Tansen
Rāmtanu Panday, popularly referred to as Mian Tānsen, or Sangeet Samrāt, was a Hindustani classical musician. Born into a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family in Gwalior, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pradesh. He got his first break as musician and composer in the court of Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh Baghel, where Tānsen's musical abilities and studies gained widespread fame. This reputation brought him to the attention of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. In 1562, at about the age of 60, Tānsen joined Akbar's court, and his performances became the subject of many court historians.
Numerous legends have been written about Tānsen, mixing facts and fiction, and the historicity of these stories is doubtful. Akbar considered him one of the Navaratnas Nine Ministers and gave him the title Mian, an honorific, meaning learned man.Tansen was a great composer musician and vocalist, to whom many compositions have been attributed in the 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 of Indian classical music, called Hindustani. His 16th-century studies in music and compositions inspired many, and he is considered by numerous North Indian gharana to be their lineage founder.
Tānsen is remembered for his epic Dhrupad compositions, creating several new rāgs, as well as for writing two classic books on music, Sri Ganesh Stotra and Sangita Sara.
Early life
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.According to the common elements in the various stories, Tansen's name as a child was Ramtanu. His father Mukund Ram was a wealthy poet and accomplished musician of Gwalior, who for some time was a Hindu temple priest in Varanasi. 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 of Gwalior, in modern-day Madhya Pradesh. He began his career from the Imperial Court of Gwalior Kingdom and spent most of his adult life in the court and patronage of the Hindu king of Rewa, Raja Ramchandra Singh, where Tansen's musical abilities and studies gained him widespread fame and following. 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 Emperor Akbar, 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 a Vaishnava musician, arrived for the first time in Akbar's court.
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. Many gharanas of Hindustani classical music claim some connection to his lineage. To these gharanas, Tansen is the founder of Hindustani classical music.
Schooling
The legendary oral versions about Tansen's early life and schooling particularly differ depending on whether the story has origins in Hindu legends or Muslim legends. The Hindu bhakti saint, poet and court musician of Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior Swami Haridas was the major influence on Tansen. In Islamic biographies, the Sufi Muslim mystic named Muhammad 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.Tansen showed musical talent at the age of 6. At some point, he was discipled to Swami Haridas, for a brief period, the legendary composer from Vrindavan and court musician of the stellar Gwalior court of Raja Man Singh Tomar, specialising in the Dhrupad style of singing. His talent was recognised early and it was the ruler of Gwalior 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 the Bhakti tradition was fomenting a shift from Sanskrit to the local idiom, 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 local Shiva temple in Gwalior.
Hagiographies mention that Tansen met the Sufi mystic Muhammad Ghaus. The interaction with Ghaus brought a strong Sufi influence on Tansen. Later in his life, he continued to compose in Brajbhasha invoking traditional motifs such as Krishna and Shiva.
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. Tansen became one of the treasured Navaratnas of Akbar's court. He received the honorific title Mian there, and the name Mian Tansen.
Compositions
Tansen's musical compositions covered many themes, and employed Dhrupad. Most of these were derived from the Hindu Puranas, composed in Braj Bhasha, and written in praise of gods and goddesses such as Ganesha, Saraswati, Surya, Shiva, Vishnu. He also composed and performed compositions dedicated to eulogizing kings and emperor Akbar.File:Akbar, Todarmal, Tansen and Abul Fazal, Faizi and Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana in a court scene.jpg|center|thumb|520x520px|Tansen in Emperor Akbar's Court along with Todarmal, Abul Fazal, Faizi and Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana c.16th century