Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was born in Kirana (Dist. Saharanpur, U.P.) in 1872. He is a celebrated pioneer in Hindustani khayal music, after whose stupendous achievements a Kirana ideology in music making became a point of reference in Indian musical thinking. Initially he was trained by his father Kale Khan and uncle Abdulla Khan. It is said that the gharana had close contacts with players of string instruments such as sarangi and been. This is a point worth noting, because in later years, the gharana established norms of remarkably precise tunefulness comparable to the notable exactitude of tuneful string instruments. After his training, Abdul Karim set out with his brother to seek a foothold and patronage. By the 1890-s, he had impressed the Baroda Maharaja and served in the Baroda State for some time. Then he successively moved to Bombay, Miraj

and Hubli, singing and making his mark. In Hubli, he initiated Shri Rambhau Kundgolkar into music (1908). Kundgolkar later became well known as Sawai Gandharva and taught present day luminaries such as Smt. Gangubai Hangal and Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. In Pune, he founded Arya Sangeet Samaj in 1913 and established a branch of it in Bombay in 1917. He used to organize music concerts of his trainees and himself in various centres. In these concerts, all kinds of instrumental combinations, dance-items etc. were presented, and the last item would be his own music. Pt. Vishnu Digambar Paluskar originally employed this model of presenting music to the general public instead of selected patrons, and all musicians eager to popularise music followed it with benefit. In 1920’s, he collaborated with Ms. Deval and Clement in carrying out researches on the

much discussed sruti, a phenomenon in Hindustani music. In fact he was not averse to participate with them in lecture-demonstrations, certainly a novel feature for a musician who did not have university education etc. Even when he settled down in Miraj, he used to help tanpura makers in Miraj to standardise instruments and improve their quality. Obviously he was of a different bent of mind and his interest in musical matters was wider than that of many other musicians! He was one of the major Hindustani vocalists who won acceptance in the South among patrons, musicians as well as common listeners. His sweet, tuneful voice, gradual and intense elaboration of musical ideas in slow tempo, and inclination towards emotive singing made him stand out. Even in rendering thumris, bhajans or stage songs etc. he continued his inward looking music and

thus his ‘light music’ also acquired a different hue. He used to maintain that the number and variety of ragas etc. are not as important as singing tunefully and intensely. His entire music reflects his unswerving loyalty to tunefulness and melodic intensity. On 27th October 1947, while travelling back to Miraj from a concert tour in the South, he began feeling uneasy. Sensing something, he got down on a wayside station, offered prayers to Allah in Raga Darbari, and went to sleep forever!