The court of Maharaja Udit Narayan Singh of Banaras was the home of one of the foremost bin playing lines of the time. Topmost among the musicians of banaras and first among all contemporary musicians named by Karam Imam is Omrao Khan. Omrao Khan was the master of Nawab of Banda 'Hashmat Jung' or Ali Bahadur II who participated in the 1857 war of independence. Ali Naqi the prime minister of Awadh and Raja sahab Rewa also learnt music under his instruction.