Bhendi Bazaar Gharana: Mumbai’s Hidden Musical Legacy That Gave Hindustani Classical Music A Unique Voice

Mumbai, like a goddess, has many avatars. The fast-paced business life, the busy streets, crowded trains, and all the glitter and glam life. But did you know that the city is also home to some of the most extraordinary artists and art forms? It is home to many great music, theatre, poetry, and shayris. The pulse of the city does not just beat to the film songs but also in bandishes. It is the birthplace of one such great music lineage, the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana, and as the name suggests, it was born at Bhendi Bazaar in Mumbai.

Uniqueness

Every gharana has something that makes it stand out. The speciality of the gharana is the presentation. Ustad Mohsin Khan, who is the direct descendant of the founder of the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana, says, “The original style of my grandfather, Ustad Dilawar Kha, was ‘Meerkhand’. Meerkhand style is different from other gharanas.”

One can make out whether a composition is from the gharana by the first sargam itself. Shubha Joshi, a disciple from the gharana who is also a well-known musician, says, “You can understand that a particular music is from the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana just by using the first sargam, Sa. The first sargam itself feels very soothing. You need to have a calm and composed face when performing.”

The tempo of the ragas also changes. Sudhir Gadre, son of musician Mandakini Gadre, dedicated a website, Swaramandikini, to the gharana. He says, “The style of singing of the gharana includes unique nuances, such as — presentation of a raga in medium or medium fast tempo; Delineation of a raga using Khandmeru or Meerkhand principle, which means, permutational patterns of notes to enhance beauty of the raga; singing complex combinations of sargams, that is, note-names, sol-fa; etc.”  

Gadre adds, “With the advent of technology in the past few decades, the boundaries between different gharanas are not as rigid as they were in the past. Bhendi Bazaar Gharana is no exception. At the same time, one point peculiar to Bhendi Bazaar Gharana is that Ustad Aman Ali Khan and his disciples shunned publicity and preferred to teach music. Therefore, the gharana was not prominently represented in the music circles.”

The bandishes of the gharana also have a poetic connotation. Mehtab Ali Niazi, the seventh generation and son of Ustaad Mohsin Ali Khan, talks about how his family is great admirers of poetry, Urdu, Hindi, shayaris, and nazms, “When you hear bandishes that Ustad Aman Ali Khan had composed, it has a very deep poetic meaning. It is like shayaris in bandish itself. For example, in one of the bandishes, it says ‘kaun kisi ke ave jaave, daana pani kismat laave’ (translation: nobody goes to somebody’s place and asks for money or your destiny; you have to earn it)”.

History

The foundation of the gharana or the lineage was formed by Ustad Dilawar Hussain Kha. In Mumbai, the family had come from Bijnour in Uttar Pradesh and settled in Bhendi Bazaar. The baton was then taken by his three sons Ustad Chhajju Kha, Ustad Nazeer Kha and Ustad Khadim Hussain Kha. Ustad Chhajju Kha and Ustad Nazeer Kha became students of Inayat Hussain Khan of Rampur Sahaswan Gharana who then allowed the two brothers to learn music of their father’s style, which is the Meerkhand style. This makes the Gharana’s style difficult to perform and yet beautiful to listen to.

Being a student of Ustad Nazir Kha, Ustad Chhajju Kha taught with Anjalibai Malpekar among five others including his three sons. Ustaad Ameer Kha, Lata Mangeshkar, Pandit Ramesh Nadkarni, Pandit TD Janorikar, Manna Dey, Vasantrao Deshpande, among many, were students of Ustaad Aman Ali Khan. They also learned from Anjalibai Malpekar. Pandit Shiv Kumar Shukla was also a student of Ustaad Aman Ali Khan. Ustad Mohsin Ali Khan says, “The gharana saw other famous musicians such as Ustad Chand Khan, Ustad Mamman Khan, Asha Bhosle and Pankaj Udhas among others.”

Popularity

In their heyday, the stalwarts of the gharana used to perform for the royals. Ustad Mohsin Ali Khan says, “Earlier, the musicians did sing in public, especially for the royals. But at the time of audio recording, they refused to record as they believed the music was invaluable and could not be listened to at any place.”

Unfortunately, this gharana did not have many performing artists. Veteran classical musician who is also from the Gharana, Anuradha Kuber, says, “Ustad Aman Ali Khan never performed in public. Anjalibai Malpekar also stopped performing at a young age. Pandit Shiv Kumar Shukla had to give up performances due to health reasons.”

However, the new generation of the family that started the Gharana differs in opinion. Mehtab Ali Niazi says, “I think this is a misconception which most people have, not just for the Bhendi Bazar Gharana, but Indian classical music in general. People think it is fading away. On the contrary, I think it is getting much better than before.”

Joshi credits the low interest to the busy lives of the students, “Looking at the times right now, no student will have enough time to give to the practice of music as they have studies.”

In the end

Tucked in the corner of the city, Bhendi Bazaar is a space that may be home to many notorious things but what the world should also know is that it was a home to some of the greatest and revolutionary artists and artforms. Bhendi Bazaar gharana’s fame has reached overseas and touched the hearts of many. Now it is up to the new generation to keep the fire of this legendary gharana alive.

Songs inspired by Bhendi Bazaar Gharana

Aaj Badbhag Jage more

Raag: Gorakh Kalyan  

Composer: Master Navrang

Aaj mero man laagi mandarawa

Raag: Gujari Todi  

Composer: Ustad Aman Ali Khan

Aaj milo gao bajaoa

Raag: Kalavati  

Composer: Master Navrang

Published on: Sunday, July 12, 2026, 07:20 AM IST