The concept of a gurukul is closely interwoven with that of a Gharana. As the noted music writer and critic Raghava Menon rightly points out, “the stamp of a guru is actually that of a gharana…”. In essence, a Gharana emerges from the creative style of a genius, who gives existing structures a totally new approach, form and interpretation. This style will include the tone of the voice, the pitch, the inflexions and the intonations, and the specific application of the various nuances.
Thus, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan became the creator of Kirana Gharana. From a hamlet in Uttar Pradesh called Kairana, the Kirana Gharana emerged to be one of the most influential Gharanas of the 20th century. The Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana was created by Ustad Alladiya Khan. “Swaras” played an important role for the Khayalias of the Kirana Gharana, whereas, those from the Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana focussed more on “layakari”.
These Gharanas were established only in the early 20th century, even though the Agra and Gwalior Gharanas are a few centuries older. Noted scholars like Kumar Prasad Mukhopadhyay believe Gwalior to be the root of all the Gharanas. The history of khayal gayakee of Gwalior can be traced back to Natthan Pir Baksh. It was under his tutelage that “Ghagge” Khuda Baksh, a noted Ustad of the Agra Gharana was trained for fourteen years. Thus, developed the modern khayal gayakee of the Agra Gharana.
There has always been creative individuality within the tradition of a Gharana. Pandit Vazebua, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Pandit Vinayak Rao Patwardhan and Pandit D.V. Paluskar all hailed from the Gwalior Gharana. But each had an entirely different style of singing. Similarly, Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan added an entirely new dimension to the Patiala gayakee. Ustad Amir Khan gave a completely new colour and character to the Kirana Gharana and his style later came to be known as the Indore Gharana.