THE ROLE OF THE GHARANA TRADITION IN PRESERVING ANDEVOLVING THE KHAYAL GENRE OF HINDUSTANI CLASSICAL MUSIC

Abstract

Khayal is an Urdu word of Arabic origin which means “imagination”. This word Khayal is alsoa popular word in the Hindi language. Khayal is a popular genre of Hindustani classical musicwhich is known for its improvisational nature and range in which it can be expressed whichallows the expression of diverse range of emotions. Very true to its meaning, Khayal as a formis comparatively flexible when compared to the earlier traditions such as Dhrupad andDhamaar. However, this form called Khayal has continued because of the system known as theGharana system. The word Gharana comes from the Hindi word ghar, which means “house.”(Banerjee, Roy, & Dey, 2019). The term has several connotations, one of which refers to atraditional place where learning begins for anyone. In that context, a ghar or gharana can beseen as a traditional school based on lineage, where music is passed down from one generationto another within what is called the Guru–Shishya Parampara, or the master–discipleframework.