Farrukhabad Gharana is one of six prominent playing styles or

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular musi ...

s of North Indian

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

, in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

, and derives its name from

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. This city is on the banks of river Ganges is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. His ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

History

The Farrukhabad Gharana of Tabla was created in the 11th Century by a Rajput Court musician Akaasa who later had to convert to Islam and became a Muslim (Dastaan-e-akasa). He also changed his name from Akaasa to Mir Akaasa. He was the first to introduce bols into tabla playing. The first bols introduced in tabla were "tat-dhit-thun-nan". Mir Akaasa died in the year 1189 AD, and was succeeded by nine sons and one daughter. He passed on his legacy to his eldest son, Ustad Bilawal Khan, who in turn passed the torch of the gharana to Ustad Ali Baksh (famous for his kran bols). This tradition continued till the 26th descendant, Ustad Haji Vilayat Ali Khan (1779–1826). It was he who named this ‘gharana’ after the province in which he used to live viz. Farrukhabad. Ustad Haji Vilayat Ali Khan (1779–1826) gave this gharana the name of the province where he used to live, which was Farukkabad. Ustad Haji Vilayat Khan got the title of Haji after his completion of 7

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

. Vilayat Khan got famous after his famous battle of Tabla gats with Ustad Salaali Khansaheb, who has challenged Ustad Bakshu Khansaheb of Lucknow gharana, In order to save his pride Bakshu Khansaheb requested Vilayat Khan, who was also Salaali Khansaheb's uncle, to fight the battle of tabla Gats with Ustad Salaali Khansaheb. This battle continued for almost 15 days where many gats (authentic composition of the gharanas) and jodas (pairs of such compositions) were exchanged. On the 15th day Vilayat Khan played a unique Gat (Gat of Gazi) whose joda (pair) Ustad Salaali Khansaheb could not produce. Thus Vilayat Khan was declared the winner. Ustad Bakshu Khansaheb as a reward got Vilayat Khan married to his daughter and reputedly gave him 500 tabla compositions (although some sources say only 12 compositions). Vilayat Khan on the other hand gave Salaali Khansaheb his daughter in marriage and along with that he gave 14 authentic Gats known as jahezi gats to Ustad Salaali Khan". The lineage of Farrukhabad is still carried on by the descendants of This Gharana. The Present Khalifa (head) of this Gharana is the great tabla exponent Ustad Sabir Khan who is the 33rd generation of this Gharana. There is a huge variety in the repertoire of compositions, owing to the tremendous and creative output of great composers such as Haji Vilayat Ali Khan and Amir Hussain Khan, nephew of Munir Khan, himself a disciple of Nisar Hussain Khan. In addition, a large number of gats (compositions).

Repertoire

The Farrukhabad gharana is among the oldest gharanas (i.e. schools) of Tabla, the other one being Delhi Gharana. It belongs to the wider "Purbi Baj", or "eastern way of playing", which regroups Lucknow, Farrukhabad and Benaras styles. Hence it is characterized by an extensive use of resonant strokes played on the sur of the daya reminding the Pakhawaj, but also, in the case of Farrukhabad gharana, by delicate strokes. The repertoire is replete with varied compositions, makes use of open resonant baya strokes, and contains many unique stroke combinations. There is a greater emphasis on gats, chalan, and rela compositions than on qaida or peshkar. There is a prominent use of certain bols, notably DhereDhere/KitaTaka/TakitaDha.

Members

19th century

* Vilayat Ali Khan (1779–1826), co-founder of Farukhabad gharana. Son-in-law and disciple of Miyan Bakshu Khan of Lucknow gharana. * Hussein Ali Khan, son and disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. * Choodiyanwale Imam Baksh, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. Noted

pakhawaj The ''pakhavaj'' is a barrel-shaped, two-headed drum, originating from the Indian subcontinent, kendang of Maritime Southeast Asia and other South Asian double-headed drums. Its older forms were made with clay. It is the percussion instrumen ...

player. * Nesar Hussain Khan (1824–1877), son and disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. * Salari Khan, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. * Mubarak Ali Khan, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. * Channu Khan, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. * Karam Ittal Khan, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. Brother of Ilaahi Baksh. * Ilaahi Baksh, disciple of Vilayat Ali Khan. Brother of Karam Ittal Khan. * Nanhe Khan (1847–1902), son and disciple of Nesar Hussain Khan. * Munir Khan (1863–1937), disciple of Hussein Ali Khan. Also learned from his father, Kaale Khan, and other maestros. Regarded as founding a sub-branch, "Laliana Gharana." * Masidullah "Masit" Khan (1872–1974), son and disciple of Nanhe Khan. * Faiyaz Khan Moradabadi, son and disciple of Karam Ittal Khan. Maternal uncle of Ahmed Jan Thirakwa.

20th century

Ahmed Jan Thirakwa Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan "Thirakwa" (1892 – 13 January 1976) was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the pre-eminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian ...

(1892–1976), disciple of paternal uncle, Sher Khan of Lucknow gharana, maternal uncle, Faiyaz Khan Moradabadi, and Munir Khan. * Shamsuddin Khan (1890–1968), disciple of Faiyaz Khan Moradabadi, MUnir Khan, and Tega Jaffer Khan of

Delhi gharana The Delhi or Dilli Gharana, is a tabla traditional playing style, "regarded by many as the fountainhead of all the tabla gharanas" and known for being the first and oldest gharana playing style of tabla. It also is one of the six most common sty ...

. * Amir Hussain Khan (1899–1969), disciple of maternal uncle, Munir Khan. *

Azeem Baksh Khan Azeem (Arabic: "Great") is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: As a given name * Azeem (rapper), American hip hop musician born Azeem Ismail * Azeem Ghumman, Pakistani cricketer * Azeem Hafeez, Pakistani cric ...

, disciple of Nanhe Khan and Masit Khan. * Subraimama Ankolekar, disciple of Munir Khan. *

Raichand Boral Rai Chand Boral (19 October 1903 – 25 November 1981) was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indi ...

(1903–1981), disciple of Masit Khan. Best known as a film music composer. * Jagannathbuwa Purohit (1904–1968), disciple of Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. Primarily known as a vocalist of the

Agra gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician o ...

. *

Jnan Prakash Ghosh Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh (8 May 1909 – 18 February 1997) was an Indian harmonium and tabla player from Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music and musicologist. Early life and background Born in a Hindu family with musical backgroun ...

(1909–1997), disciple of Masit Khan. Also learned from Firoz Khan of

Punjab gharana Paṅjāb Gharānā (Urdu:پنجاب گھرانا) (Hindi: पंजाब घराना) (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ ਘਰਾਨਾ), sometimes called Punjabi or Paṅjābī Gharānā, is a style and technique of tabla playing that originated ...

. * Vinayakrao Ghangrekar, disciple of Subraimama Ankolekar. *

Pandharinath Nageshkar Vithoba (IAST: ''Viṭhobā''), also known as Vitthala (IAST: ''Viṭṭhala''), and Panduranga (IAST: ''Pāṇḍuraṅga''), is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is a form of the Hindu ...

(1913–2008), disciple of Subraimama Ankolekar, Amit Hussain Khan, and Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. *

Montu Bannerjee Montu was a falcon-god of war in the ancient Egyptian religion, an embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh.Hart, George, ''A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses'', Routledge, 1986, . p. 126. He was particularly worshipped in U ...

(1915–1980s), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh and Masit Khan. Also learned from Abid Hussain Khan of Lucknow gharana, an Natthu Khan. Primarily a

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

player. *

Taranath Rao Pandit Taranath Ram Rao Hattiangadi (1915 – 1991) was a performer and teacher of Indian classical percussion, known for his knowledge of rare '' talas'' and old compositions. He represented the Farukhabad, Delhi, and Ajrada ''gharanas'' of tab ...

(1915–1991), disciple of Shamsuddin Khan. Also learned from

Khaprumama Parvatkar Khaprumama Parvatkar (1879–1953) was a musician from Goa, India who played tabla, as well as ghumot and the sarangi. Well versed in Dhrupad, Khayal and folk goan music forms, he was particularly known for his gifted and phenomenal taal and lay ...

and others. * Karamatullah Khan (1917–1977), son and disciple of Masit Khan. *

Nikhil Ghosh Pandit Nikhil Jyoti Ghosh (28 December 1918 – 3 March 1995) was an Indian musician, teacher and writer, known for his proficiency in the percussion instrument of tabla. He founded ''Sangit Mahabharati'', an institution of music in 1956, and p ...

(1918–1995), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Amir Hussain Khan, and Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. * Lalji Gokhale (1919–2002), disciple of Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. Also learned from Malan Khan and Fakir Khan of

and Habibuddin Khan of

. * Kanai Dutta (1925–1977), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Also learned from Satish Das. * Nizamuddin Khan (1927–2000), son and disciple of Azeem Baksh Khan. * Ravi Bellare (1927–2005), disciple of maternal uncle Taranath Rao. * Bhai Gaitonde (1932–2019), disciple of Jagannathbuwa Purohit, Ahmedjan Thirakwa, and Vinayakrao Ghangrekar. * Pt. Sudhakar Paithankar, Disciple of Late Pt. Narayanbuva Joshi (1937 - Present). * Arvind Mulgaonkar (1937–2018), disciple of Amir Hussain Khan. * Babasaheb Mirajkar, disciple of Amir Hussain Khan. * Shyamal Bose (1934–2003), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Also learned from Lakshmi Prasad Mishra of

Benares gharana Benares gharānā (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian tabla. History The Benares tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At ...

, Firoz Khan of

, and Anath Nath Bose. *

Shankar Ghosh Pandit Shankar Ghosh (10 October 1935 – 22 January 2016) was an Indian Tabla player from the Farukhabad gharana of Hindustani classical music. He has revolutionized both the art of Tabla solo playing as well as Tabla accompaniment. His ma ...

(1935–2016), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Also learned from Firoz Khan, Anath Nath Bose, and Sudarshan Adhikari. *

Suresh Talwalkar Pandit Suresh Talwalkar (born 1948) is an Indian musician who plays the percussion instrument ''Tabla''. Performing career Talwalkar was born in 1948 into a Marathi family in Chembur, Mumbai. He belongs to the Keertankar family of Shri Dholeb ...

(b. 1948), disciple of Vinayakrao Ghangrekar and Pandarinath Nageshkar. * Sanjay Mukherjee. * Swapan Siva (b. 1951), disciple of Karamatullah Khan. *

Anindo Chatterjee Pandit Anindo Chatterjee is an Indian tabla player of the Farrukhabad gharana school. He was born into a musical family. Chatterjee is a disciple of Pandit Jnan Prakash Ghosh. As director of the Farrukhabad gharana of Tabla, founded by Haji ...

(b. 1954), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh. * Vibhav Nageshkar (b. 1955), son and disciple of Pandharinath Nageshkar. *

Nayan Ghosh Pandit Nayan Ghosh (born 28 April 1956) is an Indian tabla and sitar maestro. He is a tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana. Performing career Born on 28 April 1956, Pandit Nayan Ghosh received in-depth training in vocal music, Tabla and ...

(b. 1956), son and disciple of Nikhil Ghosh. *

Sabir Khan Sabir or Sabbir Khan may refer to: * Sabir Khan (musician), Indian sarangi player * Sabbir Khan (Bangladeshi cricketer) (born 1978), Bangladeshi cricketer * Sabir Khan (Indian cricketer) (born 2000), Indian cricketer * Sabbir Khan (born 1976), I ...

(b. 1959), son and disciple of Karamatullah Khan. *

Abhijit Banerjee Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee (; born 21 February 1961) is an Indian American economist who is currently the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is co-founder and co-director of the ...

(b. 1964), disciple of Jnan Prakash Ghosh. Also learned from Tushar Kanti Bose and Manik Pal. *

Bickram Ghosh Bickram Ghosh is an Indian classical tabla player. Early life Ghosh started learning tabla from his father, Pandit Shankar Ghosh. Career Ghosh has performed with Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Ghosh's band, Rhythmscape, which perf ...

(b. 1966), son and disciple of Pt. Shankar Ghosh. *

Tanmoy Bose Tanmoy Bose, whose name is often preceded by the title Pandit (Master), is an Indian percussionist and tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer. He has collaborated with Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar and Amjad Ali Khan, a ...

(b. 1963), disciple of Pt. Shankar ghosh and Pt. Kanai Dutta. He also learned vocals from pandit Maharaj Banerjee and Harmonium from Pandit Mantu Bannerjee. * Parimal Chakraborty (b. 1964),disciple of Pt. Sankar Ghosh and Pt Gayan Prakash Ghosh. *

Subhankar Banerjee Subhankar Banerjee may refer to: * Subhankar Banerjee (musician) (1966–2021), Indian classical musician and tabla player of the Farukhabad gharana * Subhankar Banerjee (photographer) (born 1967), Indian photographer {{hndis, Banerjee, Subhankar ...

(1966–2021), disciple of Swapan Siva. * Vishwanath Shirodkar (b. 1960s), disciple of Suresh Talwalkar, Vibhav Nageshkar, and Nayan Ghosh. * Biswajit Deb (b.1959),disciple of late prabir Bhatacharya of farukabad gharana.

21st century

* Satyajit Talwalkar (b. 1970s), son and disciple of Suresh Talwalkar. * Savani Talwalkar (b. 1980s), daughter and disciple of Suresh Talwalkar. * Anubrata Chatterjee (b. 1985), son and disciple of Anindo Chatterjee. * Rimpa Siva (b. 1986), daughter and disciple of Swapan Siva. * Ariff Khan (b.1988), son and disciple of Sabir Khan (present khalifa of Farukhabad Gharana). * Asif Khan (b.1990), son and disciple of Sabir Khan (present khalifa of Farukhabad Gharana). * Ameen Khan (b.1992), son and disciple of Sabir Khan (present khalifa of Farukhabad Gharana). *

Ishaan Ghosh Ishaan Ghosh is the son and disciple of the Tabla and Sitar maestro Pandit Nayan Ghosh. Ishaan is a Tabla player from the Farrukhabad Gharana. Performing career Ishaan was born on 20 May 2000 to Pandit Nayan Ghosh. He is the grandson of t ...

(b. 2000), son and disciple of Nayan Ghosh. * Dr. Partha Priya Das (b. 1970), disciple of Pt. Shankar Ghosh. Also the disciple of Pt. Debasish Bhattacharjee in Hindustani Slide Guitar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrukhabad Gharana Farrukhabad Music of Uttar Pradesh