--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-gb/gharana/gwalior-gharana' title: 'Gwalior Gharana' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-10-17T12:06:49+00:00' type: website summary: "The Gwalior gharana is a school of khayal singing in Hindustani classical music, named after the princely state of Gwalior, where it took shape at the Scindia court in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Bonnie C. Wade and others call it the oldest of the khayal gharanas. The family of the Delhi gharana claims that place for its own line. Before khayal, Gwalior was a centre of dhrupad under Raja Man Singh Tomar (reigned 1486 to 1516).Daulatrao Scindia (reigned 1794 to 1827) was a key patron. One account says he wanted a distinct Gwalior style and calls it the Lashkari khayal. Several sources credit Nathan Pir Bakhsh as founder. Nathan Pir Bakhsh's grandsons, Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan, shaped the style with their kinsman Natthu Khan. Other accounts name the brothers as founders. A story told in the gharana says the brothers hid beneath the Maharaja's throne to learn the taans of the rival singer Bade Mohammad Khan. The story is legend, and sources disagree on when he reached Gwalior.The Gwalior method goes by the name ashtang gayaki, singing built on eight elements, and sources disagree on which eight. The bandish, the set composition, governs the performance: the singer presents its two sections, sthayi and antara, and builds the raga from its structure. The voice is open and full-throated across three octaves, and the alap, the opening unmetred exposition, stays short. Singers draw on many types of taan, the fast run of notes, among them sapat taans sung with gamak, a heavy oscillation, and taans that span all three octaves. Several accounts place tappa in the repertoire, and the Pandit family of Gwalior adds tap-khayal and bandishi thumri.The gharana passed through a Muslim family line, from Nathan Pir Bakhsh to Nissar Hussain Khan, and through Hindu lines that began with disciples in Gwalior and Maharashtra. Other gharanas drew on it: Ghagge Khuda Baksh of the Agra gharana studied with Nathan Pir Bakhsh, and Inayat Hussain Khan of Rampur-Sahaswan married Haddu Khan's daughter, by his family's account. Nissar Hussain Khan, adopted son of Natthu Khan, lived with the Pandit family from 1886 until his death in 1916 and taught Shankar Pandit. Shankar Pandit's son Krishnarao Shankar Pandit founded the Shankar Gandharva Vidyalaya in Gwalior in 1914. In Maharashtra, Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar spread the style, and his disciple Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901.Key exponentsNathan Pir Bakhsh, credited founder, late 18th to early 19th centuryHaddu Khan, grandson of Nathan Pir Bakhsh, died 1883Hassu Khan, grandson of Nathan Pir Bakhsh and brother of Haddu KhanNissar Hussain Khan, adopted son of Natthu Khan and teacher of the Pandit family, died 1916Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, founder of the gharana's Maharashtra streamVishnu Digambar Paluskar, disciple of Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, 1872 to 1931Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, founder of the Shankar Gandharva Vidyalaya in Gwalior, died 1989Malini Rajurkar, vocalist of the gharanaSourcesMukund Lath, What is Khyal? A Critique of Wade's Khyal, NCPA Quarterly Journal (1988)Amar Farooqui, Mihirakula to Marathas to Madhya Pradesh: The Brief History of Gwalior, SahapediaSamrat Bhattacharjee, Gharana and its Colour of Ornamentation, Naad-Nartan Journal of Dance and Music (2025)Amrita Sarkhel, Development and characteristics of Agra-Atrauli Gharana of Khayal, Naad-Nartan Journal of Dance and Music (2020)Meeta Pandit, Gwalior's Musical Heritage, SahapediaAneesh Pradhan, Scroll columns on Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (2014) and the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (2018)" image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:secure_url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg' 'image:type': image/svg+xml 'image:alt': KalaSudha --- ## [Gwalior Gharana ](/en-gb/gharana/gwalior-gharana) The **Gwalior gharana** is a school of [khayal](/en-gb/vocal/hindustani-classical/khayal) singing in Hindustani classical music, named after the princely state of Gwalior, where it took shape at the Scindia court in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Bonnie C. Wade and others call it the oldest of the khayal gharanas. The family of the Delhi gharana claims that place for its own line. Before khayal, Gwalior was a centre of dhrupad under Raja Man Singh Tomar (reigned 1486 to 1516). Daulatrao Scindia (reigned 1794 to 1827) was a key patron. One account says he wanted a distinct Gwalior style and calls it the Lashkari khayal. Several sources credit Nathan Pir Bakhsh as founder. Nathan Pir Bakhsh's grandsons, Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan, shaped the style with their kinsman Natthu Khan. Other accounts name the brothers as founders. A story told in the gharana says the brothers hid beneath the Maharaja's throne to learn the taans of the rival singer Bade Mohammad Khan. The story is legend, and sources disagree on when he reached Gwalior. The Gwalior method goes by the name **ashtang gayaki**, singing built on eight elements, and sources disagree on which eight. The **bandish**, the set composition, governs the performance: the singer presents its two sections, sthayi and antara, and builds the raga from its structure. The voice is open and full-throated across three octaves, and the alap, the opening unmetred exposition, stays short. Singers draw on many types of taan, the fast run of notes, among them **sapat taans** sung with gamak, a heavy oscillation, and taans that span all three octaves. Several accounts place [tappa](/en-gb/vocal/hindustani-classical/tappa) in the repertoire, and the Pandit family of Gwalior adds tap-khayal and bandishi thumri. The gharana passed through a Muslim family line, from Nathan Pir Bakhsh to Nissar Hussain Khan, and through Hindu lines that began with disciples in Gwalior and Maharashtra. Other gharanas drew on it: Ghagge Khuda Baksh of the [Agra gharana](/en-gb/gharana/agra-gharana) studied with Nathan Pir Bakhsh, and Inayat Hussain Khan of Rampur-Sahaswan married Haddu Khan's daughter, by his family's account. Nissar Hussain Khan, adopted son of Natthu Khan, lived with the Pandit family from 1886 until his death in 1916 and taught Shankar Pandit. Shankar Pandit's son Krishnarao Shankar Pandit founded the Shankar Gandharva Vidyalaya in Gwalior in 1914. In Maharashtra, Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar spread the style, and his disciple Vishnu Digambar Paluskar founded the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Lahore in 1901. ### Key exponents - Nathan Pir Bakhsh, credited founder, late 18th to early 19th century - Haddu Khan, grandson of Nathan Pir Bakhsh, died 1883 - Hassu Khan, grandson of Nathan Pir Bakhsh and brother of Haddu Khan - Nissar Hussain Khan, adopted son of Natthu Khan and teacher of the Pandit family, died 1916 - Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, founder of the gharana's Maharashtra stream - Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, disciple of Balkrishnabuwa Ichalkaranjikar, 1872 to 1931 - Krishnarao Shankar Pandit, founder of the Shankar Gandharva Vidyalaya in Gwalior, died 1989 - Malini Rajurkar, vocalist of the gharana ### Sources - Mukund Lath, What is Khyal? A Critique of Wade's Khyal, NCPA Quarterly Journal (1988) - Amar Farooqui, Mihirakula to Marathas to Madhya Pradesh: The Brief History of Gwalior, Sahapedia - Samrat Bhattacharjee, Gharana and its Colour of Ornamentation, Naad-Nartan Journal of Dance and Music (2025) - Amrita Sarkhel, Development and characteristics of Agra-Atrauli Gharana of Khayal, Naad-Nartan Journal of Dance and Music (2020) - Meeta Pandit, Gwalior's Musical Heritage, Sahapedia - Aneesh Pradhan, Scroll columns on Krishnarao Shankar Pandit (2014) and the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya (2018) [Sign in to follow](/en-gb/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-330&destination=/en-gb/markdownify/taxonomy/term/330)