Abdul Karim Khan

He was born on 11 November 1872 at Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, into a family whose musical tradition traced back to the brothers Ghulam Ali and Ghulam Maula; his father Kale Khan was Ghulam Ali's grandson.¹ He was trained by his father and by his uncles Abdullah Khan and Nanhe Khan, was influenced by Rahmat Khan of the Gwalior gharana, and learned the veena, sitar and tabla besides singing and the sarangi.¹ Beginning as a sarangi player, he sang in his early years with his brother Abdul Haq; the pair so impressed the ruler of Baroda that he made them court musicians.¹

The Kirana style he shaped is marked by the slow melodic development of the raga in vilambit tempo, by exact intonation, and by a thumri that moves at a leisurely pace unlike the Purab or Punjabi manners.¹ He was among the first Hindustani musicians to study the Carnatic system seriously, and his sargam singing shows its direct influence; the Mysore court gave him the title Sangeet Ratna.¹ In 1913 he founded the Arya Sangeet Vidyalaya at Poona to teach music, and he finally settled at Miraj.¹ His disciples included Sawai Gandharva — himself the teacher of Bhimsen Joshi — Sureshbabu Mane, Hirabai Barodekar and Roshan Ara Begum.¹

Returning from a concert tour of the South, he died on 27 October 1937 at Singaperumalkoil railway station; the article narrates that in his last hours he offered namaz and recited the kalma in Raga Darbari.¹ Commemorative concerts are held in his honour at Miraj every August.¹

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