Malini Rajurkar ,Hindustani classical vocalist no more

Famous Hindustani classical vocalist and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee ,Malini Rajurkar died in Hyderabad on 6 September 2023 due to age related ailments . She was  82 years old. 

Malini Rajurkar was born in Ajmer in Rajasthan in 1941.  She studied music from the Ajmer Music College, under the guidance of Govindrao Rajurkar and his nephew Vasantrao Rajurkar, who was to become her future husband. She was an exponent of Gwalior gharana and one of the foremost proponents of 'khayal' and 'tappa' genre. 

Classical music in India 

In India it is believed that music in the country was more or less unified till 13th century AD. Later it gradually bifurcated into Hindustani and Carnatic . The government of  India also recognises two types of classical music in India ,Carnatic and Hindustani.

Carnatic classical music is basically confined to South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.  M.S Subbalakshmi is one of the famous carnatic vocalists .

Classical music in the rest of India is recognised as Hindustani Music.

However  there are certain areas in Karnataka and Andhra where Hindustani classical music is also practised. 

Hindustani Classical Music 

Dhrupad and Khayal are two major forms of Hindustani classical music . 

Dhrupad is a vocal tradition based on the practice of nada yoga  and is performed on instruments like Rudra Veena and Sur Singar. 

It is believed that Dhrupad emerged from the recitation of Samaveda.  It was patronised by both Rajput Kings and Mughal Emperors. Famous Dhrupad singers are Zakiruddin Khan and Allabande Khan who adopted the name of Dagar Bandhu.

Khayal

Khayal or Khyal is a Persian word which means imagination. It is generally considered to have originated in the sufi tradition of 14th century A.D. 

Khayal is a vocal tradition which is  usually accompanied by tabla and tambura .

Gharanas of Khayal 

There are many schools or Gharanas of Khayal  founded by various individuals or patrons like Kings or noblemen.

Gwalior Gharana 

It is the oldest gharana of the khayal form of classical hindustani music. It was founded by Nathan Peerbaksh who settled down in Gwalior . Some of the prominent musicians of this gharana are Krishna Rao Shankar Pandit , Raja Bhaiya Poonchwale etc.

Agra Gharana 

Khuda Baksh of Agra is given the credit of founding Agra gharana .Some of the famous musicians of the Agra gharana are Vilayat Hussain Khan and Fayyaz Khan.

Jaipur  Atroli Gharana 

The Jaipur Atroli gharana is associated with Alladiya Khan of the 19-20th century. Some of the famous musicians are Malikarjun Mansur, Kishori Amonkar .

Rampur Saheswan Gharana 

The earliest singer came from Rampur,Uttar Pradesh. Nisar Hussain Khan, Rashid Khan are the two prominent musicians of recent times belonging to this gharana.

Expected Question in Exam 

Q1. Malini Rajurkar who died recently belongs to which field ?

Answer : Hindustani classical vocalist

Q2. Malini Rajurkar belonged to which gharana  of the Khayal form of Hindustani classical music ?

Answer : Gwalior 

Q3. There are two forms of classical music in India . One is Hindustani and the other is —?

Answer : Carnatic 

Q4. Which form of Hindustani classical music is believed to have originated from Samaveda?

Answer : Dhrupad