Origins & History
Three brothers founded the gharana: Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Hussain Khan. The Swaramandakini archive, kept by the gharana's own disciples, records them as sons and first pupils of Dilawar Hussain Khan of Bijnaur (Bijnor), near Moradabad. In the same account they trained with Inayat Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and studied dhrupad with an Inayat Khan of the Dagar line. Family tradition credits that dhrupad study with the school's slow, deliberate khayal.
The archive and the National Centre for the Performing Arts date the brothers' move to Bombay to around 1870; other accounts put the founding nearer 1890. Tradition derives the district's name from a British phrase, "Behind the Bazaar". By the archive's account, Nazir Khan taught at the Gayan Uttejak Mandali in Bombay and discussed music with V. N. Bhatkhande.
ঐতিহাসিক সময়রেখা
The founders settle in Bombay
Nazir Khan dies
Aman Ali Khan dies
Fellowship for Anjanibai Malpekar
The style falls quiet
Suhasini Koratkar revives the style
Lineage & Legacy
The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations
The founders' teaching passed to the next generation through two pupils above all. Chhajju Khan's son Aman Ali Khan taught a wide circle, among them Shivkumar Shukla, T. D. Janorikar and Ramesh Nadkarni, who carried the style through radio and music conferences. Nazir Khan's principal disciple was Anjanibai Malpekar of Goa. The line came back to the stage through Janorikar's disciple Suhasini Koratkar, who revived the style from the 1980s.
Founders
Chhajju Khan
19th century
Co-founder
Nazir Khan
Died 1920
Co-founder
Khadim Hussain Khan
19th century
Co-founder
Second generation
Aman Ali Khan
1884 or 1888 to 1953
Vocalist and composer as Amar
Anjanibai Malpekar
1883-1974
Vocalist
Pupils of Aman Ali Khan
Shivkumar Shukla
1918-1998
Vocalist, disciple of Aman Ali Khan
T. D. Janorikar
1921-2006
Vocalist and teacher
Ramesh Nadkarni
1921-1995
Vocalist, disciple of Aman Ali Khan
Revival
Suhasini Koratkar
1944-2017
Vocalist who revived the style
The gharana system is rooted in the guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, where musical knowledge and style are passed down through direct apprenticeship over three or more generations.
Key exponents
- Chhajju Khan, co-founder, 19th century
- Nazir Khan, co-founder, died 1920
- Khadim Hussain Khan, co-founder, not the later Agra singer
- Aman Ali Khan, died 1953, vocalist and composer as Amar
- Anjanibai Malpekar, 1883-1974, disciple of Nazir Khan
- T. D. Janorikar, 1921-2006, vocalist and teacher
- Suhasini Koratkar, 1944-2017, revived the style
সাংগীতিক বৈশিষ্ট্য
Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy
Overall Style
Bhendibazaar singers open a raga at an unhurried pace and sing it on aakar, an open voice on the vowel 'aa'. Long phrases in a single breath are a point of training. The development rests on merukhand, also called khandmeru, which works a small group of notes through many orders, and on sargam, the sung note names.
Merukhand
Aakar
One breath
Sargam patterns
Gamak taans
Signature Repertoire
The repertoire holds Carnatic ragas such as Hamsadhwani, Nagaswaravali and Pratapavarali, which came in chiefly through Aman Ali Khan's study with Bidaram Krishnappa. Aman Ali Khan composed about 400 bandishes under the pen name Amar, by the lineage archive's count. Some writers, Aneesh Pradhan reports, credit him with first bringing Hamsadhwani into Hindustani music.
Signature Ragas
Famous Compositions
Lagi lagan
By: Aman Ali Khan
Why it's special:
Compare with Similar Gharanas
Understand how ভেন্ডিবাজার ঘরানা differs from other traditions
Select a Gharana to Compare:
| ভেন্ডিবাজার ঘরানা (Current) |
কিরানা ঘরানা (Comparing) |
|
|---|---|---|
| টাইপ | Vocal | Vocal |
| উৎপত্তি | Mumbai | Kairana |
| Era | Late 19th century | Late 19th century |
| Style | Bhendibazaar singers open a raga at an unhurried pace and sing it on aakar, an open voice on the vowel 'aa'. Long phrases in a single breath are a point of training. The development rests on merukhand, also called khandmeru, which works a small group of notes through many orders, and on sargam, the sung note names. | The Kirana style centres on the swara: the exact intonation and expression of each note. A singer unfolds the raga note by note in slow vilambit tempo, with an extended alap, and the emphasis falls on melody more than rhythm. The recording producer G. N. Joshi named precise tunefulness, a graceful presentation of the bandish and disciplined raga development as the gharana's marks. |
Influence & Legacy
Aman Ali Khan's pupils carried the style through radio and conferences, and his reach went past the gharana. Amir Khan of the Indore gharana counted him a major influence, and Amir Khan's father, the sarangi player Shahmir Khan, is said to have trained with the gharana. The film singers Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey studied with Aman Ali Khan for a time. Anjanibai Malpekar later guided Kumar Gandharva and Kishori Amonkar.
সচরাচর জিজ্ঞাসিত প্রশ্ন
What is the Bhendibazaar gharana?
The Bhendibazaar gharana is a school of khayal singing named after the Bhendi Bazaar district of Bombay, where three brothers founded it in the late 19th century. Its singers use merukhand, a system of note permutations, an open aakar voice and long breaths, and its repertoire includes Carnatic ragas.
Who founded the Bhendibazaar gharana?
Three brothers founded the Bhendibazaar gharana: Chhajju Khan, Nazir Khan and Khadim Hussain Khan, sons of Dilawar Hussain Khan of Bijnaur. They trained with Inayat Hussain Khan of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana and settled in Bombay around 1870, by the lineage archive's dating.
Which musicians belong to the Bhendibazaar gharana today?
The most recent singer named as carrying the Bhendibazaar style is Suhasini Koratkar (1944-2017), who revived it from the 1980s after learning from T. D. Janorikar. Disciples of the gharana keep its Swaramandakini archive, which records the lineage and its compositions.
How does the Bhendibazaar gharana differ from the Kirana gharana?
The Bhendibazaar gharana builds its khayal on merukhand note permutations, sargam and rhythmic play, while the Kirana gharana stresses melody over rhythm and precise intonation of each note in a slow vilambit alap. Kirana singers also use sargam, and Abdul Wahid Khan of Kirana sang a merukhand alap. Read more on the Kirana gharana page.
Why is it called the Bhendi Bazaar gharana?
The gharana is named after Bhendi Bazaar, the district of Bombay (Mumbai) where its founding brothers settled. Tradition, recorded in the lineage archive, derives the district's name from the British phrase "Behind the Bazaar", for the area near Crawford Market.
What is merukhand and how does the Bhendibazaar gharana use it?
Merukhand, also called khandmeru, is a method of working a small group of notes through many different orders. Bhendibazaar singers use it to build extended alap and taan, and they treat sargam passages the same way. Family tradition credits Khadim Hussain Khan with vigorous taans in this style.
Where does the Carnatic influence in Bhendibazaar gayaki come from?
The Carnatic influence came chiefly through Aman Ali Khan, son of Chhajju Khan, who studied Carnatic music with Bidaram Krishnappa, a court musician of Mysore. The repertoire holds Carnatic ragas such as Hamsadhwani and Nagaswaravali, and his Hamsadhwani bandish Lagi lagan opens like the kriti Vatapi Ganapatim.
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