Kirana gharana

Kirana Gharana is one of the most prolific Hindustani khyal gharanas.

The name of this school of music derives from Kirana or Kairana, a village near Kurukshetra in Haryana [ [http://www.indoclassical.com/indo/asp/kiranagharana.asp Kirana] Gharana at indoclassical.com.] . It is the birthplace of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (1872-1937), who was one of the most imporant musicians of this gharana and of Hindustani music in general in the twentieth century, and considered by some to be the real founder of the Kirana Gharana, while the roots of the tradition can be traced back to his great-grandfather Ghulam Ali and Ghulam Maula, the brother of Ghulam Ali. A frequent visitor to the Court of Mysore, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was influenced by Carnatic music.

Much to the credit of Abdul Karim Khan, today most Hindustani musicians from Karnataka are exponents of Kirana Gharana and Kirana Gharana has imbibed many of the features of the Carnatic tradition. Particularly the culturally fecund border region between Karnataka and Maharashtra is famous for its tradition of the Kirana school of singing.

Another towering figure of this gharana in the early 20th century was Ustad Abdul Karim Khan’s cousin Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan (1871?-1949). Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is considered to be the foremost representative of the Kirana school of music today.

Leading members of the gharana

This musical style is based on (and most famous for) slow, elongated notes to emphasize serenity, to produce purely sweet, non-technical music.

Further reading

* "Kirana", by Roshan Ara Begum. Published by Gramophone Co. of India, 1994.

References

External links

* [http://www.musicalnirvana.com/hindustani/kirana_gharana.html Musical Nirvana]