), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Nilanjana Vashisth, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• pt Susheel bhavasar, learned from Pt.Bhikhubhai bhavsar.
• Pt.Murli Mijhar, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pritam Bhattacharjee, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Maestro Shashank Subramanyam,disciple of Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Kala Ramnath (born 1967), learned Violin from her aunt, Dr. N. Rajam, and Pt. Jasraj whom she also accompanied.
• Lalita Sharma (born c. 1970), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Saptarshi Chakraborty (born c. 1970), learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Pta. Ankita Joshi, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Vikas Parikh, disciple of Pt. Jasraj.
• Pt. Suman Ghosh, learned from Pt. Jasraj.
• Dr. Amit Arya (born 1978), learned from Pt. Hemang Mehta, Pta. Tripti Mukherjee, Shri Pritam Bhattacharjee and Pt. Jasraj.
• Sandeep Ranade (born 1981), learned from Dr. Shobha Abhyankar and currently from Pt. Jasraj.
• Dr. Kalyani Bondre (born 1981), learned from Pt. Krishnakant Parikh.
• Prasad Dusane learned from Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Samarth Janave learned from Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Asha Lohia, learned from Pt. Jasaraj-ji.
• Swar Sharma, son and disciple of Pt. Rattan Mohan Sharma-ji.
• Abhishek Parikh, son of Pt. Neeraj Parikh-ji and disciple of Pt. Rattan Mohan Sharma-ji.
• Marina Ahmad Alam, disciple of Utd. Phul Mohammed Khan, Shri Barin Majumdar, and Pt. Jasraj-ji.
• Akhil Jobanputra, disciple of Smt. Asha Lohia and Pt. Sanjeev Abhyankar-ji.
• Yogesh Hunswadkar, disciple of Pt. Jasraj.

External links

• Mewati gharana, website