Darbhanga Gharana

दरभंगा घराना

Forceful dhrupad with rhythmic play and Vidyapati's Maithili verse

Vocal Gharana Darbhanga, Bihar Late 18th century

Founded By

Radhakrishna Mallick, Kartaram Mallick

The Darbhanga gharana is a dhrupad tradition of Hindustani vocal music that grew up at the court of the Darbhanga Raj in north Bihar, in the Mithila region, around the middle of the 18th century. It is also called the Darbhanga-Amta gharana and the Mallick gharana.

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Origins & History

Two brothers, Radhakrishna and Kartaram Mallick, musicians at the Darbhanga court, founded the gharana. Selina Thielemann's 1997 study places the founding around the middle of the 18th century, while Chandrakant Lal Das's biography of Ram Chatur Mallick says the style developed in the late 18th. Family members today speak of 450 to 500 years.

Family tradition holds that the brothers learned dhrupad from Bhupat Khan, described as a grandson of Tansen. A family legend adds that they reached Darbhanga in a drought, sang Raga Megh and brought rain. The court was their patron, and Amta, a village near Darbhanga, became the family's home; it gives the school its second name.

Court patronage ended with independence in 1947. The family then turned to public concerts and spread across north India, and Vidur Mallick took one branch to Vrindavan in the mid-1980s.

"founded by two brothers named Radhakrsna and Karttarama"

— Selina Thielemann

The Darbhanga Tradition (1997)

Историческая хронология

Mid-18th century

The Mallick brothers found the gharana

Radhakrishna and Kartaram Mallick, musicians at the Darbhanga court, found the gharana, by Selina Thielemann's dating.
1947

Court patronage ends

Ram Chatur Mallick's service at the Darbhanga court ends with independence, and the family turns to public concerts.
1953

Vidyapati songs on national radio

Ram Chatur Mallick sings Vidyapati compositions on the first National Programme of Music of All India Radio.
Mid-1980s

Vidur Mallick moves to Vrindavan

Vidur Mallick settles in Vrindavan and founds a dhrupad academy, where he later teaches foreign students.
1997

Thielemann's study published

Selina Thielemann, a pupil of Vidur Mallick from 1994, publishes The Darbhanga Tradition. The book presents itself as the first full account of the school in English.
2024

Padma Shri for Ram Kumar Mallick

Ram Kumar Mallick, counted in the 12th generation, receives the Padma Shri in the year of his death, on 9 June 2024.

Lineage & Legacy

The guru-shishya tradition passed down through generations

The gharana continues in two family lines, one from each founding brother. Ram Chatur Mallick belonged to the Kartaram line and taught Abhay Narayan Mallick. The Radhakrishna line ran through Sukhdev Mallick to his son Vidur Mallick, whose sons Ram Kumar Mallick and Pandit Premkumar Mallick count themselves the 12th generation. Pandit Premkumar Mallick's sons, Prashant and Nishant, count themselves the 13th.

Founders

Radhakrishna Mallick

18th century

Co-founder

One of the two founding brothers and head of the Radhakrishna line, to which Vidur Mallick and his sons belong.

Kartaram Mallick

18th century

Co-founder

The second founding brother and head of the Kartaram line, to which Ram Chatur Mallick belonged.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

20th century

Ram Chatur Mallick

1902-1990

Court singer

Born in Amta, he served the Darbhanga court under Maharaja Kameshwar Singh until 1947 and is described as its last court singer. He sang Vidyapati songs on All India Radio in 1953.

Siyaram Tiwari

1919-1998

Singer

A Darbhanga-born singer based in Patna, from outside the Mallick family. Outlook counts him among the singers trained in the Darbhanga style.

Abhay Narayan Mallick

Singer

Pupil of Ram Chatur Mallick, regarded as the senior-most Darbhanga dhrupad singer in his later years.

Vidur Mallick

Singer and teacher

Son and pupil of Sukhdev Mallick. He moved to Vrindavan in the mid-1980s, founded a dhrupad academy and taught Selina Thielemann and Peter Pannke.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

12th generation

Ram Kumar Mallick

1957-2024

Singer

Son of Vidur Mallick, counted in the 12th generation. He received the Padma Shri in 2024 and founded a gurukul in Darbhanga named after his father.

Pandit Premkumar Mallick

Singer

Vidur Mallick's son and pupil, and father of the Mallick Brothers.
Guru-Shishya Tradition

13th generation

Prashant and Nishant Mallick

The Mallick Brothers

Sons of Pandit Premkumar Mallick who sing as a duo and are counted in the 13th generation.

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

  • Radhakrishna and Kartaram Mallick, founding brothers, 18th century
  • Ram Chatur Mallick, 1902-1990, last court singer of Darbhanga
  • Siyaram Tiwari, 1919-1998, Darbhanga-born singer based in Patna
  • Abhay Narayan Mallick, pupil of Ram Chatur Mallick
  • Vidur Mallick, teacher in Vrindavan from the mid-1980s
  • Ram Kumar Mallick, 1957-2024, Padma Shri 2024
  • Pandit Premkumar Mallick, 12th generation
  • Prashant and Nishant Mallick, the Mallick Brothers, 13th generation

Музыкальные особенности

Distinctive style, techniques, and aesthetic philosophy

Overall Style

Darbhanga dhrupad is forceful and rhythmic. Singers draw on the Gauhar and Khandar banis, two of the four named styles of dhrupad, and make layakari, rhythmic play against the tala, a marked feature, with tihais, phrases repeated three times to land on the beat. The family also sings Vidyapati's Maithili verse.

Rhythmic play

Layakari and tihais are a marked feature of the style, and accounts agree on a powerful, energetic vocal delivery.

Gauhar and Khandar

Singers draw on the Gauhar and Khandar banis and mix the two. Outlook names Gauhar alone as the Darbhanga style.

Vidyapati's songs

The repertoire includes settings of the Maithili verse of Vidyapati, sung by Ram Chatur Mallick on national radio in 1953.

Beyond dhrupad

Singers of the gharana also perform khayal, thumri, dadra and bhajan, and the family has produced pakhawaj players.

Signature Repertoire

Darbhanga singers perform dhrupad in the Gauhar and Khandar banis, and settings of Vidyapati's Maithili verse are part of the family repertoire. Exponents also sing khayal, thumri, dadra and bhajan. The family has produced pakhawaj players, and earlier generations kept a pakhawaj branch beside the singing.

Compare with Similar Gharanas

Understand how Darbhanga Gharana differs from other traditions

Select a Gharana to Compare:

Darbhanga Gharana
(Current)		 Bettiah Gharana
(Comparing)
Тип Vocal Vocal
принадлежность Darbhanga, Bihar Bettiah, Bihar
Era Late 18th century
Стиль Darbhanga dhrupad is forceful and rhythmic. Singers draw on the Gauhar and Khandar banis, two of the four named styles of dhrupad, and make layakari, rhythmic play against the tala, a marked feature, with tihais, phrases repeated three times to land on the beat. The family also sings Vidyapati's Maithili verse. Bettiah is a song tradition first. Its compositions are kept in all four parts, many are set to a named bani, an aesthetic model, and the alap takes its phrases from the songs themselves. Ranganathan describes two tempos: the Bettiah stream sings very slowly in a heavy gaurhar style, while the Benares and Kolkata stream takes a medium-slow pace and adds layakari, rhythmic variation.
View Bettiah Gharana Details

Influence & Legacy

After 1947 the family spread across north India, and Vidur Mallick's academy in Vrindavan drew pupils from abroad. Two of them, Selina Thielemann and the German musician Peter Pannke, later wrote about the school. Thielemann counts it among the main living dhrupad traditions, alongside the Dagars. In Darbhanga, Ram Kumar Mallick founded a gurukul named after his father.

Источники

  1. Selina Thielemann, The Darbhanga Tradition (1997)
  2. Chandrakant Lal Das, King of Dhrupad (2012)
  3. Peter Pannke, Singers Die Twice (2021)
  4. Government of India, Padma Shri citation for Ram Kumar Mallick (2024)
  5. Arvind Das, Doyen of the Darbhanga Gharana: Ram Kumar Mallick, Outlook (2024)

Часто задаваемые вопросы

What is the Darbhanga gharana of dhrupad?

The Darbhanga gharana is the dhrupad tradition of the Darbhanga court in Bihar, dating from the mid-18th century. It is known for forceful singing, layakari and tihais, and settings of Vidyapati's Maithili verse.

Who founded the Darbhanga gharana of dhrupad?

Two Mallick brothers, Radhakrishna and Kartaram, founded the Darbhanga gharana, with the court as their patron. Family tradition says they learned dhrupad from Bhupat Khan, described as a grandson of Tansen.

Which musicians belong to the Darbhanga gharana of dhrupad today?

Pandit Premkumar Mallick, of the 12th generation, and his sons Prashant and Nishant Mallick, who sing as the Mallick Brothers, carry the Darbhanga gharana today. Before them came Ram Kumar Mallick (1957-2024) and his father, Vidur Mallick.

How does the Darbhanga gharana of dhrupad differ from the Bettiah gharana?

The Darbhanga gharana is known for layakari, tihais and a forceful delivery, with Vidyapati's Maithili verse in its repertoire, while the Bettiah gharana is known for its large stock of four-part compositions set to named banis. Both grew at Bihar courts and sing Gauhar and Khandar songs. Read more on the Bettiah gharana page.

When did the Darbhanga gharana begin?

The Darbhanga gharana began in the 18th century. Selina Thielemann dates it to around the middle of that century, while Chandrakant Lal Das places the style's development in the late 18th century. Family members speak of 450 to 500 years.

Where is the Darbhanga gharana based?

The gharana is based in Darbhanga and in Amta, the family's village nearby, in Bihar. After 1947 members spread across north India, and Vidur Mallick taught from Vrindavan from the mid-1980s.

What vanis does the Darbhanga gharana sing?

The Darbhanga gharana sings in the Gauhar and Khandar banis of dhrupad and mixes the two. Outlook names Gauhar alone as the Darbhanga style, and Chandrakant Lal Das calls it Gauda Bani dhrupad.

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