Ustad Alladiya Khan (1855-1946) is the
founder of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana to which several modern titans belong. Born into
a family of musicians in Uniara
(Rajasthan) he lost his father
early. His uncle Jehangir Khan
taught him dhrupad for 5 years
and khayal for another 8. Until
he was 25 Alladiya Khan learnt
and practised music, occasionally
performing but yet to take it
up as profession. After initial success at Ajaygad court as
singer, Alladiya Khan set off on a concert tour visiting Patna,
Mujaffarpur, Allahabad, Calcutta
and other places with successful
recitals everywhere. His concert at Motihari resulted in an invitation by the king of Nepal,
where the ustad spent two years until he felt homesick.
Even during travel Alladiya Khan
would not neglect music. He
practised hard literally from
dusk to dawn even at 51.
Alladiya Khan enjoyed royal patronage at several
places. He was the court musician of the Kolhapur king Chatrapati Shahu Maharaj,
until the king died in 1922 and later moved to Bombay. At
Amlata, he almost lost his voice due to hours of riyaaz daily. for a couple of years. His voice lost
sweetness and he had to depend on taans.So he adopted a new style which helped him sing without
compromising the purity of raga.
His main disciples were his famous younger brother Haider Khan, Bhaskarbuwa Bakhale and his own sons. Khansaheb
invariably started training with
dhrupad-dhamar and took up khayal only after their voices
stabilized and became tonally
perfect. While the second son Manji Khan died in 1937, the youngest son Bhurji Khan
continued to teach his father’s disciples like Kesarbai Kerkar.
Among the others Mogubai Kurdikar (Kishori Amonkar‘s
mother) learnt from Haider Khan while Mallikarjun Mansur
learnt from Manji Khan and Bhurji Khan. Alladiya Khan,Won The Title Gana Samrat (Emperor Of Music)
