Talwandi Gharana

Talwandi Gharana is said to be the oldest gharana of Dhrupad. The followers of this gharana claim themselves to be the descendants of the two Dhrupad singers, Syuraj Khan and Chand Khan. Thus this tradition dates back to the time of Emperor Akbar. Both the brothers Suraj Khan and Chand were the disciples of Swami Haridas. This fact has been also mentioned in `Nad Vinod`, a treatise written by Tansen. After receiving rigorous training from swami Haridas, both of them returned to Punjab. Some authors are of the view that they belonged to Khairabad village which was known as Talwandi. According to Pandit Dilip Chandra Vedi there are about dozen villages in Punjab by the name Talwandi; as such it is not sure to which specific Talwandi they belonged. It is also believed that both the brothers belonged to the Brahmin family but due to the Muslim influence they might have been converted Muslims and as such they became famous by the name of Suraj Khan and Chand Khan instead of Sudhakar and Diwakar, which also means sun and moon. This is also contended that may be due to some economic reasons, they might have accepted Islam, such as, Tansen came to be known instead of Tanna Mishra. Music those days was not considered a respectable art and to get fame, name and money, they might have accepted Islam religion in order to get the recognition or patronage from the Muslim rulers.

Singers of Talwani Gharana
Sur Ras Khan, Natthe Khan, Rahim Dad Khan, Gulab Khan, Bhikhe Khan, Maula Baksh, Maula Dad Khan, Amir Khan and Mehar Ali were few of the popular singers of Talwandi Gharana. The musical repertory of the Talwandi gharana includes many different genres of vocal music. The alap, dhrupad, dhammar, sthayi-antara, khayal, ghazal, dadra, kafi are all different genres of music associated with the Talwani Gharana.

The Talwandi Rajkot and Talwandi Badalgarh were the two villages located near Ludhiana. These villages had been famous for its Dhrupad singers. These two brothers belonging to the Talwandi became popular by the names of Suraj Khan and Chand Khan instead of Sudhakar and Diwakar. These artists were admired as Dhrupad singers. Though they had shifted to different locations in Punjab, they were still known as belonging to Talwandi Gharana. Apart from these singers many other artists became famous kirtankar. Many Sikh ragis are also related to the Talwandi Gharana. The artists of this Gharana had spread their art of music for four hundred years. According to history it is noted that the Talwandi Gharana had been once one of the leading Gharanas of Dhrupad singers. It was a leading Gharana that had immensely contributed to retain the cultural and musical aspect and the heritage of India.