Left:
Ravidas propounded Ravidassia religious movement; right: Gosvami
Tulsidas.
Archeological finds of figurines of apsaras playing musical instruments indicate that music has long been important to Varanasi.[1] In medieval times, the Vaishnava Bhakthi movement[broken anchor] swept through the country. Literature attests to the fact that the Kingdom of Kashi centering on Varanasi was a major centre for music. The noted saint musicians were Surdas, Kabir, Ravidas, Meera and Tulsidas.[1]
The music culture of devotional music permeated in Varanasi during the neo-Vaishnava movement when holy men singing devotional songs attracted people to the fold of the Bhakthi movement.[3]
During the monarchic rule of Govind Chandra in the 16th century, the Dhrupad style of singing received royal patronage and led to other related forms of music such as Dhamar, Hori and Chaturanga. Under Muslim rulers, the Nawab of Awadh, the Nirgun singers of Kashi not only popularized the Assarwari, "Ghunghat ke pat Khol" song but also popularized the singing concerts such as festivals on the boats floating on the Ganges River. Some of the popular festivals were Jhoola, Jhoomar, Kajri, Birha, Dangal and Gulab Bari, a tradition which is continued even today. One of the singing styles made popular by Muslim artists Shori Miyan, Gammu Khan and Shade Khan during this time was the Tappa form of singing.[1]
In recent times, the tutelary head, the Maharajas of Kashi of Varanasi, particularly Maharaj Prabhu Narayan Singh, have patronized music. During the Moghal Emperor Bahadur Shah II's reign, the noted musicians were Waris Ali, Akbar Ali, Nisar Khan, Sadiq Ali and Ashiq Ali Khan. Ali Mohammad and Ali Bux, the sons of Basat Khan, who were hailed as the "jewels" of the Royal court of Kashi. During this time, the local music styles which developed were the Banarasi Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti, Hori, Bhairavi, Kajri, Tarana, Ghato and many more. In addition, new forms were created such as Tirwat, Sadra, Khamsa, Lavni, Chaturang, Sargam, Ragmala, Kirtan, Qauwali, Kathagayan, Bhajan and Ramayan kirtan.[1] Two hundred years ago, Pandit Ram Sahai developed the Benares gharana of the tabla, and within this genre, the notable musicians include Kishan Maharaj, Samta Prasad, Kumar Bose, and Samar Saha.[4] A class of musicians, gandharva, train their daughters in music and dancing.[5]
The Varanasi School of Music that has evolved is very similar to the Lucknow style (gharana) of music and has also imbued local folk traditions of chaiti and kajri. This form of music spread quickly. Shankara Deva, a devotional music singer saint in his own right, was instrumental in composing Bhakthi songs.[6] Biajis, a courtesan sect of Varanasi, are credited with maintaining and contributing to the traditions of Hindustani music and dance in Varanasi.