Gharanas are families of musicians. Gharana members are linked by ties of blood, but,even in the past, and increasingly now,the gharana also includes disciples unrelated by blood to the core gharana family. As the word suggests, musical gharanas are families-'real' or forged. The ties between ustad and shagird, even in the absence of an actual blood-tie, are as those of parent and child.
There are several gharana traditions that exist today, each displaying a specific style of singing and of voice production. Each has its own marked characteristics, and growing out of these, its repertoire of preferred ragas and bandish-compositions that reflect the genius of the gharana's style. Among these is the Dilli gharana. Delhi has been for centuries, the centre of political power and artistic patronage. Its glittering courts have been adorned by many great artists. Quite naturally,Delhi has been home to a rich gharana tradition - Vidya Rao in Celebrating Delhi (Penguin 2010) Suhel Saeed is the son & disciple of sitar maestro Ustad Saeed Zafar Khan of the Delhi Gharana. Suhel was born in a home surrounded by stalwarts of the Delhi Gharana - the sursagar maestro Ustad Mamman Khan, vocalists Ustad's Chand Khan, Usman Khan, Hilal Ahmed Khan, Nasir Ahmed Khan and Iqbal Ahmed Khan, the sarangi maestro Ustad Bundu Khan and the violin wizard Ustad Zahoor Ahmed and his grandfather Ustad Zafar Ahmed Khan sitar maestro. Suhel started learning sitar at the age of five and khayals and gats were his mother-tongue even before he learnt to speak. Naturally his style blendstantrakari (instrumental virtuosity) with flashes of Delhi Gharana gayaki (vocalism).
