There are some compositions in Hindustani raagdari music that are common to all gharanas. For instance, the khayal creations of the eighteenth century composer Niamat Khan “Sadarang” are a necessary inclusion in any serious vocalist’s repertoire.

There are also those khayals that have crossed gharana boundaries. The innate grandeur of such pieces and the urge to widen artistic horizons have driven musicians to add them to concert repertoire, despite their obvious association with composers from other gharanas. Clearly, an eclectic approach to music-making has been witnessed through the history of Hindustani music, despite the common belief that this was an unbending and unchanging tradition. It is this diversity and eclecticism that needs to be revisited in our times that speak in favour of insularity and homogeneity.

The medium-paced khayal in raag Chhayanat set to a medium-paced sixteen matra Teentaal is one such composition that has been learnt by virtually all vocalists. Composed by Inayat Hussein Khan of the Sahaswan-Rampur gharana, it is sung in the clip by Nissar Hussain Khan, an important figure in the recent history of the gharana.