The term gharana is derived from the Hindi word 'ghar'. This in turn can be traced to the Sanskrit word 'griha', which means 'family' or 'house'. The gharana concept gained currency only in the nineteenth century when the royal patronage enjoyed by performers weakened. Performers were then compelled to move to urban centers. To retain their respective identities, they fell back on the names of the regions they hailed from. Therefore, even today, the names of many gharanas refer to places. Some of the gharanas well known for singing khayals are : Agra, Gwalior, Patiala, Kirana, Indore, Mewat, Sahaswan, Bhendibazar and Jaipur.
There are no reviews yet.