Jaipur-Atrauli gharana

The Atrauli-Jaipur Gharana (also known as the Atrauli Gharana, Jaipur Gharana, Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana, Alladiya Gharana and Alladiyakhani Gayaki) is a Hindustani music apprenticeship fraternity ("gharana"), founded by Alladiya Khan (1855–1946) in the late-19th century.
Evolved from the dhrupad tradition, the Jaipur Gharana acquired its name and status in the early half of the 20th century as a result of the growing popularity of khayal singers such as Surashri 
Kesarbai Kerkar, Gaanatapaswini Mogubai Kurdikar, and Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur. With the immense popularity of musicians like Surashri Kesarbai Kerkar, the Gharana earned repute as a leading representative of Hindustani classical music. The gharana is known for its distinctive vocal aesthetics, raga repertoire, and technical aptitude.
History.
The Jaipur-Atrauli gharana emerged from Alladiya Khan's family which originated from Atrauli (near Aligarh) and migrated to Jaipur. This gharana mainly evolved from Dagar-bani of Dhrupad, however it also absorbed finer essence of Gauhar-bani and Khandar-bani.
Name.
Scholars say the hyphenated moniker of this gharana recognises that Jaipur-Atrauli gharana musicians originally came from Atrauli Village in Aligarh district and migrated to the court of the Maharaja of Jaipur, their principal patron. Others say they came to the Jaipur Maharaja's court and then dispersed to various other courts in the area, like Jodhpur, Uniyara, Bundi, Atrauli.
Roots in Haveli Sangeet.
Many of the ragas and compositions sung in the Jaipur gharana come from the tradition of Haveli Sangeet and dhrupad, such as:
Aesthetics.
Gayaki.
The "gharana" is known for its unique "layakari" (rhythmic aesthetics) and rich repertoire of "ragas", especially "jod ragas" (compound ragas) and "sankeerna ragas" (mixed ragas).
Most gharanas apply notes in simple succession in aalap and taan, whereas in the Jaipur gayaki, notes are applied in an oblique manner with filigree involving immediately neighbouring notes. Instead of the flat taan, gamak (taan sung with double notes with a delicate force behind each of the component double-notes of the taan) makes the taan spiral into seemingly never-ending cycles. Meend in aalap and gamak in taan are the hallmark of this gayaki. Sharp edged harkats and murkis (crisp, quick phrases to ornament the alaap) are relatively uncommon. Not only are the notes sung in rhythm with the taal but progress between the matras (beats) is in fractions of quarters and one-eighths. While being mindful of so many factors, musicians of this gharana still have a graceful way of arriving at the Sam without having matras to spare. This is particularly evident in the way bol-alaap or bol-taan is sung, where meticulous attention is given to the short and long vowels in the words of the bandish that are being pronounced, and the strict discipline of avoiding unnatural breaks in the words and in the meaning of the lyrics. No other gharana has paid so much attention to the aesthetics and laykari in singing bol-alaaps and bol-taans.
Specialty and Jod Raags.
Signature and specialty "ragas" of this "gharana" (some revived or created by Alladiya Khan) include Sampoorna Malkauns, Basanti Kedar, Basant Bahar, Bihagda, Khat, Gandhari and Nat Kamod.
A highlight of Jaipur gayaki is the mastery over Jod Ragas (mixed or hybrid Raags). Singers from other gharanas tend to sing one raga in aaroha (ascent) and the other in avaroha (descent). Some others sing one raga in the lower half of the octave and then switch to the other raga in the upper half. Alternatively, they may sing alternate phrases of the two component ragas. In Jaipur gayaki, the two ragas are fused so that it sounds like a homogeneous raga in its own right, giving the feel of both component ragas, not as a heterogeneous mixture cobbled together. The listener hears an amalgam of both ragas without losing their distinctive identity. Alladiya Khan introduced many lesser-known or obscure ragas in his repertoire such as Basanti Kedar, Jait Kalyan, Kafi Kanada, Raisa Kanada, Basanti Kanada, Savani Nat, Savani Kalyan, Bhoop Nat, Nat Kamod, Bihari, Khat, Khokar, Pat bihag and Sampoorna Malkauns.
Legacy.
To his immense credit, the great exponent of Kirana gharana, Bhimsen Joshi is one of the very few singers outside the Jaipur gharana, who tried to adopt the gamak taan to some extent, but he has not quite achieved the intricacy and grace of gamak that is the signature of Jaipur.
Lineage.
 |MAYAU =Maya Upadhye