Tānsen | |
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![Portrait of Mian Tansen, c. 1585–90[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTansen_of_Gwalior._(11.8x6.7cm)_Mughal._1585-90._National_Museum%2c_New_Delhi..jpg) Portrait of Mian Tansen,c. 1585–90[1] | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ramtanu |
| Born | c. 1493 Gwalior,Tomar Kingdom (modern dayMadhya Pradesh,India) |
| Died | 26 April 1589 (aged 96)[2] Gwalior,Mughal Empire[3] India |
| Genres | Hindustani Classical Music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Instrumentalist, Vocalist, Music Studies |
| Years active | Till 1562: Raja Ramchandra Singh,Rewah After 1562: EmperorAkbar |
Rāmtanu (c. 1493 – 26 April 1589), popularly referred to asMian Tānsen (lit. 'the Learned One'), orSangeet Samrāt (lit. 'Monarch of Hindustani Music'), was aHindustani classical musician.[4] Born into a HinduGaur Brahmin family inGwalior,[5] he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modernMadhya Pradesh. He got his first break as musician and composer in the court ofRaja Man Singh Tomar ofGwalior and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king ofRewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh (r. 1555–1592), where Tānsen's musical abilities and studies gained widespread fame.[4] This reputation brought him to the attention of the Mughal EmperorAkbar, who sent messengers to Raja Ramchandra Singh, requesting Tānsen to join the musicians at the Mughal court. Tansen did not want to go, but Rāja Ramchandra Singh encouraged him to gain a wider audience and sent him along with gifts for Akbar. In 1562, at about the age of 60, theVaishnav[6] musician Tānsen joined Akbar's court, and his performances became the subject of many court historians.[4]
Numerous legends have been written about Tānsen, mixing facts and fiction, and the historicity of these stories is doubtful.[7] Akbar considered him one of theNavaratnas Nine Ministers (the nine jewels) and gave him the title Mian, an honorific, meaning learned man.[8]
Tānsen was a composer, musician and vocalist, to whom many compositions have been attributed in northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. He was also an instrumentalist who popularized and improved musical instruments. He is among the most influential personalities in the North Indian tradition ofIndian classical music, calledHindustani. His 16th-century studies in music and compositions inspired many, and he is considered by numerous North Indiangharana (regional music schools) to be their lineage founder.[9][10]
Tānsen is remembered for his epicDhrupad compositions, creating several newrāgs, as well as for writing two classic books on music,SriGaneshStotra andSangita Sara.[11]
Tansen's date of birth is unclear, but most sources place his birth about 1493 CE, or between 1493 and 1506. His biography is also unclear and many conflicting accounts exist, with some common elements. Historical facts about Tansen are difficult to extract from the extensive and contradictory legends that surround him.[12]
According to the common elements in the various stories, Tansen's name as a child was Ramtanu.[13] His father Mukund Ram (also known as Mukund Gaud or Mukund Chand)[14] was a wealthy poet and accomplished musician ofGwalior, who for some time was a Hindu temple priest inVaranasi.[13] According to some versions of the story, it is believed that Tansen was born profoundly mute and did not speak until the age of 5.
Tansen learnt and perfected his art in the city ofGwalior, in modern-dayMadhya Pradesh. He began his career from the Imperial Court ofGwalior Kingdom and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king ofRewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh, where Tansen's musical abilities and studies gained him widespread fame and following.[4] He was a close confidant of Raja Ramchandra Singh, and they used to make music together. Tansen's reputation brought him to the attention of the Mughal EmperorAkbar, who sent messengers to Raja Ramchandra Singh, requesting Tansen to join the musicians at the Mughal court. Tansen initially refused to go and sought to retire instead into solitude, but Raja Ramchandra Singh sent him to Akbar's court. In 1562, about the age of sixty, Tansen who was still aVaishnava musician, arrived for the first time in Akbar's court.[6]
Tansen's influence was central to create the Hindustani classical ethos as we know today. He was instrumental in establishing the very first musical gharana the "Gwalior Gharana". A number of descendants and disciples trace him to be their lineage founder. Manygharanas (schools) of Hindustani classical music claim some connection to his lineage. To thesegharanas, Tansen is the founder of Hindustani classical music.[15]
The legendary oral versions about Tansen's early life and schooling particularly differ depending on whether the story has origins in Hindu legends (Vaishnavism) or Muslim legends (Sufism).[12] The Hindubhakti saint, poet and court musician of Raja Man Singh Tomar of GwaliorSwami Haridas was the major influence on Tansen. In Islamic biographies, the Sufi Muslim mystic namedMuhammad Ghaus Gwaliori is said to have influenced Tansen. According to Bonnie Wade – a professor of Music specializing in South Asia Studies, Swami Haridas is widely accepted to have been Tansen's teacher, and it is clear that Tansen connected with Muhammad Ghaus as well, but the evidence suggests that Tansen is less affiliated with either religion, more with music.[12][16]
Tansen showed musical talent at the age of 6. At some point, he was discipled toSwami Haridas, for a brief period, the legendary composer fromVrindavan and court musician of the stellarGwalior court of RajaMan Singh Tomar (1486–1516 AD), specialising in theDhrupad style of singing. His talent was recognised early and it was the ruler ofGwalior who conferred upon the maestro the honorific title 'Tansen'. Haridas was considered to be a legendary music teacher in that time. It is said that Tansen had no equal apart from his teacher. From Haridas, Tansen acquired not only his love for dhrupad but also his interest in compositions in the local language. This was the time when theBhakti tradition was fomenting a shift fromSanskrit to the local idiom (Brajbhasa andHindi), and Tansen's compositions also highlighted this trend. During some point of his apprenticeship, Tansen's father died, and he returned home, where it is said that he used to sing at a localShiva temple inGwalior.[citation needed]
Hagiographies mention that Tansen met the Sufi mysticMuhammad Ghaus. The interaction with Ghaus brought a strong Sufi influence on Tansen.[17] Later in his life, he continued to compose inBrajbhasha invoking traditional motifs such asKrishna andShiva.[18]
The presence of musicians like Tansen in Akbar's court was an attempt to accept and integrate the Hindu and Muslim traditions within the Mughal Empire.[19] Tansen became one of the treasuredNavaratnas (lit.nava=nine,ratna=jewel) of Akbar's court. He received the honorific titleMian there, and the name Mian Tansen.
Tansen's musical compositions covered many themes, and employedDhrupad. Most of these were derived from the HinduPuranas, composed inBraj Bhasha, and written in praise of gods and goddesses such asGanesha,Saraswati,Surya,Shiva,Vishnu (Narayana and Krishna avatar).[20][21] He also composed and performed compositions dedicated to eulogizing kings and emperor Akbar.[20]
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Tansen married to a girl named Hussaini who was from Gwalior, and from this marriage he had four sons and one daughter namely: Surat Sen, Sarat Sen, Tarang Khan, Bilas Khan and Saraswati. All five became proficient musicians ofGwalior in their own right, his daughter Saraswati later married toMisri Singh, a notableveena player and music composer from Singhalgarh, who was the grandson ofRaja Samokhan Singh ofKishangarh.[22] One legend states that Tansen had also been married to a daughter of Akbar named Mehrunissa.[23]
The year of the death of Tansen, like much of his biography, is unclear. According to one version, written by Islamic historians, Tansen died in 1586 inDelhi, and that Akbar and much of his court attended the funeral procession which was completed according to Muslim customs inGwalior.[13][24] Other versions, written in Akbarnama, written by Abul Fazl, as well as by Hindu historians give 26 April 1589 as the date of his death and that his funeral observed mostly Hindu customs.[25][26] Scholars states reason to refute the viewpoint of Tansen being converted to Islam due to his belief on Hindu Tradition and various composition on Hindu God. However, his composition shows no trace of Islamic influence.[27] Tansen's remains were buried in the mausoleum complex of his Sufi master Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus in Gwalior. Every year in December, an annual festival, theTansen Samaroh, is held inGwalior to celebrate Tansen life and legacy.[28]
Several Hindi films have been made on Tansen's life, with mostly anecdotal story lines. Some of them areTansen (1943), a musical hit produced by Ranjit Movietone, starringK. L. Saigal andKhursheed Bano.[29]Tansen (1958) andSangeet Samrat Tansen (1962). Tansen is also a central character, though remaining mostly in the backdrop, in the historical musicalBaiju Bawra (1952), based on the life of his eponymous contemporary.[citation needed]
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A national music festival known as 'Tansen Samaroh' is held every year in December, near the tomb of Tansen at Hazira,Gwalior as a mark of respect to his memory. TheTansen Samman or Tansen award is given away to exponents inHindustani Classical music.
The fort atFatehpur Sikri is strongly associated with Tansen's tenure at Akbar's court. Near the emperor's chambers, a pond was built on a small island in the middle, where musical performances were given. Today, this tank, calledAnup Talao, can be seen near the public audience hallDiwan-i-Aam – a central platform reachable via four footbridges. It is said that Tansen would perform different ragas at different times of day, and the emperor and his select audience would honour him with coins. Tansen's supposed residence is also nearby.
The bulk of Tansen's biography as found in Akbar court historians' accounts andgharana literature consists of inconsistent and miraculous legends.[8] Among the legends about Tansen are stories of his bringing down the rains withRagaMegh Malhar and lighting lamps by performing Raga Deepak.[30][31] Raga Megh Malhar is still in the mainstream repertoire, but raga Deepak is no longer known; three different variants exist in theBilaval (thaat),Poorvi (thaat) andKhamaj (thaat)thaats. It is not clear which, if any, corresponds to the Deepak of Tansen's time. Other legends tell of his ability to bring wild animals to listen with attention (or to talk their language). Once, a wild white elephant was captured, but it was fierce and could not be tamed. Finally, Tansen sang to the elephant who calmed down and the emperor was able to ride him. Besides this, there is also the theory of him being the inventor of rabab-a stringed instruments.[32]
Acrater on the planetMercury has been named in Tansen's honor.[33]
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