Rampur Sahaswan Gharana is a Gharana (musical heritage) of Hindustani classical music centered in the North-Uttar Pradesh towns of Rampur and Sahaswan. Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan was the founder of this gharana. He was the son of Ustad Mehboob Khan, a khayal singer and Veena player of the Rampur court. Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) which was a major centre of North-Indian classical music from the reign of its fifth nawab, Nawab Yusuf Ali (1840-1868). This line of nawabs was of Afghan origin. The second, Sahaswan is a village in the Badayun district of the same state in which most of the Gharana’s famous musicians, were born. It is near Rampur.
The Rampur Sahaswan Gayaki (style of singing) is closely related to the Gwalior Gharana, which features medium-slow tempos, a full-throated voice and intricate rhythmic play. The Gharana style is also known for the diversity and intricacy of the Taans (rapid fire elaborations), as well as Tarana singing.
Famous Ustads of Rampur Sahawan Gharana :
Some of the famous exponents of Rampur Sahaswan Gharanaare :- Ustad Inayat Husain Khan
- Ustad Haider Khan
- Padmabhushan Ustad Mushtaq Husain Khan
- Ustad Fida Hussain Khan
- Padmabhushan Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan
- Chajju Khan and Nazir Khan
- Pandit Ganpat Rao
- Ustad Hafeez Khan of Gudiyani (Gurgaon)
- Ustad Ishtiaque Hussain Khan
- Padmashri Ustad Hafeez Ahmed Khan
- Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan
- Ustad Ghulam Hussain Khan
- Ustad Ghulam Taqi Khan
- Padmabhushan Smt. Shanno Khurana
- Padmashri Ustad Ghulam Sadiq Khan
- Ustad Ghulam Siraj Khan
- Padmashri Ustad Rashid Khan
- Ustad Ghulam Abbas Khan
- Ustad Ghulam Siraj Khan Niyazi
- Ustad Najmi Khan
- Ghulam Hasan Khan
The small erstwhile state of Rampur, not far from Delhi in Uttar Pradesh, sprang up only late in the 18th century, and the founders of it were Rohilla Pathans who, originating from Afghanistan, landed in India and lived mostly by the sword. And yet this little place emerged in the course of a few generations as a major centre of the arts.
Everyone knows that it is the home of the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana of music which ranks truly high, associated as it is with highly revered names like Bahadur Hussain Khan, Wazir Khan (Ustad Allauddin Khan’s Guru) and Muhammad Ali Khan of the line of the great Tansen. The names of Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan and Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan from there also remain firmly rooted in memory. Then there is Chhamman Sahib who wrote several texts incuding the Risala-iTanseni which are all preserved at Rampur. The place continues to be a powerhouse of Indian music.
One also knows the connection of the greatest of Urdu poets, Mirza Ghalib, with Rampur, for it is to the Nawabs of this state that he turned for support and patronage after the fall of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Delhi. The Nawab ruling at the time towards the end of the poet’s life, Kalb-i Ali Khan, was forthcoming with his generosity and offered a monthly stipend to the poet who was almost always in want: two hundred rupees per month if he were to come and stay at Rampur, and one hundred rupees if he chose to stay elsewhere.
Ghalib did spend some time at Rampur, although he settled eventually for going back to his beloved Delhi.