During the time of Mughal kings Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh and his maternal grandsons were the legendary Haddu, Hassu and Natthu Khan.[1] The main musician in the court at the time was Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan who was famous for his taanbaazi. Both Ustad Bade Mohammad Khan and Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh belonged to the same tradition of Shahi Sadarang.
Some sources believe that Ustad Naththan Pir Bakhsh settled in Gwalior and evolved the style features that led to this gharana.Others claim that individuals named Naththan Pir Bakhsh and Nathu Khan founded the gharana. The accepted version is that Naththan Pir Baksh left Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh to escape the professional rivalry with Ustad Shakkar Khan that had taken an ugly turn. He arrived in Gwalior with his maternal grandsons Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan.
Another great khayal singer, also originally from Lucknow, was Ustad Bade Mohammed Khan, who brought the Taan into khayal singing. Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan further enhanced the style of the Gwalior gharana as we recognize it today. Hassu Khan died prematurely. Haddu Khan's sons, Rehmat Ali Khan and Ustad Bade Inayat Hussain Khan (1852–1922) was a widely acclaimed singer who liberated the Gwalior style from the methodical form it followed to the emotional style that he preferred.
Later, it was the disciples of the duo Ustad Haddu/Hassu Khan that both preserved as well as propagated the art. For instance, their pupils Vasudeva Buwa Joshi, Ramkrishna Deva and Banne Khansaheb, spread it further. It was Ramkrishna Deva's pupil BalRamkrishna buwa Ichalnikar, who took the Gwaliori Gaeki (singing stylistics) to Maharashtra.
However, the most beloved of the duo's was Banne Khan,[2] who was previously a dhurpad and dhamar singer from Amritsar. He took the art to Punjab and Sindh. It is said that he served the duo so much that he was treated like the eldest son of the family. Later, when he had learnt the art to its perfection, the man trained a good number of pupils in Punjab and Sindh to carry it further. His pupils included his cousin-brother Amir Khan (aka Meeran Bukhsh Khan), Gamman Khan, Bhai Atta, Ali Bukhsh/Kale Khan, Mian Qadir(sarangi), Bhai Wadhava/ Bhai Wasawa and so on.
Later, Banne Khan became a musician at the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
After him, Amir Khan too played an active role in spreading the art. He even taught the pupils of Balkrishna Buwa Ichalnikar. However, he later focused upon his four sons. Out of whom, Pyare Lhan earned a great name. He introduced the 'Khyal' genre in Afghanistan when he represented pre-partioned India in Afghanistan on the second annual celebration of its independence on 19 August 1992. He became a court musician there and the teacher of another Afghan court singer, Qasim Afghan(alias Qasimju).[3] After, he became the court musician at the court of Maharajadhiraj Maharawal Sir Jawaharlal of Jesairmal(1914-1949). After this he became the teacher of Seth Vishandas of Hyderabad, Sindh. He was also the teacher of Mahant Girdharidas of Bhumanshah.
Pyare Khan's younger brother, Baba Sindhe Khan (aka baba Shinde Khan) (1885–18 June 1950),[4] was the teacher of Prof. Pnt B R Deodhar, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan[5] and Farida Khanam for sometime.
Later, Pyare Khan's sons Ummeed Ali Khan[6] and Ghulam Rasool Khan became the most known and respected classical vocalists of their times and currently, Ghulam Rasool Khan's two sons Hameed Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan are referred as living legends of the Gwalior Gharana.[7]
Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (1893 – 1989) occupies an important place in the gharana (Gwalior) of Haddu Khan. He received his early musical tutelage from his father, Shankarrao Pandit, who was a disciple of Ustad Haddu Khan and Ustad Nathu Khan - the innovators of the Gwalior style and then Nathu Khan's son Nissar Hussain Khan. Benefiting from intensive training from his father, Krishnarao's regimen included pre dawn practice in the woods to perfect swara, laya and breath control. He was taught wrestling, gymnastics, yoga and swimming to develop stamina, and a range of three octaves.
A versatile musician, with a rich repertoire, Krishna Rao was equally at home in Khayal, Tappa and Tarana singing. He was considered a master of `layakari`. He became a well-known singer at an early age. In 1921 he was awarded the title Gayak Shiromani at the All India Congress. For a while, Krishna Rao served as court musician to Madhavrao Scindia of Gwalior. He also opened a music school in Gwalior, Shankar Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, in 1914. He was a respected performer for over thirty years and the various positions he held also included State Musician of the State of Satara (Maharashtra), Emeritus Professor of Madhav Music College, Gwalior and Producer Emeritus All India Radio and Doordarshan. For his contribution to the world of classical music, he received numerous awards including the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and the Tansen Award in 1980.
His disciples included his son Laxman Krishnarao Pandit, Sharadchandra Arolkar, Balasaheb Poochwale, and granddaughter Meeta Pandit. He evolved an easy and independent notation system in 1914 and also published several books and articles in different journals and magazines.
