Origins & History
Accounts differ on the founder. Many name Imdad Khan, the gharana's eponym, while family accounts begin a generation earlier with his father and first teacher, Sahabdad Khan, a singer who also played sitar or surbahar. Family tradition ties Sahabdad Khan to Haddu Khan and Hassu Khan of Gwalior and credits him with shaping the surbahar, a credit other accounts do not share. A family legend holds that he was born Sahib Singh, a Hindu, and later became a Muslim.
Imdad Khan is described as building his sitar style on khayal singing, a break from the dhrupad-based Senia style that governed instrumental music in his century. He is also described as the first sitar player to make a gramophone recording, in 1904.
Imdad Khan taught his sons Enayat Khan on sitar and Wahid Khan on surbahar, and the line divided into two branches. Enayat Khan settled in Calcutta and moved the family's base there.
Chronologie historique
First sitar recording
Vilayat Khan is born
Imrat Khan is born
Enayat Khan dies
Wahid Khan in Jalsaghar
Vilayat Khan dies
Imrat Khan dies
Yuva Puraskar for Shakir Khan
Lineage & Legacy
The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations
The Calcutta branch runs from Enayat Khan to his sons Vilayat Khan and Imrat Khan, who learned largely from their mother Bashiran Begum and her family after their father's early death. Imrat Khan taught his five sons, among them Nishat Khan. The second branch runs from Wahid Khan to his son Aziz Khan and grandson Shahid Parvez, whose son Shakir Khan plays today. Outside the family, Enayat Khan's student Bimalendu Mukherjee taught his son Budhaditya Mukherjee.
Founders
Sahabdad Khan
19th century
Singer and sitar or surbahar player
Imdad Khan
Late 19th and early 20th century
Sitar and surbahar player
Imdad Khan's sons
Enayat Khan
1894-1938
Sitar and surbahar player
Wahid Khan
Surbahar and sitar player
Third generation
Vilayat Khan
1928-2004
Sitar player
Imrat Khan
1935-2018
Surbahar and sitar player
Aziz Khan
Film composer and teacher
Bimalendu Mukherjee
Sitar player
Present generation
Shahid Parvez
Sitar player
Shujaat Khan
Sitar player
Nishat Khan
Sitar player
Budhaditya Mukherjee
Sitar player
Shakir Khan
Sitar player
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
- Sahabdad Khan, named founder in family accounts, 19th century
- Imdad Khan, sitar and surbahar, the gharana's eponym
- Enayat Khan, 1894-1938, Calcutta branch
- Wahid Khan, surbahar and sitar, head of the second branch
- Vilayat Khan, 1928-2004, sitar
- Imrat Khan, 1935-2018, surbahar and sitar
- Shahid Parvez, sitar, Wahid Khan branch
- Shakir Khan, sitar, son and disciple of Shahid Parvez
Caractéristiques musicales
Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy
Overall Style
Etawah playing follows the voice. Imdad Khan is described as basing his sitar on khayal singing, and that choice grew into the gayaki ang, a way of playing that copies the inflections of a singer. The family plays both the sitar and the surbahar, the larger bass sitar, and family accounts give close attention to meend, the glide between notes, and murki, a quick ornament.
Gayaki ang
Built on khayal
Sitar and surbahar
Meend and murki
Signature Repertoire
Family accounts set out the concert form: alap, jor and jhala without percussion, then a gat with tabla. Jhala and thok jhala form separate sections, and todas and tihais follow a fixed order. Subhas Chanda's Sangeet Natak Akademi study, as its publisher describes it, records a full-length alap in raga Yaman that Imdad Khan composed for the surbahar.
Famous Compositions
Alap in Yaman for surbahar
By: Imdad Khan
Why it's special:
Compare with Similar Gharanas
Understand how Etawah Gharana differs from other traditions
Select a Gharana to Compare:
| Etawah Gharana (Current) |
Senia Gharana (Comparing) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Type | Sitar | Sitar |
| Origine | Etawah | Jaipur |
| Era | Late 18th century | |
| Style | Etawah playing follows the voice. Imdad Khan is described as basing his sitar on khayal singing, and that choice grew into the gayaki ang, a way of playing that copies the inflections of a singer. The family plays both the sitar and the surbahar, the larger bass sitar, and family accounts give close attention to meend, the glide between notes, and murki, a quick ornament. | Senia sitar draws on the rudra veena, or been, and on dhrupad, the court vocal form Tansen sang. Allyn Miner traces how been techniques such as meend, the glide between notes, gamak, a heavy shake of the note, and sut moved onto the sitar, and closes a chapter with an analysis of the Senia style. In his account of his guru Mushtaq Ali Khan, Debu Chaudhuri names yukti, musical logic, as the Senia principle. |
Influence & Legacy
The gharana's base in Calcutta shaped the sitar there: James Hamilton's study, as reviewed in Sangeet Natak, traces the Imdadkhani style mainly to that city. Family accounts record Enayat Khan's friendship with Rabindranath Tagore. The style passed outside the family through Enayat Khan's students Bimalendu Mukherjee and Bimalakanta Roychaudhuri, and the gayaki ang it developed is now credited to the gharana as its defining contribution.
Sources
- Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust, biographies of Vilayat Khan, Imrat Khan, Shahid Parvez and Budhaditya Mukherjee (n.d.)
- Rediff News, The master of sitar is no more (2004)
- Varinder Singh, Sammelan loses star guest, The Tribune (2004)
- Outlook, obituary of Imrat Khan (2018)
- Subhas Chanda, The Imdadkhani Baj (2020)
Questions fréquentes
What is the Etawah (Imdadkhani) gharana of sitar?
The Etawah or Imdadkhani gharana is a school of sitar and surbahar playing from North India, built around Imdad Khan in the 19th century. It is known for the gayaki ang, a way of playing that follows the inflections of the voice.
Who founded the Etawah (Imdadkhani) gharana of sitar?
Many accounts name Imdad Khan, after whom the gharana is called Imdadkhani, as its founder. Family accounts begin a generation earlier with his father and first teacher, Sahabdad Khan, a singer who also played sitar or surbahar.
Which musicians belong to the Etawah (Imdadkhani) gharana of sitar today?
Shahid Parvez and his son Shakir Khan carry the Wahid Khan branch. Shujaat Khan, son of Vilayat Khan, and Nishat Khan, son of Imrat Khan, carry the Calcutta branch, and Budhaditya Mukherjee carries the style outside the family.
Is the Etawah gharana the same as the Imdadkhani gharana?
Yes. Etawah and Imdadkhani are two names for one gharana: the first comes from the family's town near Agra, the second from Imdad Khan. Current artist biographies often join them, as the Imdadkhani (Etawah) gharana.
Why is it named after Etawah?
The family lived in Etawah, near Agra, and the gharana took the town's name. Accounts differ on whether Imdad Khan or his father, Sahabdad Khan, settled there.
What is gayaki ang, and who developed it?
Gayaki ang is a way of playing the sitar that follows the inflections of vocal music. Press obituaries of 2004 credit Vilayat Khan with introducing it, while other accounts credit his father Enayat Khan with developing it. It grew from Imdad Khan's khayal-based style.
How does the Etawah style differ from the Senia style of sitar?
The Etawah style is described as built on khayal singing and follows the voice, while the Senia style rests on dhrupad and on rudra veena technique. Imdad Khan's khayal-based style is described as a break from the dhrupad-based Senia style of his century. See the Senia gharana.
Why does the gharana cover the surbahar as well as the sitar?
The gharana covers both because its founders played both: Imdad Khan taught Enayat Khan on sitar and Wahid Khan on surbahar. Family accounts credit Sahabdad Khan with shaping the surbahar, and Imrat Khan later played both instruments in concert.
Have more questions? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to help!