Mewati

The Mewati Gharana is a musical apprenticeship lineage of Hindustani classical music founded in the late 19th century by brothers Ustad Ghagge Nazir Khan and Wahid Khan at the Holkar Court in Indore. The gharana takes its name from the Mewat region between Delhi, Jaipur, and Indore in Rajasthan, where the founding family originated. Ghagge Nazir Khan (c. 1835-1905) was born to Imam Khan, a Khandarbani dhrupadiya, in Agra and learned vocal music from Waris Ali Khan of the Qawwal Bacchon Gharana. His brother Wahid Khan (c. 1830-1928) studied rudra veena from Bande Ali Khan and served as court musician to Indore State.

The Mewati gayaki emerged as a unique synthesis of the Khandarbani Dhrupad and Qawwal Bacchon musical traditions, creating a distinctive style that emphasizes the importance of bhava (emotional expression) and the literary content of the bandish (composition). The tradition was passed through Pandit Natthulal and Pandit Chimanlal, then to Pandit Motiram and his nephew, and ultimately to Pandit Jasraj, who popularized the gharana globally in the late 20th century. After Jasraj's elder brother Motiram's unexpected demise, his brothers Maniram and Pratap Narayan groomed young Jasraj in the Mewati tradition after he renounced playing tabla.

The gharana gained widespread visibility after Pandit Jasraj introduced new stylistic elements into the traditional Mewati style, creating a more emotive, devotional, and rhythmically conscious approach. Through Sufiana mausiqi (Sufi music) and bhaktic (devotional) influences, the Mewati gayaki incorporates profound theistic and spiritual elements, where religious verses from both Hinduism and Shia Islam (especially Ismailism) are woven not only into the lyrical content but as intrinsic elements in melodic expression. Notable contemporary exponents include Sanjeev Abhyankar, a disciple of Pandit Jasraj and son of Shobha Abhyankar, who has achieved international acclaim in Hindustani classical and devotional music.

The Mewati style is characterized by its substantial use of sargam (sol-fa singing) and tihai (rhythmic patterns in groups of three), with meend (glides between notes) applications regarded for their exceptional smoothness and naturalness. The essential philosophy of the Mewati tradition, as described by Maniram and Jasraj, is based on three fundamental principles: "shuddha vani" (pure sound), "shuddha mudra" (pure expression), and "shuddha sur" (pure notes). This emphasis on purity of musical expression combined with devotional depth has made the Mewati Gharana one of the most influential vocal traditions in modern Hindustani classical music.