Origins & History
By the lineage's own history, Senia musicians left Delhi after 1739, when Muhammad Shah's court declined, and many settled in Jaipur. Steven Landsberg's history calls the line the Jaipur Senia gharana. Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury, writing in 1973, counts three Seni gharanas at Delhi descended from Tansen. After the Delhi court fell, he writes, the eastern Senias moved to Lucknow and Varanasi, while the Jaipur line were called the western Senias.
The gharana credits Masit Khan, also written Masit Sen, with the first sitar baj, and the Masitkhani gat carries his name. Allyn Miner's history starts elsewhere, with Khusrau Khan and his nephew Firoz Khan bringing the sitar to Delhi, and the book places the sitar's first written appearance in 1739. 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.
Amrit Sen served Maharaja Ram Singh at the Jaipur court. In the 20th century the line passed by discipleship to Ashiq Ali Khan and his son Mushtaq Ali Khan, and then to Debu Chaudhuri in Delhi.
"inventor of the first sitar baj"
Chronologie historique
The sitar in writing; the Delhi court declines
Death of Amrit Sen
Barkatullah Khan's recording
Akademi award for Mushtaq Ali Khan
Deaths of Debu and Prateek Chaudhuri
Lineage & Legacy
The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations
The line began with hereditary Senias and continued through pupils. After Amrit Sen, Barkatullah Khan taught sitar to the surbahar player Ashiq Ali Khan, who carried the line on by discipleship. Mushtaq Ali Khan, Ashiq Ali Khan's son, taught Debu Chaudhuri, and Debu Chaudhuri taught his own son, Prateek Chaudhuri.
Ancestor and first sitarist
Tansen
16th century
Claimed ancestor
Masit Khan
18th century
Sitarist and beenkar
The Jaipur court line
Rahim Sen
Sitarist
Amrit Sen
Died 1893
Court sitarist
Barkatullah Khan
Died 1930
Sitarist
Pupils outside the family
Ashiq Ali Khan
Surbahar and sitar player
Mushtaq Ali Khan
1911-1989
Sitar and surbahar player
Teachers at Delhi University
Debu Chaudhuri
1935-2021
Sitarist and teacher
Prateek Chaudhuri
Died 2021
Sitarist and teacher
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
- Tansen, 16th-century dhrupad singer at Akbar's court, claimed as ancestor
- Masit Khan (Masit Sen), credited by the lineage with the first sitar baj
- Amrit Sen, died 1893, sitarist at the Jaipur court
- Barkatullah Khan, died 1930, sitarist recorded in 1904
- Ashiq Ali Khan, surbahar and sitar player, father and teacher of Mushtaq Ali Khan
- Mushtaq Ali Khan, 1911-1989, sitarist and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award winner in 1968
- Debu Chaudhuri, 1935-2021, sitarist and lecturer at Delhi University
- Prateek Chaudhuri, died 2021, sitarist and son of Debu Chaudhuri
Caractéristiques musicales
Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy
Overall Style
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.
From the been
Dhrupad roots
Yukti
Signature Repertoire
The Masitkhani gat, a fixed instrumental composition named after Masit Khan, is the line's own form, and Miner's history analyses the Masitkhani baj. Mushtaq Ali Khan also composed many Razakhani gats, the faster form that Ghulam Raza Khan of Lucknow is believed to have originated. James Sadler Hamilton describes a later style, the Imdadkhani or Adhunik Masitkhani baj, as Imdad Khan's work in Calcutta.
Compare with Similar Gharanas
Understand how Senia Gharana differs from other traditions
Select a Gharana to Compare:
| Senia Gharana (Current) |
Etawah Gharana (Comparing) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Type | Sitar | Sitar |
| Origine | Jaipur | Etawah |
| Era | Late 18th century | |
| Style | 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. | 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
The Senia name reaches beyond this sitar line. Roychoudhury counts three Seni gharanas descended from Tansen, Banglapedia treats the Shahjahanpur sarod line as part of the Seni gharana, and Allauddin Khan of Maihar learned at Rampur from Wazir Khan of the Tansen gharana. The sarod lines that carry the name, Senia-Maihar, Senia-Shahjahanpur and Senia-Bangash, each have their own page. Landsberg also lists Imdad Khan among Amrit Sen's pupils, and Imdad Khan built the separate Imdadkhani style of the Etawah gharana.
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
Questions fréquentes
What is the Senia gharana of sitar?
The Senia gharana is a sitar school that, by its own history, took shape in Jaipur in the mid-18th century. It takes its name from Tansen, whom its hereditary musicians claim as an ancestor, and draws on the been and on dhrupad. It is also called the Jaipur Senia gharana.
Who founded the Senia gharana of sitar?
The lineage credits Masit Khan, also written Masit Sen, with the first sitar baj, and names Tansen as its ancestor. Accounts differ. Allyn Miner's history starts with Khusrau Khan and his nephew Firoz Khan bringing the sitar to Delhi, and Birendra Kishore Roychoudhury traces the Jaipur line to Tansen's son Tarang Khan.
Which musicians belong to the Senia gharana of sitar today?
The line's most recent teachers were Debu Chaudhuri, a disciple of Mushtaq Ali Khan and lecturer at Delhi University, and his son and pupil Prateek Chaudhuri, who taught in the same department. Both died in May 2021, Debu Chaudhuri on 1 May and Prateek Chaudhuri on 6 May.
Is the Senia gharana really descended from Tansen?
Its hereditary musicians claim descent from Tansen, and the name comes from him. The routes differ: the lineage runs the sitar line through Masit Khan, while Roychoudhury traces the Jaipur line to Tansen's son Tarang Khan. Ashiq Ali Khan and Mushtaq Ali Khan joined the line by discipleship.
How is the Senia style different from the Imdadkhani (Etawah) style?
Senia sitar rests on the been and on dhrupad, with been techniques such as meend and gamak carried onto the sitar. James Sadler Hamilton describes the Imdadkhani style of the Etawah gharana as a separate baj that Imdad Khan developed in Calcutta.
Is the Senia sitar gharana the same as the Senia-Maihar gharana?
No. This is the Jaipur sitar line that credits Masit Khan with the first sitar baj. The Senia-Maihar gharana is Allauddin Khan's school at Maihar, which takes the Senia name because he learned at Rampur from Wazir Khan of the Tansen gharana.
What is a Masitkhani gat?
A Masitkhani gat is a fixed instrumental composition for the sitar named after Masit Khan, whom the lineage credits with the first sitar baj. Allyn Miner's history analyses the Masitkhani baj, and Hamilton reports a later Calcutta style called the Adhunik, or modern, Masitkhani baj.
How did the gharana continue after the Senia family line?
It continued by discipleship. Barkatullah Khan taught sitar to the surbahar player Ashiq Ali Khan after they met in Varanasi, and Ashiq Ali Khan taught his son Mushtaq Ali Khan. Mushtaq Ali Khan, winner of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1968, taught Debu Chaudhuri.
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