Tradition · vocal gharana · India
Indore gharana
The Indore gharana of Hindustani vocal music, founded by Ustad Amir Khan (1912-1974) at the Holkar court of Indore in the early 20-century. The gharana emphasises an unusually slow-tempo bada khayal, extensive alaap development through microtonal shrutis, Sanskrit-based composition development, and the merkhand mathematical patterns inherited from the Bhendi Bazar gharana. Ustad Amir Khan drew together elements from the Kirana (slow meditative alaap), Bhendi Bazar (merkhand), and Dhrupad (deep swara development) traditions. The 'Amir Khan andaz' (style) became one of the most-imitated 20-century Hindustani vocal styles, particularly for its use in Hindi film music (he sang classical pieces for Baiju Bawra 1952, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje 1955, and Shabab 1954). The Ustad Amir Khan Memorial Society (established 1975 in Kolkata) is the gharana's institution. His disciples include Pandit Amarnath, Pandit Mukul Shivputra, and Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan.
- Function
- Arts & performance
- Tradition
- Hindustani vocal tradition; gharana histories
- Confidence
- Not assessed
- Location
- 22.720, 75.858
A gharana is a lineage/tradition rather than a simple place-bound institution; the mapped point is an origin, court, or major associated centre and should not be read as an exclusive birthplace.
Connections (1)
- Teaching lineageKirana gharana
Amir Khan built the Indore gharana in the mid-twentieth century out of Kirana's slow tempo and held notes, Bhendi Bazaar's merukhand permutations and his own preference for a meditative approach with almost no display. It is the youngest recognised gharana and the clearest case of a style assembled deliberately by one musician rather than inherited, which is why some traditionalists have never accepted the term for it.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Indore gharana”. Bonnie Wade and the standard gharana literature; IGNCA and Sangeet Natak Akademi oral-history collections.
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