Tansen
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Tansen (1506–1589) was a North Indian musician, believed to be the greatest of all time. He was instrumental in creating the classical style of North Indian music as we know it today. Tansen was one of the Navaratnas (nine jewels) at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
Tansen was born in a Hindu family in Gwalior. His father, Mukund Misra, was a poet. He learned music from Haridas Swami, a legendary teacher of the time; not much more is known of Tansen's life. (There is some controversy about his conversion to Islam – whether he was converted against his will, converted by his own free will, or did not convert at all – and no factual information to settle the matter.) He served as the court musician to King Ramachandra of Mewa and later to Emperor Akbar as one of the treasured Navaratnas (nine jewels) of the court. It was Akbar who gave him the title Miyan, and he is usually referred to today as Miyan Tansen.
It was believed that Tansen made miracles such as bringing rain and fire through singing the ragas Megh Malhar and Deepak, respectively.Template:Ref He composed several ragas that have been cornerstones in the repertoire ever since, such as Darbari Kanada, Miyan ki Todi, Miyan ki Malhar, and Miyan ki Sarang. Almost every gharana (school) tries to trace its origin to him, though some try to go further back to Amir Khusro himselfTemplate:Ref. However, it is likely that Tansen and his guru Swami Haridas really started the Dhrupad style of singing. His Sangeeta Sara and Rajmala are important documents on music.
Tansen had a son and a daughter, Bilas Khan and Saraswati Devi, both musicians – Saraswati Devi was a famous dhrupad singer, and Bilas Khan created raga Bilaskhani Todi.Template:Ref In fact, Tansen's blood descendants held sway for hundreds of years as a most formidable force – the Senia gharana – on the North Indian music scene. The last of the line, Dr Dabir Khan, was born in 1905 and died in 1972. He was a dhrupadiya and a beenkar, working for Radio Calcutta. He came from Saraswati Devi's side of the family.
Footnotes
Template:NoteWhile Megh Malhar is still in the mainstream repertoire, Deepak has pretty much died out. There are three different variants, of the Bilawal, Poorvi and Khamaj thats, and it is not known which, if any, corresponds to the Deepak of Tansen's time. Of course, it is a popular myth that it disappeared because it, bringing about fire, was too dangerous to sing ...
Template:NoteThe Dagar family of dhrupad singers believe themselves to be the direct descendants of not Tansen but his guru, Haradas Swami.
Template:NoteIt is said that Bilas improvised the raga (it differs only in detail from his father's Todi), grief-stricken, at a wake, where Tansen's corpse moved one hand in approval of the new melody.