Tansen

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. 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 himself. 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. 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.

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Tansen

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