Mewati Gharana

मेवाती घराना

Khayal from Mewat by way of Indore, with a devotional, Sufi-tinged feel

Vocal Gharana Indore Early 19th century

Founded By

Ghagge Nazir Khan

The Mewati gharana is a khayal tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music, rooted in Indore and named after Mewat, the region its founding family left. By the family's own account two brothers founded it: the singer Ghagge Nazir Khan and the rudra veena player Wahid Khan. Other accounts credit Ghagge Nazir Khan alone.

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Origins & History

By the family's account, the founders were sons of Imam Khan, who sang dhrupad with his brother Wazir Khan, and the family moved from the Mewat region to Indore in Malwa. Ghagge Nazir Khan trained under Waris Ali Khan of the Qawwal Bacchon gharana and sang at the Jodhpur court, then the Scindia court in Gwalior, and died in Bhopal. He adopted and trained his younger brother Munavvar Khan.

Wahid Khan became the first gandabandh disciple of the been player Bande Ali Khan, tied to him by the thread rite of formal discipleship. At the court of Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar in Indore he received the title Veena Vinod. The family records Bande Ali Khan calling Wahid Khan's playing the taiyyari ki been, the been of taans, and traces the gharana's merukhand taans to it.

The vocal line passed from Ghagge Nazir Khan to his pupils Natthulal and Chimanlal, and Natthulal trained his nephew Motiram. Motiram's son Jasraj, trained after his father's early death by his elder brother Maniram, became the gharana's most prominent singer. Irfan Zuberi, writing after Jasraj's death, names Ghagge Nazir Khan of Jodhpur as the gharana's fountainhead.

"It is distinct from other variants of the genre in its bhajan (devotional songs) and Sufi feel."

— Afshan Ahmed

Profile of Jasraj, The National (Abu Dhabi), 15 December 2013

Cronología histórica

19th century

From Mewat to Indore

By the family's account, the founders' family leaves the Mewat region for Indore in Malwa, where Wahid Khan later serves the Holkar court.
1939

Rais Khan is born

The sitarist Rais Khan is born in Indore into the Mewati gharana's instrumental line, which descends from Wahid Khan.
1990s

Jasrangi first staged

Jasraj's Jasrangi jugalbandi, in which a male and a female singer sing different ragas at once, is first staged in Pune.
2017

Death of Rais Khan

Rais Khan dies in Karachi on 6 May 2017, aged 77, after a career on the sitar in the Mewati instrumental line.

Lineage & Legacy

The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations

The Mewati line split early into a vocal and an instrumental strand. The vocal line ran from Ghagge Nazir Khan through Natthulal to Motiram and his sons, of whom Jasraj carried it furthest. Wahid Khan's sons and grandsons kept the instrumental line, on rudra veena and later sitar. At the Sanand court, Jaiwant Singh Waghela and Ghulam Qadir Khan of the founding family both taught Jasraj.

The founding brothers

Ghagge Nazir Khan

Singer, named as founder in every account

Trained under Waris Ali Khan of the Qawwal Bacchon gharana and sang at the Jodhpur and Gwalior courts. He taught Natthulal and Chimanlal and his younger brother Munavvar Khan.

Wahid Khan

Rudra veena player

Named as co-founder in the family's account, which makes him the elder brother. A disciple of Bande Ali Khan, he received the title Veena Vinod at the Holkar court in Indore.

Munavvar Khan

Singer

Younger brother of the founders, adopted and trained by Ghagge Nazir Khan. He later served the court of Sanand, where the family's teaching continued.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Ghagge Nazir Khan's pupils

Natthulal

Singer

A vocal pupil of Ghagge Nazir Khan, with Chimanlal. He trained his nephew Motiram, who carried the vocal line to Jasraj's generation.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Jasraj's teachers

Motiram

Singer

A Mewati vocalist, father and first teacher of Jasraj. He died when Jasraj was four, shortly before he was to become a court musician in Hyderabad.

Maniram

Singer

Jasraj's elder brother, who became his vocal guru after their father's death. Jasraj first accompanied him on tabla before turning to singing.

Jaiwant Singh Waghela

Singer and patron of Sanand

A Mewati vocalist of Sanand and a patron of Jasraj's family, who guided Jasraj as teacher and spiritual guide. Rajan Parrikar credits him with conceiving the raga Jaiwanti Todi.

Ghulam Qadir Khan

Singer of the founding family

A vocalist of the founding family at the Sanand court, with whom Jasraj also studied, linking the Jasraj line back to the brothers' family.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

Jasraj and his disciples

Jasraj

Died 2020

Singer

The gharana's most prominent exponent. He researched and popularised haveli sangeet, devised the Jasrangi jugalbandi and made meend, the glide between notes, central to the Mewati sound.

Sanjeev Abhyankar

Singer

A vocalist of the Mewati gharana, listed in the family's account among Jasraj's disciples.

Kala Ramnath

Violinist

A violinist who names Jasraj as her guru. The family's account lists her among his disciples, with Sanjeev Abhyankar.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

The instrumental line

Rais Khan

1939-2017

Sitar player

Born in Indore, he belonged to the Mewati gharana's instrumental line, which the family counts in its fourth generation. He died in Karachi on 6 May 2017.

Siraj Khan

Sitar player

Grandson of Wahid Khan's son Latif Khan, named by the family as the present torch bearer of the instrumental line.

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

  • Ghagge Nazir Khan, singer named as founder in every account
  • Wahid Khan, rudra veena player at the Indore court, co-founder in the family's account
  • Motiram, singer, father and first teacher of Jasraj
  • Maniram, singer, Jasraj's elder brother and guru
  • Jaiwant Singh Waghela, Mewati singer of Sanand
  • Jasraj, singer and the gharana's most prominent exponent, died 2020
  • Rais Khan, sitar player of the instrumental line, 1939-2017

Características musicales

Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy

Overall Style

Mewati khayal is set apart by a devotional feel. Afshan Ahmed hears a bhajan and Sufi quality in it, and Jasraj described spiritual and devotional overtones as the gharana's core. Jasraj also made meend, the glide between notes, the heart of its melody, with bhava, feeling, as its watermark, as V Shoba writes. The family traces the gharana's merukhand taans, built from permutations of a few notes, to Wahid Khan's been.

A devotional feel

The Mewati style is distinguished by a bhajan and Sufi feel, and Jasraj named spiritual and devotional overtones as its core.

Meend at the heart

Jasraj redefined the Mewati sound around meend, the glide between notes, with bhava as its watermark and close respect for diction.

Merukhand taans

By the family's account, Wahid Khan's been playing, which Bande Ali Khan called the been of taans, gave the gharana its merukhand and other kinds of taan.

Temple music

Jasraj researched and popularised haveli sangeet, the Krishna-centred raga sewa of the Pushtimarg sect, and composed bandishes in it.

Signature Repertoire

Khayal is the core, sung with a devotional leaning. Jasraj brought haveli sangeet, the temple music of the Pushtimarg tradition, into the concert repertoire. He also devised the Jasrangi jugalbandi, in which a male and a female singer sing different ragas at once, drawing on the moorchana system. Rajan Parrikar credits Jaiwant Singh Waghela with the raga Jaiwanti Todi.

Compare with Similar Gharanas

Understand how Mewati Gharana differs from other traditions

Select a Gharana to Compare:

Mewati Gharana
(Current)		 Gwalior Gharana
(Comparing)
Tipo Vocal Vocal
Origen Indore Gwalior
Era Early 19th century Late 18th century
Estilo Mewati khayal is set apart by a devotional feel. Afshan Ahmed hears a bhajan and Sufi quality in it, and Jasraj described spiritual and devotional overtones as the gharana's core. Jasraj also made meend, the glide between notes, the heart of its melody, with bhava, feeling, as its watermark, as V Shoba writes. The family traces the gharana's merukhand taans, built from permutations of a few notes, to Wahid Khan's been. A Gwalior performance follows its composition. The singer sets out the bandish, the composed song, in its two parts, sthayi and antara, and builds the raga from that structure with the words kept in order. The alap, the unmetred opening, stays short, and the voice is open and full. The method as a whole goes by the name ashtang gayaki, singing built on eight elements.
View Gwalior Gharana Details

Influence & Legacy

Jasraj took the Mewati style to wide audiences for almost seven decades, and the family itself calls him the torch bearer of its vocal tradition. His disciples carried it on, among them the singer Sanjeev Abhyankar and the violinist Kala Ramnath. In the instrumental line, Rais Khan, born in Indore, died in Karachi in 2017. In the family's account, Siraj Khan, grandson of Latif Khan, now leads that line.

Fuentes

  1. Mewati Gharana family archive, About Mewati Gharana and Description of Family Tree (2019)
  2. Irfan Zuberi, obituary of Jasraj, The Wire (2020)
  3. V Shoba, Everyone's Musician, Open (2020)
  4. Afshan Ahmed, profile of Jasraj, The National (2013)
  5. Minna Zutshi, Sangeet Samrat, The Tribune (2006)
  6. Rajan P. Parrikar, The Empire of Todi (n.d.)

Preguntas frecuentes

What is the Mewati gharana?

The Mewati gharana is a khayal tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music, rooted in Indore and named after Mewat, the region its founding family left. It is known for a devotional, bhajan and Sufi feel, and through Jasraj for meend at the heart of its melody.

Who founded the Mewati gharana?

Ghagge Nazir Khan is named as founder in every account. The family's own account and Afshan Ahmed name him with his brother Wahid Khan, a rudra veena player at the Holkar court in Indore, as joint founders. Irfan Zuberi names Ghagge Nazir Khan alone as the gharana's fountainhead.

Which musicians belong to the Mewati gharana today?

Jasraj's disciples carry the vocal line, among them the singer Sanjeev Abhyankar and the violinist Kala Ramnath; Jasraj himself died in 2020. In the instrumental line, the family names Siraj Khan, grandson of Wahid Khan's son Latif Khan, as its present torch bearer.

How does the Mewati gharana differ from the Gwalior gharana?

Mewati khayal is marked by a devotional, bhajan and Sufi feel and, since Jasraj, by meend at the heart of its melody, while Gwalior khayal is led by the bandish, with a short alap and an open voice. Ghagge Nazir Khan himself sang at the Scindia court in Gwalior.

Is the name Mewati from Mewat or Mewar?

The name comes from Mewat. By the family's account, the founders' family moved from the Mewat region to Indore in Malwa, and Jasraj described the gharana as having its origins in Mewat, which he placed in Rajasthan.

Is the Mewati gharana known for bhajans?

The Mewati gharana is a khayal tradition with a devotional leaning. Its singing has a bhajan and Sufi feel, and Jasraj brought haveli sangeet, Krishna-centred temple music, into its repertoire.

What is the link between Jasraj and the Mewati gharana?

Jasraj was the Mewati gharana's most prominent exponent. His father Motiram was a Mewati vocalist trained by Natthulal, a pupil of Ghagge Nazir Khan, and after Motiram's death his elder brother Maniram became his guru. He also studied with Jaiwant Singh Waghela and Ghulam Qadir Khan at Sanand.

Does the Mewati gharana have dhrupad roots?

Yes, by the family's account. The founders' father, Imam Khan, and his brother Wazir Khan were dhrupad singers, and Wahid Khan played the rudra veena as a disciple of the been player Bande Ali Khan. Ghagge Nazir Khan then trained in khayal under Waris Ali Khan of the Qawwal Bacchon gharana.

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