Ajrada Gharana

This gharana is commonly believed to be an offshoot of the Delhi Gharana because its founding brothers, Ustad Kallu Khan and Miru Khan were disciples of Sitaab Khan (disciple of one of the sons of Ustad Siddhar Khan, the father of Delhi Gharana). They were basically from Uttar Pradesh but settled in Ajrara village near present-day Meerut. There isn’t much difference between the playing style of Delhi and Ajrada Gharanas. To create a unique impact, most of the compositions in this gharana are in Tishra Jati (multiples of three or six counts in the original speed). Tabla players from this gharana took the liberty to increase the speed with the use of the last two fingers (ring finger and little finger). Tabla players of this gharana have worked a lot on the improvement of the Baayan (the low drum of the tabla pair). They focused on the balance between both the drums: especially on how to produce a Meend which is called GHISSA (gliding from one syllable to another). In addition to Peshkar and Qaida, this gharana focuses on other compositions like Gat, Gat tode, etc. Usage of some phrases in this gharana are Nagena, Ghetak, Dhingdhina Dhagena, Tirakita etc.  Ustad Kallu Khan, Ustad Habibbudin Khan, Ud. Shamsuddin Khan, Prof. Sudhir Kumar Saxena, Ustad Akram Khan are noteworthy tabla players of this gharana.