Tradition · sarod gharana · India
Shahjahanpur sarod gharana
The Shahjahanpur sarod gharana of Hindustani instrumental music, founded by Niyamatullah Khan (c.1820-1911) at Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh in the mid-19 century. The gharana emphasises the Rabab-derived sarod technique (with heavier gamak-based ornamentation than the Maihar sarod style), extensive sapat taan patterns, and dhrupad-based alaap development. The gharana traces to the earlier Afghan Rabab tradition (Niyamatullah Khan was a descendant of Rabab players at the Mughal court). The gharana's major 20-century exponents include Ustad Enayet Ali Khan (1872-1944), Ustad Mohammed Amir Khan (1898-1966) and Ustad Radhika Mohan Maitra (1917-1981). The modern sarod exponent Buddhadev Dasgupta (1933-2018) and his disciples continue the Shahjahanpur style. The gharana is distinct from the Maihar gharana (Ustad Alauddin Khan's lineage, with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan as its chief exponents) that dominates modern Indian sarod performance.
- Function
- Arts & performance
- Tradition
- Hindustani instrumental tradition; gharana histories
- Confidence
- Not assessed
- Location
- 27.880, 79.910
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 lineageMaihar gharana
The sarod is a rabāb reworked in India with a smooth metal fingerboard and no frets, which is why its glissando sounds unlike any other plucked string. The two lineages that play it descend from Afghan rabāb players who settled in Rohilkhand and Gwalior: the Shahjahanpur line, which is Amjad Ali Khan's family, and the Maihar line through Allauddin Khan and his son Ali Akbar Khan.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Sarod”. Bonnie Wade and the standard gharana literature; IGNCA and Sangeet Natak Akademi oral-history collections.
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