--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-in/gharana/senia-gharana' title: 'Senia Gharana' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-10-17T11:44:25+00:00' type: website summary: "The Senia gharana is a sitar school of Hindustani classical music that, by its own history, took shape in Jaipur in the mid-18th century after its musicians left Muhammad Shah's declining Delhi court. It takes its name from Tansen, Akbar's 16th-century court musician, and its hereditary musicians claim descent from him. Steven Landsberg's history calls it the Jaipur Senia gharana, and Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury places the Jaipur line among the western Senias, apart from the eastern Senias of Lucknow and Varanasi.The gharana credits Masit Khan, also written Masit Sen, with the first sitar baj, or playing style, and the Masitkhani gat, a form of fixed instrumental composition, carries his name. Allyn Miner's history starts elsewhere, with Khusrau Khan and his nephew Firoz Khan bringing the sitar to Delhi. The line runs on to Rahim Sen and his son Amrit Sen, and Miner sees a new phase in sitar music begin with Rahim Sen. Landsberg counts the generations two ways, making Rahim Sen probably Masit Khan's great-grandson and elsewhere calling Amrit Sen his grandson. Roychoudhury traces the Jaipur line instead to Tansen's son Tarang Khan.Senia sitar draws on the rudra veena, or been, and on dhrupad, the court vocal form Tansen sang, and Landsberg calls Masit Khan a Senia beenkar. Been techniques such as meend, the glide between notes, and gamak, a heavy shake of the note, moved onto the sitar, and Miner traces the shift, then ends a chapter analysing the Senia style. In his account of his guru Mushtaq Ali Khan, Debu Chaudhuri names yukti, musical logic, as the Senia principle.Amrit Sen served Maharaja Ram Singh at the Jaipur court, and Landsberg lists Imdad Khan among Amrit Sen's pupils. By James Sadler Hamilton's account, Imdad Khan built a separate style in Calcutta, the Imdadkhani baj, which the Etawah gharana carried. Landsberg names two teachers for Barkatullah Khan in two passages, Amrit Sen and his nephew Amir Khan. Barkatullah Khan taught sitar to the surbahar player Ashiq Ali Khan after they met in Varanasi. Ashiq Ali Khan and his son Mushtaq Ali Khan carried the line through discipleship, and Mushtaq Ali Khan won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1968. His disciple Debu Chaudhuri lectured at Delhi University and held the Padma Bhushan. Prateek Chaudhuri, his son and pupil, taught there too and died on 6 May 2021, days after his father.Key exponentsTansen, 16th-century dhrupad singer at Akbar's court, claimed as ancestor by the hereditary lineMasit Khan (Masit Sen), credited by the lineage with the first sitar baj and the Masitkhani gatAmrit Sen, died 1893, sitarist at the Jaipur courtBarkatullah Khan, died 1930, sitarist recorded in 1904 and teacher of Ashiq Ali KhanAshiq Ali Khan, surbahar and sitar player, father and teacher of Mushtaq Ali KhanMushtaq Ali Khan, 1911 to 1989, sitarist and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner in 1968Debu Chaudhuri, 1935 to 2021, sitarist and lecturer at Delhi UniversityPrateek Chaudhuri, died 2021, sitarist and son of Debu ChaudhuriSourcesBirendra Kishore Roychoudhury, Senia gharana of Rampur, Sangeet Natak no. 29 (1973)Jayasri Banerjee, review of Allyn Miner, Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries, Sangeet Natak (1997)Suneera Kasliwal, review of James Sadler Hamilton, Sitar Music in Calcutta, Sangeet Natak (1991)Debu Chaudhuri, account of Mushtaq Ali Khan (text published by RaagGiri Trust)Steven Landsberg, lineage history of the Jaipur Senia gharanaBanglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, entries on Gharana and Dhrupad" 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 --- ## [Senia Gharana ](/en-in/gharana/senia-gharana) The **Senia gharana** is a [sitar](/en-in/instrumental/hindustani-classical/sitar) school of Hindustani classical music that, by its own history, took shape in Jaipur in the mid-18th century after its musicians left Muhammad Shah's declining Delhi court. It takes its name from Tansen, Akbar's 16th-century court musician, and its hereditary musicians claim descent from him. Steven Landsberg's history calls it the **Jaipur Senia gharana**, and Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury places the Jaipur line among the western Senias, apart from the eastern Senias of Lucknow and Varanasi. The gharana credits **Masit Khan**, also written Masit Sen, with the first sitar baj, or playing style, and the **Masitkhani gat**, a form of fixed instrumental composition, carries his name. Allyn Miner's history starts elsewhere, with Khusrau Khan and his nephew Firoz Khan bringing the sitar to Delhi. The line runs on to Rahim Sen and his son Amrit Sen, and Miner sees a new phase in sitar music begin with Rahim Sen. Landsberg counts the generations two ways, making Rahim Sen probably Masit Khan's great-grandson and elsewhere calling Amrit Sen his grandson. Roychoudhury traces the Jaipur line instead to Tansen's son Tarang Khan. Senia sitar draws on the **rudra veena**, or been, and on **dhrupad**, the court vocal form Tansen sang, and Landsberg calls Masit Khan a Senia beenkar. Been techniques such as meend, the glide between notes, and gamak, a heavy shake of the note, moved onto the sitar, and Miner traces the shift, then ends a chapter analysing the Senia style. In his account of his guru Mushtaq Ali Khan, Debu Chaudhuri names yukti, musical logic, as the Senia principle. Amrit Sen served Maharaja Ram Singh at the Jaipur court, and Landsberg lists Imdad Khan among Amrit Sen's pupils. By James Sadler Hamilton's account, Imdad Khan built a separate style in Calcutta, the Imdadkhani baj, which the [Etawah gharana](/en-in/gharana/etawah-gharana) carried. Landsberg names two teachers for Barkatullah Khan in two passages, Amrit Sen and his nephew Amir Khan. Barkatullah Khan taught sitar to the [surbahar](/en-in/instrumental/hindustani-classical/surbahar) player Ashiq Ali Khan after they met in Varanasi. Ashiq Ali Khan and his son Mushtaq Ali Khan carried the line through discipleship, and Mushtaq Ali Khan won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1968. His disciple Debu Chaudhuri lectured at Delhi University and held the Padma Bhushan. Prateek Chaudhuri, his son and pupil, taught there too and died on 6 May 2021, days after his father. ### Key exponents - Tansen, 16th-century dhrupad singer at Akbar's court, claimed as ancestor by the hereditary line - Masit Khan (Masit Sen), credited by the lineage with the first sitar baj and the Masitkhani gat - Amrit Sen, died 1893, sitarist at the Jaipur court - Barkatullah Khan, died 1930, sitarist recorded in 1904 and teacher of Ashiq Ali Khan - Ashiq Ali Khan, surbahar and sitar player, father and teacher of Mushtaq Ali Khan - Mushtaq Ali Khan, 1911 to 1989, sitarist and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner in 1968 - Debu Chaudhuri, 1935 to 2021, sitarist and lecturer at Delhi University - Prateek Chaudhuri, died 2021, sitarist and son of Debu Chaudhuri ### Sources - Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury, Senia gharana of Rampur, Sangeet Natak no. 29 (1973) - Jayasri Banerjee, review of Allyn Miner, Sitar and Sarod in the 18th and 19th Centuries, Sangeet Natak (1997) - Suneera Kasliwal, review of James Sadler Hamilton, Sitar Music in Calcutta, Sangeet Natak (1991) - Debu Chaudhuri, account of Mushtaq Ali Khan (text published by RaagGiri Trust) - Steven Landsberg, lineage history of the Jaipur Senia gharana - Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, entries on Gharana and Dhrupad [Sign in to follow](/en-in/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-351&destination=/en-in/markdownify/taxonomy/term/351)