--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-lk/gharana/ajrara-gharana' title: 'Ajrara Gharana' author: name: Anonymous updated: '2026-11-05T00:08:33+00:00' type: website summary: 'The Ajrara gharana, also spelt Ajrada, is a school of tabla playing named after Ajrara, a village in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. It arose in the late 18th or early 19th century, when the brothers Kallu Khan and Miru Khan brought Delhi teaching home to their village. It is one of the six main tabla gharanas.' tags: - 'Delhi Gharana (Tabla)' 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 --- # Ajrara Gharana अजराड़ा घराना Delhi technique with a ring finger, a busy bayan and qaidas in threes Tabla Gharana Ajrara, Uttar Pradesh Founded By Kallu Khan, Miru Khan The **Ajrara gharana**, also spelt Ajrada, is a school of [tabla](/en-lk/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla) playing named after Ajrara, a village in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. It arose in the late 18th or early 19th century, when the brothers Kallu Khan and Miru Khan brought Delhi teaching home to their village. It is one of the six main tabla gharanas. [Sign in to follow](/en-lk/user/login?flag_anon=follow_term-5&destination=/en-lk/markdownify/taxonomy/term/5) [ Share ](/en-lk/share/term/5) ### Quick Facts Type Tabla Gharana Origin Ajrara, Uttar Pradesh ## Origins & History The school is traced to two brothers, **Kallu Khan** and **Miru Khan**; Miru also appears as Meeru. Aneesh Pradhan names them as disciples of Sitab Khan of the [Delhi gharana](/en-lk/gharana/delhi-gharana-tabla). Johri writes that they went to Delhi for their talim, their training, and came back, and that return is why Ajrara counts as an offshoot of Delhi. Sitab Khan's own place in the Delhi line is disputed. Oxford Reference makes him the son of Bughara Khan and a grandson of Siddhar Khan, the Delhi gharana's founder. The SwarGanga Music Foundation calls him a disciple of Bugra Khan instead. Either way he stood one generation below Siddhar Khan's son. Pradhan writes that the gharana is believed to have started in the late 18th century, and other accounts put it at the beginning of the 19th. The brothers' style kept the Delhi bols and added its own fingering and bass work, the features that still mark the school. ## Historical Timeline Late 18th or early 19th century ### Kallu Khan and Miru Khan found the school The brothers return from their training under Sitab Khan in Delhi and settle the style at Ajrara, a village in Meerut district. 1899 ### Habibuddin Khan is born Birth of Habibuddin Khan, son of Shammu Khan and later the best-known Ajrara player. 1971 ### Gottlieb records five tabla masters Robert Gottlieb records five tabla masters in India for his study of six traditions. For Ajrara he uses older tapes of Habibuddin Khan, who had stopped performing. 1972 ### Habibuddin Khan dies Habibuddin Khan, the 20th-century master of the Ajrara line, dies. 1983 ### Saxena retires from Baroda Sudhir Kumar Saxena retires as head of instrumental music at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda after 33 years of teaching there. ## Lineage & Legacy The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations The Ajrara line passed within families and to pupils from outside them. **Habibuddin Khan** took his first lessons from his father, Shammu Khan, and later learned from masters of other gharanas, Delhi among them. The school also taught pupils from outside: Sudhir Kumar Saxena trained with Habibuddin Khan at Meerut and carried the style into university teaching at Baroda. In the present generation, [Ustad Akram Khan](/en-lk/artist/akram-khan) learned from Niazu Khan, his father Hashmat Ali Khan and his great-grandfather Mohammad Shafi Khan. ### Founders #### Kallu Khan Late 18th or early 19th century Co-founder One of the two founding brothers; the name also appears as Kallo or Kalu. He learned in Delhi under Sitab Khan and brought that material back to Ajrara. #### Miru Khan Late 18th or early 19th century Co-founder Kallu Khan's brother and fellow disciple of Sitab Khan in Delhi. His name also appears as Miroo or Meeru, and he shares the credit for founding the school. Guru-Shishya Tradition ### Habibuddin Khan's line #### Shammu Khan Ajrara player, father of Habibuddin Khan Shammu Khan of Ajrara gave his son Habibuddin Khan his first training. #### Habibuddin Khan 1899-1972 20th-century master The best-known Ajrara player of the 20th century and the gharana's representative in Robert Gottlieb's study of six tabla traditions. #### Sudhir Kumar Saxena 1923-2007 Pupil of Habibuddin Khan Learned from Habibuddin Khan at Meerut and taught for 33 years at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, retiring in 1983 as head of instrumental music. Guru-Shishya Tradition ### Ustad Akram Khan and his teachers #### Niazu Khan Teacher Taught in the Ajrara gharana. He gave Ustad Akram Khan his first training in tabla, before he went on to learn within his own family. #### Hashmat Ali Khan Ajrara player Ajrara tabla player and the father of Ustad Akram Khan, who names him among his teachers in the gharana. #### Ustad Akram Khan Present-day exponent Plays in the Ajrara gharana today. He trained with Niazu Khan and with his great-grandfather Mohammad Shafi Khan as well as his father. 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 - Kallu Khan and Miru Khan, brothers and co-founders - Shammu Khan, father and first teacher of Habibuddin Khan - Habibuddin Khan, 1899-1972, 20th-century master - Sudhir Kumar Saxena, 1923-2007, pupil of Habibuddin Khan, taught at Baroda - Niazu Khan, teacher of Ustad Akram Khan - Ustad Akram Khan, present-day exponent ## Musical Characteristics Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy ### Overall Style Ajrara starts from the Delhi technique and changes the balance of the two drums. Like Delhi it follows the closed or **bandh** style, with less resonant strokes, yet it gives the bayan, the left-hand bass drum, a larger part. Players also add the ring finger. Its compositions lean on triplet rhythm, and much of its repertoire is built from qaidas, themes played with set variations. #### The ring finger Ajrara players keep the Delhi fingering and add the ring finger, the third finger, to the strokes. Renu Johri records the change. #### A larger bayan The left-hand bass drum takes a bigger role than in Delhi playing, with more dagga, the bass strokes. Aneesh Pradhan notes Habibuddin Khan's skill on the bayan. #### Jhul Jhul is a swaying pattern in the bols, made by changing wrist pressure on the bayan. Aneesh Pradhan names it as a mark of Ajrara phrasing. #### Aad laya and tisra jati Qaidas in aad laya set three strokes against every two beats, and tisra jati builds phrases on groupings of three. Renu Johri calls the aad laya qaida the gharana's signature pattern. ## Signature Repertoire Aneesh Pradhan writes that Ajrara focuses on qaida, rela and rav, its main compositional forms. A qaida is a theme with set variations; a rela is a fast, rolling composition. The **aad laya qaida**, set in a lilt of three strokes to two beats, is the form most tied to the gharana. Renu Johri adds that every tabla gharana now plays aad laya qaidas, though the form still points back to Ajrara. ## Compare with Similar Gharanas Understand how Ajrara Gharana differs from other traditions Select a Gharana to Compare: Delhi Gharana (Tabla) | | Ajrara Gharana (Current) | Delhi Gharana (Tabla) (Comparing) | |---|---|---| | Type | Tabla | Tabla | | Origin | Ajrara, Uttar Pradesh | Delhi | | Style | Ajrara starts from the Delhi technique and changes the balance of the two drums. Like Delhi it follows the closed or bandh style, with less resonant strokes, yet it gives the bayan, the left-hand bass drum, a larger part. Players also add the ring finger. Its compositions lean on triplet rhythm, and much of its repertoire is built from qaidas, themes played with set variations. | Delhi tabla is played at the rim. Musicians call it kinar baj, the rim style, because the main right-hand stroke falls at the edge of the drumhead, and many phrases use only two fingers. Pradhan describes it as a band baj, a quieter and closed style, set against the more resonant khula baj. The qaida, a theme with set variations, sits at its centre. | [View Delhi Gharana (Tabla) Details ](/en-lk/gharana/delhi-gharana-tabla) ## Influence & Legacy Tabla players of every gharana now play the aad laya qaida, which remains identified with Ajrara. Sudhir Kumar Saxena took the style into university teaching at Baroda, and his publishers call him the first drummer in India to work as Professor of Tabla at a centre of higher learning. Gottlieb's study keeps Habibuddin Khan's playing on record, and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts holds a concert recording of him made in Varanasi. ## Sources 1. Robert S. Gottlieb, Solo Tabla Drumming of North India (1998) 2. Renu Johri, Gharanas of Tabla and Its Signature Patterns (2014) 3. Aneesh Pradhan, Habibuddin Khan of the Ajrada gharana, Scroll.in (2016) 4. Sudhir Kumar Saxena, The Art of Tabla Rhythm (2018) 5. Oxford Reference, Sitab Khan and Habibuddin Khan (n.d.) 6. SwarGanga Music Foundation, Akram Khan and Siddhar Khan (n.d.) ## Frequently Asked Questions What is the Ajrara gharana of tabla? The Ajrara gharana is one of the six main schools of [tabla](/en-lk/instrumental/hindustani-classical/tabla), named after the village of Ajrara in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. It grew out of the Delhi gharana and is known for its use of the ring finger, a strong bayan and qaidas in aad laya. Who founded the Ajrara gharana of tabla? Two brothers, **Kallu Khan** and **Miru Khan**, founded the Ajrara gharana in the late 18th or early 19th century. Both were pupils of Sitab Khan of Delhi. Which musicians belong to the Ajrara gharana of tabla today? [Ustad Akram Khan](/en-lk/artist/akram-khan), son of Hashmat Ali Khan, is a present-day Ajrara player. He took his first lessons from Niazu Khan and also learned from his great-grandfather, Mohammad Shafi Khan. The 20th-century line before him ran through Habibuddin Khan and his pupil Sudhir Kumar Saxena. How does the Ajrara gharana of tabla differ from the Delhi gharana? Ajrara keeps the Delhi technique but adds the ring finger and gives the bayan, the bass drum, more work, including jhul, a sway made by wrist pressure. Both play in the closed bandh style. Ajrara's founders trained in Delhi, so the school counts as an offshoot of the [Delhi gharana](/en-lk/gharana/delhi-gharana-tabla). Why is it called Ajrara (or Ajrada)? The gharana is called Ajrara because its founders, Kallu Khan and Miru Khan, came from Ajrara, a village in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh. Ajrada is another spelling of the same name, used by Renu Johri, Aneesh Pradhan and Sudhir Kumar Saxena. What is an aad laya qaida, and why is it linked to Ajrara? An aad laya qaida is a qaida, a theme with set variations, played three strokes to every two beats. Renu Johri calls it the signature pattern of the Ajrara gharana. Tabla players of every gharana now play these qaidas, but the form is still identified with Ajrara. How does Ajrara use the bayan? Ajrara gives the bayan, the left-hand bass drum, a larger role than Delhi, with more dagga strokes. Aneesh Pradhan describes jhul, a swaying pattern in the bols made by changing wrist pressure on the bayan, and notes Habibuddin Khan's skill on that drum. When did the Ajrara gharana begin? The Ajrara gharana began in the late 18th or early 19th century. Aneesh Pradhan gives the late 18th century as the believed start; other accounts prefer the beginning of the 19th. Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!