Sitar players from the Jaipur Senia Gharana

One hot afternoon, at the peak summer in 2008, an undergraduate student from NCA, Ali Ayub was standing in the city centre of Hyderabad. For him the traffic, the noise, the jostling pedestrians, the street food vendors all seemed to merge into one another. His eyes were fixed on an ice-cream vendor and his cart. There seemed nothing atypical about this middle-aged gentleman to the casual observer. Surrounded by children, he was dexterously putting the ice-cream into cups in a measured yet surprisingly efficient way – ergo, just like any other vendor. The young undergraduate hesitated, but then decided to move forward. He had rehearsed the introduction many times: “Are you Ustad Abid Hussain Khan from the Senia gharana, the descendants of Mian Tansen, one of Akbar’s nauratans?”. When his turn came to talk to the ice-cream vendor, all Ali Ayub could muster was “Assalam alaikum. Are you Ustad Abid Hussain Khan?”. The conversation began with a nonchalant “Yes”, as the Ustad deftly put another ice-cream scoop into a paper cup.   Between dealing with his customers, Ali Ayub and Ustad Abid Hussain Khan had detailed conversations about the Masitkhani gat and other such fascinating musical details as the sun beat down upon them overhead. He frankly explained that financial reasons had driven him to stop playing the sitar and quitting Pakistan Radio as a staff artist. “Ice-cream selling is much better. Tomorrow, my son will grow this cart into an ice-cream shop”. His story is sadly no exception.

History and Family Trees

The Jaipur Senia gharana is the largest Pakistani sitar playing gharana. This gharana, whose members claim to be descendants of the legendary musician Tan Sen, migrated from Jaipur to Sindh during Partition.

The main part of the gharana’s recent history begins with Ustad Machhu Khan who was born around 1900 in Jaipur, and was initially taught the sitar by his father, Ustad Mannay Khan. Later on, he became a disciple of Kareem Sen, a direct descendent of Masit Khan, a celebrated tabla player from the Farukhabad gharana. In fact, he was so important that the celebrated Masitkhani baj is named after him!

Ustad Machhu Khan spent his youth in Jaipur as a court musician, but migrated during partition in 1947 to Karachi, where he spent the rest of his life. The musical legacy of Ustad Machhu Khan has sadly not been carried on by his family, as he did not teach the sitar to his children.  His only disciple, Javaid Allah Ditta, the son of the late tabla maestro Allah Ditta Khan Biharpuriya, quit playing the sitar after taking some initial training, and has since become a well-known composer. Unfortunately, none of Ustad Machhu Khan’s performances were recorded as Radio Pakistan broadcasted live at the time, and he has since been relegated to obscurity.

In the picture below we can see some other prominent members of the Jaipur Senia gharana, such as the two esteemed elders Ustad Ahmad Bux Khan and Ustad Muhammad Khan.

Ali Ayub acquired much of the following information from the descendants of Muhammad Khan, Ahmed Bux Khan’s adopted grandson, who still reside in Sindh. Their family tree can be seen below

In the above picture on the left is Burhan Khan, Ahmed Bux Khan’s maternal nephew, who is holding the sitar in a playing posture.  His family tree can be seen below

 Ustad Kabir Khan

Ustad Kabir Khan, Muhammad Khan’s great-great-grandson and one of his disciples, was the main exponent of the Senia gharana in Pakistan until only twenty years ago. He was born on 8th March 1924 in Jaipur and was taught the sitar by his father Amir Khan and his second cousin once-removed, Muhammad Khan. Kabir Khan migrated to Pakistan with his family during partition and settled in Karachi, where he became a staff artist at Radio Pakistan. He was awarded the Presidential Pride of Performance in 1996 due to his excellence as a sitar player, but passed away in 2002.

The Playing Style

The Senia Sitar playing style is the oldest and one of the most traditional instrumental styles, with their raags widely being considered to be the best-preserved.  Their emphasis on rhythmic variation as compared to the other gharanas, which often focus on the melodic side of compositions, sets them apart.  Their specialties are gats, a rhythmic composition where the musician is bound to follow a specific right hand plucking pattern.  The Jaipur Senia gharana is also the originator of the slow, stately and celebrated Masitkhani baj, as opposed to the faster Razakhani baj. The enclosed audio clip is a perfect example of their more sedate style of playing as opposed to the other sitar gharanas.

The Sitar Player and the Ice-cream Vendor

Thankfully the story of Ustad Abid Hussain Khan did not end with Ali Ayub’s interview. Ali Ayub and many others convinced him to train his son Shahid Hussain Khan to play the sitar, a decision which would have made Mian Tansen proud. Shahid Khan continues the practice of centuries old tradition of the Senia sitar players in Hyderabad, as do other members of this gharana all throughout Pakistan.