Qutub Baksh, more commonly known as Tanras Khan (c. 1801 – c. 1890), was an Indian musician of the Hindustani Classical tradition known for being a luminary of the

Delhi Gharana The Delhi or Dilli Gharana, is a tabla discipleship tradition known for being the oldest. This tradition was founded by Sidhar Khan Dhadi in the early-18th Century. The tradition is regarded for establishing a distinction from pakhawaj repertoi ...

.(House of Delhi classical musicians).Tanrus Khan - founder of the original Delhi gharana on 'The Life of Music in North India: The Organisation of an Artistic Tradition' by Daniel M. Neuman on GoogleBooks website
Retrieved 14 January 2022 He was a court musician and music teacher to the last Mughal emperor

Bahadur Shah Zafar II Bahadur Shah II, usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' Victory) was born Mirza Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad (24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862) and was the twentieth and last Mughal Emperor as well a ...

Background

Qutub Baksh was born to a musical family and initiated into music by his father, Qadir Baksh of

Dasna Dasna is a town, near Ghaziabad city and a nagar panchayat in Ghaziabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Geography Dasna is located at . It has an average elevation of 207 metres (679 feet). There are other prominent l ...

. He became a disciple of Miyan Achpal of the Delhi Court in order to further develop his music.

Early life and career

"Meer Qutub Baksh alias 'Tanrus Khan' was an iconic Khayal singer of the 19th century."Profile of Tanrus Khan on SwarGanga Music Foundation website
Retrieved 14 January 2022 "Since Delhi has been, off and on, the capital and the cultural center of the North Indian musical tradition, many families originally came from Delhi." "Tanrus Khan was famous for his swift, sparkling Taans and so this title 'Tanrus' (one who has a charming Taan) was given to him by

, the last Mughal emperor." Occasionally Tanrus Khan sang

qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

s also. So he is also said to be a member of the 'Qawwal Bachchon Ka Delhi Gharana' originally organized by the legendary 13th century musician

Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian ...

. Many Khayals and Taranas of Hindustani classical music were composed by Tanrus Khan. Tanrus Khan was attached to Delhi court but after the

Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, he left Delhi and went to

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

but felt that he was not much appreciated there. So he went to Nizam of Hyderabad's court and worked there and finally died in Hyderabad in 1885.

Interaction among music gharanas

It is widely known that the founders of

Patiala gharana The Patiala ''gharana'' (, ) is one of the vocal (tradition, school, or style of music) of Hindustani classical music, named after the city of Patiala in Punjab, India where it was established. The ''gharana'' was founded in the mid to late 19th ...

had studied under the tutelage of Tanras Khan, the founder of the

Delhi gharana The Delhi or Dilli Gharana, is a tabla discipleship tradition known for being the oldest. This tradition was founded by Sidhar Khan Dhadi in the early-18th Century. The tradition is regarded for establishing a distinction from pakhawaj repertoi ...

. According to Manorama Sharma, author of the book, 'Tradition of Hindustani Music' (2006):

"In a very big function, the ceremony of Ganda-Bandhan was performed and both Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali became the disciples of Ustad Tanras Khan. In 1890, after the death of Ustad Tanras Khan, Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali became the disciples of Ustad Haddu Khan and Ustad Hassu Khan of Gwalior Gharana. Afterwards, they also received training from Ustad Bahadur Hussain Khan of Rampur. Thus, it is apparent that Ali Baksh and Fateh Ali received training from the well known musicians and later developed their own style which became famous as the Patiala Gharana. Both of them began to be known as Aliya and Fattu."

Delhi gharana

Prominent exponents

* Ghulam Hussain Khan alias 'Ustad Mian Achpal' (music teacher of Tanrus Khan) * Ustad Tanrus Khan * Ustad Umrao Khan (Tanrus Khan's son) * Ustad Sardar Khan (Umrao Khan's son) * Ustad Manzoor Ahmed Khan Niazi * Ustad Munshi Raziuddin * Qawwal Bahauddin Khan'Karachi's heritage: Qawwali gali'
The Express Tribune newspaper, Published 29 June 2014, Retrieved 14 January 2022 * Ustad Abdullah Manzoor Niazi (Ustad Manzoor's Son) * Ustad Meraj Ahmed Nizami * Ustad Fareed Ayaz * Ustad Naseeruddin Sami * Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin & Brothers, * Hamza Akram Qawwal * Subhan Ahmed Nizami

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanrus Khan 1890 deaths 19th-century Indian musicians Musicians from Delhi Hindustani musicians 19th-century Indian Muslims Indian classical composers Indian male classical musicians 19th-century male musicians Year of birth uncertain