From: kippenj@epas.utoronto.ca (J. Kippen)
Subject: Re: Ajrara gharana
Organization: University of Toronto - EPAS
Distribution: rec.music.indian.classical
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 02:07:16 GMT

In article <1992Nov10.075141.22368@leland.Stanford.EDU> buddha@leland.Stanford.EDU (Corvin Russell) writes:
> I was wondering if anyone could post information about the history of the
> Ajrara gharana -- its lineage, its baj etc.  Are there any living exponents
> true to the baj? Last year Vilayat Khan played here with someone claiming
> to be from the Ajrara gharana.  I think his name was Akram Khan. Has anyone
> heard him?  Also, I remember reading a passing reference to Habibuddin's
> son in an Indian newspaper, which said merely that he was languishing in
> Old Delhi playing for tawaifs (is this true?).  Any compositions 
> [etc. etc.....]

I was told you'd asked something about Ajrara, Corvin, but I've been
out of touch for a while.  I don't have much to say, mainly because of
the major traditions the one we know least about is Ajrara.  Ajrara is
a small village not too far from Delhi, close to Meerut.  It was
obviously the ancestral home of a Mirasi group of musicians, in this
case Sunni Muslims (cf. Delhi and Lucknow are Shia).  Delhi has been
their main place of occupation, and of course the main occupation of
those who never "made it" professionally in the concert or AIR world
was accompanying tawaifs.  I wouldn't be surprised if Habibuddin's son
was still playing there; I believe his name is Manju and he'd be
around 40 years old.  However, I have never heard about his playing,
and doubt he's particularly good.

Habibuddin was the great player of this tradition.  Born around the
turn of the century he was a superb player who suffered too much from
drink and ill-discipline.  He was Ahmedjan Thirakwa's sworn enemy, and
even went so far as to say of him, right in the middle of a concert,
"Us kambakht ko kuch nahin ata" (Rough trans. "That bastard knows fuck
all".)  This I know 'cos I have it.  Anyway, Habibuddin died sometime
during the 1970s, having spent his last years paralyzed from a stroke.

Gottlieb's material is a fair reflection of some of Ajrara's most
famous pieces, such as the Red Fort qaida

ghetaka		ghetaka		dhinedhin	nagena
(dhageti	rakita		dhinedhin	nagena)

of which there are several versions.  This stuff is not secret, and is
played by most people.  Two things are noteworthy: triple time and the
use of "dhinedhinagena".  These characterise Ajrara style above all,
and predominate in many of the pieces.  Otherwise, technically the
fingerings are similar to Delhi fingerings (for tete), and are
distinct from the traditional fingerings from Lucknow, Farukkhabad,
Laliyana (Purab), Old Punjab, and Benares.

Ajrara  is thought to be a reasonably old tradition, and an offshoot
of Delhi.  I see Gottlieb has given a sparse genealogy, and
Habibuddin's line is listed as a student line from the great old
master Kaley Khan who was responsible for many of the now famous
Ajrara pieces.  Who knows, perhaps the original Ajrara family
(khandan) was Shia?  Anyway, it is still fairly obscure, and needs
someone to enlighten us by talking with informants and getting to see
some of those shijras (genealogies) like the one I saw for the Delhi
gharana.  Any offers?

In actual fact, Bob Gottlieb is the person who may have some of this
information already.  Back in about 1984 he was in Delhi collecting
material and taping performances of Ramzan Khan, the best current
exponent of the tradition.  I imagine Bob got some very valuable
stuff.  Bob knows virtually nothing about tabla, and certainly can't
play it.  However he loves it, and that's been our good fortune.  I
was lucky enough to be at his apartment to hear a solo by Ramzan Khan,
a disciple of Habibuddin, and in his fifties, I would guess, by now.
He is at AIR Delhi, I believe.  He was very good, and played a variety
of compositions, including some rare Ajrara gats (the creme de la
creme of compositions), and relas.  He had inherited some of the
animosity towards the Thirakwa style, and Thirakwa's characteristic
manipulations of material, particularly in Peshkar, which many
gharanedar musicians found to be ungrammatical.

In brief, there is still an Ajrara tradition, which is more than can
be said for the old Delhi tradition, I'm afraid.  I hope someday
someone does some decent research on that style, and finds out more
about those old gharanedar musicians of Ajrara.

Must go, but hope that short comment was of some use.

Best wishes to you Corvin, and to all,

Jim Kippen