Origins & History
Allauddin Khan was born in Shibpur in Brahmanbaria, eastern Bengal, in 1862 or 1881 by different accounts. In Calcutta he studied voice with Nulo Gopal for about seven years, then instruments with Amritalal Dutt and violin with a Goan bandmaster, Lobo, and later took sarod lessons from Ahmed Ali Khan. At Rampur he became a disciple of Wazir Khan, a veena player of the Rampur court descended from Tansen's line.
From 1918 by most accounts (Darbar's artist profile gives 1907) until his death in 1972 he lived at Maihar as court musician to Maharaja Brijnath Singh, and the school took its name from the state. Jameela Siddiqi places a Maihar tradition in the 19th century. Known chiefly as a sarod player, Allauddin Khan played and taught many instruments, and at Maihar he formed an orchestra of Indian instruments, the Maihar Band.
Ravi Shankar began studying at Maihar in 1938 and married Allauddin Khan's daughter Annapurna Devi in 1941; Nikhil Banerjee arrived in 1947. The sarod line of his son Ali Akbar Khan has its own page, the Senia-Maihar gharana.
"he actually introduced to sitar and sarod the style of sursringar, surbahar and veena"
Chronologie historique
Allauddin Khan settles at Maihar
Ravi Shankar arrives at Maihar
Ravi Shankar marries Annapurna Devi
Nikhil Banerjee arrives at Maihar
Maihar College of Music founded
Death of Allauddin Khan
Lineage & Legacy
The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations
The Maihar line passed through Allauddin Khan's children and through disciples from outside the family, on many instruments. His son Ali Akbar Khan played sarod and his daughter Annapurna Devi the surbahar, and both later taught. On the sitar his disciples included Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee and Indranil Bhattacharya, and his disciple Ajoy Sinha Roy taught Kushal Das. The flautist Pannalal Ghosh and the violinist Rabin Ghosh learned at Maihar too.
The founder's teacher
Wazir Khan
Veena player of the Rampur court
Founder
Allauddin Khan
1862 or 1881 to 1972
Founder
Allauddin Khan's children
Annapurna Devi
Surbahar player and teacher
Ali Akbar Khan
1922-2009
Sarod player
Sitar disciples
Ravi Shankar
At Maihar from 1938
Sitar player
Nikhil Banerjee
1931-1986
Sitar player
Indranil Bhattacharya
Sitar player
Later sitarists
Kushal Das
Sitar player
Other instruments
Pannalal Ghosh
Flautist
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
- Allauddin Khan, founder, court musician at Maihar from 1918
- Ravi Shankar, sitar, at Maihar from 1938
- Nikhil Banerjee, 1931-1986, sitar, at Maihar from 1947
- Annapurna Devi, surbahar, Allauddin Khan's daughter
- Ali Akbar Khan, sarod, Allauddin Khan's son
- Indranil Bhattacharya, sitar, disciple of Allauddin Khan
- Pannalal Ghosh, flute, disciple of Allauddin Khan
Caractéristiques musicales
Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy
Overall Style
Allauddin Khan leaned towards dhrupad and brought a dhrupad-based approach into sitar, sarod, violin and flute. Nikhil Banerjee said his teacher brought the style of the sursringar, surbahar and veena to the sitar, and credited him with introducing the kharaj, an extra thick string for the bass Sa, the tonic. Mobarak Hossain Khan, in Banglapedia, credits him with changing sitar playing by applying sarod technique to it.
Dhrupad-ang
Veena and surbahar style
The kharaj string
Sarod technique on sitar
Signature Repertoire
Allauddin Khan created many ragas, with a leaning towards mixed ragas, and Manj Khamaj is the best known. He played and taught many instruments, and at Maihar he formed the Maihar Band, an orchestra of Indian instruments.
Compare with Similar Gharanas
Understand how Maihar Gharana differs from other traditions
Select a Gharana to Compare:
| Maihar Gharana (Current) |
Etawah Gharana (Comparing) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Type | Sitar | Sitar |
| Origine | Maihar, Madhya Pradesh | Etawah |
| Era | Early 20th century | |
| Style | Allauddin Khan leaned towards dhrupad and brought a dhrupad-based approach into sitar, sarod, violin and flute. Nikhil Banerjee said his teacher brought the style of the sursringar, surbahar and veena to the sitar, and credited him with introducing the kharaj, an extra thick string for the bass Sa, the tonic. Mobarak Hossain Khan, in Banglapedia, credits him with changing sitar playing by applying sarod technique to it. | 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. |
Influence & Legacy
Two Maihar-trained musicians led the reception of Hindustani music in the West. Gale's Encyclopedia of World Biography credits Ravi Shankar more than any other individual with introducing it, and Ali Akbar Khan toured the US in 1955 at Yehudi Menuhin's request and made the first LP of Indian classical music there. In India the teaching spread across instruments, from Pannalal Ghosh's flute to Sharan Rani's sarod, and Allauddin Khan's Maihar College of Music opened in 1955.
Sources
- Ira Landgarten, interview with Nikhil Banerjee (1986), Raga Records booklet (1991)
- Mobarak Hossain Khan and Reenat Fauzia, entries on Alauddin Khan and Ali Akbar Khan, Banglapedia (n.d.)
- Encyclopedia of India and Encyclopedia of World Biography (Gale), entries on Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan (n.d.)
- Jameela Siddiqi, feature on Allauddin Khan, Darbar (n.d.)
- Tanvir A. Khan, feature on Allauddin Khan, The Daily Star, Dhaka (2012)
- National Endowment for the Arts, Ali Akbar Khan, National Heritage Fellow (1997)
Questions fréquentes
What is the Maihar gharana of sitar?
The Maihar gharana is a 20th-century school of Hindustani instrumental music formed around Allauddin Khan at Maihar, a princely state now in Madhya Pradesh. On the sitar it runs through Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee, and it carries a dhrupad-based approach and the style of the veena into the instrument.
Who founded the Maihar gharana of sitar?
Allauddin Khan founded the Maihar gharana after he became court musician at Maihar in 1918. He was a disciple of Wazir Khan of Rampur, a veena player of Tansen's line. Jameela Siddiqi places a Maihar tradition in the 19th century, and writes that his refinement of it led people to treat him as its founder.
Which musicians belong to the Maihar gharana of sitar today?
The Maihar sitar line runs from Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee (1931 to 1986) to later players. Kushal Das belongs to it through his teacher Ajoy Sinha Roy, a disciple of Allauddin Khan, and Indranil Bhattacharya was among Allauddin Khan's own sitar disciples.
Is the Maihar gharana a sitar gharana or a sarod gharana?
It is both, and more. Allauddin Khan was known chiefly as a sarod player but taught many instruments: his disciples played sitar (Ravi Shankar, Nikhil Banerjee), sarod (Ali Akbar Khan, Sharan Rani), surbahar (Annapurna Devi), flute (Pannalal Ghosh) and violin (Rabin Ghosh). This page follows the sitar line.
How is the Maihar gharana linked to Tansen's Senia line?
Through Allauddin Khan's teacher: Wazir Khan of Rampur was a veena player descended from Tansen's line. The Ali Akbar College of Music calls the tradition the Seni Baba Allauddin Gharana of Maihar and Rampur. The Senia-Maihar gharana page follows the sarod line.
Which sitarists belong to the Maihar gharana?
Allauddin Khan's sitar disciples include Ravi Shankar, who came to Maihar in 1938, Nikhil Banerjee, who came in 1947, and Indranil Bhattacharya. Kushal Das learned through Allauddin Khan's disciple Ajoy Sinha Roy. Annapurna Devi, on surbahar, also taught Nikhil Banerjee.
How is the Maihar approach to sitar different from the Imdadkhani (Etawah) approach?
The Maihar approach brings dhrupad and the style of the veena and surbahar into the sitar, while the Etawah gharana built its sitar style on khayal singing, the gayaki ang. Imdad Khan of Etawah departed from the dhrupad-based Senia style, while Allauddin Khan sought to restore dhrupad's older flavour.
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