Looking at Gwalior as the 'City of Music'!

From rapid development taking place to the historical buildings that have adorned the city for centuries, Gwalior appears like any other old and historical city in India. And, just like citizens from outside the city, even Gwalior residents have very little knowledge about the treasure that the city always upheld - the legacy of Indian music. All thanks to the UNESCO tag of 'City of Music' that Gwalior was given, there is now a recognised label for this. 

Last November, Kerala's Kozhikode was labelled as the 'City of Literature', and MP's Gwalior was also added to UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). However, such a tag has a profound history, and there lies a great patronage behind it. Being the oldest musical gharana, Gwalior Gharana has been an important part of Hindustani classical music.

The culture that has seen centuries

The tapestry of Indian music is incomplete without the mention of Gwalior Gharana, and the credit goes to many of its rulers, who were either musicians themselves or were fond of music. The city has also witnessed well-known musicians, some of whom were born or visited Gwalior for training. It is reportedly mentioned that the Gharana flourished under the rule of Raja Man Singh Tomar during the 15th century. 

It is said that Khayal singing emerged from dhrupad under the aegis of Gwalior Gharana and incorporated the elements of qawwali. Raja Man Singh’s Horis and Dhamars also became quite popular and the king would often take advice from Sufi saints, who were often musicians too. Attempting to popularise Indian music, he also replaced Sanskrit songs with those in simple Hindi. Raja Man Singh also built huge music halls in his palace and hosted regular music sessions. The popularity of his music went to music Sufis as well as Muslim Sultans.

Dungarendra Singh, who was Man Singh’s great-grandfather, was a musician himself and aimed at reviving the Indian classical music with academia. He is known for gifting two music treatises in Sanskrit, namely, Sangeet Shiromani and Sangeet Choodamani to his friend, also the sultan of Kashmir Zain-I’m-Abdin. These treatises comprised detailed discussions on musical instruments and music. 

The Gharana is supposed to have been nurtured during the Mughal empire, and history also traces the presence of ‘Tansen’, the “court musician” of Emperor Akbar. He was one of the nine jewels of Akbar and, hence, is seen as the major contributor. During the beginning of the 16th century, he learned under Swami Haridas, who practised dhrupad but the poetry was dedicated to Krishna instead of Vishnu. Tansen honed the Gwalior Gharana style under the famed Sufi saint Mohammad Ghous and was the court musician for King Ram Chandra Singh of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, for many years. Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari has mentioned 36 imperial musicians, out of which 15 were from Gwalior.

Not only this, but Tansen’s apprentice, Baiju Bawra, also strengthened the position of Gwalior to make it a breeding ground for musical innovation. 

Apart from the Mughal empire, even the Maratha empire has contributed significantly to culture. Scindia is said to have helped in the growth of the Maratha empire, where they were the great promoters of music. Not only did they support the musicians financially, but they also provided them with a system through which they could nurture themselves and their passion for music. 

Reportedly, the musicologist and harmonium player Vaibhav Kunte mentioned that Bhaiya Ganpatrao Shinde (Scindia) of Gwalior (1852-1920) was the pioneer of solo Harmonium playing in India. He used the technique of scale changing (Shadja-Chālan) and combined various Ragas (Raga Mishran), which is a more familiar task for Harmonium players now. He is also renowned for shaping a new method of improvising Thumari, a form which was later made famous by famous Thumari singers such as Gauhar Jan, Malka Jan, Moujuddin, and Pyara Saheb.

In the reign of Maharaja Jayaji Rao Scindia, who was interested in learning Indian classical music, the music flourished and he also learnt Riyaaz under the guidance of Ustad Hassu Khan & Haddu Khan and learned Sitar playing from Ustad Amir Khan. 

The contributions of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan can never be unnoticed when talking another the music patronage. He was a court musician in Gwalior but in the early 20th century — when music conferences became popular —he was the most popular artiste to perform at these baithaks and was known for very fine musicianship. He also trained musicians including his son and foremost disciple Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi for a few months. 

Talking about personalities, the names of Haddu Khan’s son Bade Inayat Hussain Khan, Vasudeva Bua Joshi, Balakrishna Bua Ichalkaranjikar, famed educator BR Deodhar and Pakistani singer Farida Khanum are always taken to have brought laurels to the place with the music. 

Gwalior city has a thriving folk music culture and one can see the culture through the lyrical ballads like Malwa Geet and Alha-Udal recounting stories of love, and valour and advocating for the rich culture of the region’s legacy. Along with this, Gwalior finds mention of the devotional music with temples and ashrams adds to the musical landscape with chants and hymns.

As per documents, Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia’s son Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia had taken the step forward and supported musicians and was important in setting up a music college in Gwalior, Shri Madhav Music School. Pandit Bhatkande also had a dream that the tomb of maestro Tansen should be used as an institution being a sacred place. 

He met a noble of the Scindia State, Balwantrao Bhaiya Saheb Scindia, who was also the son of the late Maharaja Jayajirao Scindia, to take help and got an assurance from him that he would inform the then Maharaja of Gwalior Madho Rao Scindia about Pandit Bhatkande’s vision. Later, a committee was made to make this an institution. 

Apart from Tansen School of Music, the Institute of Music and Fine Arts, and Gwalior Gharana Music Academy are some of the examples of keeping Hindustani music alive with time.

Gwalior set a New Guinness record last year when around 1,300 musicians played Vande Mataram on tabla, and the Guinness World Record for the “largest table ensemble” was awarded to it. The event, which took place during the ongoing 99th International Tansen Mahotsav in Gwalior, speaks to the culture of music that the city has always embraced.

Such is the air of Gwalior, where the streets are filled with street musicians, who, with their instruments, weave stories of love and longing. Local artisans create instruments such as sitars and sarangis, a skill that has been passed down as a tradition from generations. The history and the present together make the city of Gwalior a place where music lies, lives, and lasts in all forms.