The Mewati gharana is a musical apprenticeship tribe of Hindustani classical music. Known for being Pandit Jasraj's musical lineage, the gharana was founded by brothers Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan (beenkar) of Indore in the late 19th century at the Holkar Court. Members of this gharana have had an active influence in Indian cinema for over half a century. With its own distinct aesthetics, stylings, practices, and repertoire, the gharana emerged as an offshoot of the Khandarbani Dhrupad, and Qawwal Bacchon musical traditions. The gharana gained visibility in the late-20th century after Pt. Jasraj popularized the gayaki.

History

Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan are regarded as fountainheads of the Mewati gharana. They were descendants of the Qawwal Bacchon gharana (Qawwal Bacchon Ka Gharana).

Etymology

The Mewati Gharana takes its name from the region between Delhi, Jaipur, and Indore where Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan's family hailed, Mewat (not the Mewar region of Rajasthan).

Recent developments

Ghagge Nazir Khan passed on his musical tradition to his foremost disciples Munavvar Khan, Natthulal Pandit, Chimanlal Pandit, and Ghulam Qadir Khan. Natthulal passed the tradition onto his nephew, Motiram, who shared this tradition with his brother, Jyotiram, around the start of the 20th century. During this period, musicians of this gharana served under monarchical patronage as court musicians. Jyotiram later became a disciple of Rajab Ali Khan, whose father, Manglu Khan, was a disciple of Bade Mohammed Khan and Bande Ali Khan (e.g. a member of the extended gharana). Motiram passed this tradition to his sons, Maniram and Pratap Narayan. After Motiram's unexpected demise, Maniram and Pratap Narayan were instrumental in grooming their younger brother, Jasraj, in the Mewati tradition after the latter renounced playing tabla, his primary training at the time. Jasraj was initially influenced by the music of Amir Khan and Begum Akhtar but later developed a separate style. He introduced new stylistic elements into the traditional Mewati style, following the romanticism started by Omkarnath Thakur and producing a more emotive, devotional, rhythmic-conscious, and lyric-conscious style.

Ancestry

Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan inherited three traditions of classical music; Khandarbani dhrupad baaj and gayaki from their ancestors and then Qawwal Bacchon gayaki. Mewati gayaki emerged from the first synthesis of the dhrupad and khayal traditions of music, through the inter-marriage of Bade Mohammed Khan's family with Haddu-Hassu Khan's family, which Ghagge Nazir Khan married into. Bade Mohammed Khan, son of Shakkar Khan of Lucknow, emerged from the Qawwal Bacchon tradition. His son, Waris Ali Khan, married a daughter of Haddu Khan. Through their union, Bade Mohammed Khan acquired the status of being a Gwalior gharana exponent and was regarded for his "taan bazi" repertoire. Another offspring of Bade Mohammed Khan, Bade Mubarak Ali Khan, Ghagge Nazir Khan married Bade Mubarak Ali Khan's daughter, learned from Waris Ali Khan. Due to politics and competition with Natthu Khan's family, Bade Mohammed Khan relocated to Rewa in Bhopal as the court musician of the maharaja. Consequently, Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan are associated with the Bhopal region in musical literature.

Geography

Seeking musical patronage, their ancestors immigrated from their origins in Delhi and Gwalior, settling first in Bhopal and later western Rajasthan. These migrations influenced new developments in the gharana's musical styles and aesthetics. Eventually, these changes resulted in the Mewati gayaki becoming distinct although reminiscent of the Gwalior and Qawwal Bacchon styles. Hence the gharana is considered both musically and genealogically different from these groups.

Pedagogical genealogy

Ancestry

The below illustration is based on the historical account provided by Siraj Khan.

Early pedagogy

A visual representation of Mewati gharana and its earlier roots.

Recent Pedagogy

Overview

Aesthetic approaches

Though the gayaki has roots in the style and trends of the Gwalior and Delhi, the Mewati gayaki has some distinct qualities. The Mewati gayaki emphasizes the importance of bhava and literature (bandish). The gayaki includes substantial use of sargam and tihai. In a crude sense, the approach to taan is similar to the Patiala gayaki and Tappa Gayaki in execution but is closer to the Gwalior gayaki in application. The gayaki's meend applications have been regarded for their smoothness and naturalness.

Philosophy

Maniram and Jasraj have described the essential philosophy of the Mewati tradition as based on "shuddha vani" (pure sound), "shuddha mudra" (pure expression), and "shuddha sur" (pure notes).

Religious themes

Through Sufiana mausiqi and bhaktic influences, the Mewati 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 intrinsic elements in melodic expression. Jaiwant Singhji and Jasraj contributed numerous devotional compositions to the gharana's repertoire. Some contemporary compositions invoke the name and attributes of 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.

Unique Musical Material

Ragas

The Mewati Gharana holds raags unique to its tradition. These include:

Haveli Sangeet

Informed by the gharana's kirtankar tradition, Jasraj researched the haveli sangeet of Mathura and Brindavan. Consequently, many devotional compositions have been brought into the gharana's repertoire.

Exponents

19th century

20th century

21st century