From lineage to language: How is gayaki defined today?

By Savni Parekar

In today’s context, the influence of gharanas on gayaki has significantly transformed. While gharanas continue to exist in name and lineage, their stylistic rigidity has diluted.

What we largely see now is not gharana-based gayaki, but guru-centric gayaki. A student is often trained to closely follow the personal style of their guru, rather than the broader aesthetic principles of a gharana. This happens because many contemporary gurus themselves have been trained under stalwarts from multiple gharanas, eventually evolving a composite individual style. While this evolution is natural and valuable, it raises an important question: what exactly defines one’s gharana today?

Traditionally, gharanas were identified through specific musical aesthetics—approach to layakari, bandish treat­ment, raga expansion, taan patterns, voice culture, and philosophy of presentation. Today, these elements often coexist across styles. For instance, one may employ layakari reminiscent of Gwalior, bandish-oriented thinking from Agra, taans influenced by Kirana, or raga choices inspired by Jaipur. Such cross-pollination makes rigid gharana classification increasingly difficult.

However, it is important to note that gharanas were never meant to be restrictive. Historically, most Hindustani vocal gharanas trace their roots back to Gwalior, and evolution has always been a part of the tradition. The core idea was not imitation, but internalisation of a musical thought process.

From a performer’s perspective, while raga grammar and lakshanas are non-negotiable, the imagination within a raga should not be limited. What truly matters is how a guru trains the student to think musically—how to explore permutations and combinations within a raga, how to develop phrases organically, and how to arrive at one’s own expression rather than reproduce fixed patterns.

If a guru sings a particular phrase, the real pedagogical question should not be “sing exactly this,” but rather “what other musical possibilities exist within this raga?” That ability—to explore, respond, and innovate within raga maryada—is where true gayaki is shaped today.

(The author is a Hindustani classical vocalist of the Gwalior gharana)