Who were Sadarang and Adarang?

With the Mughal power in Delhi weakening after Aurangzeb’s death, there was a quick succession of emperors. But, there was a relatively long period of prosperity of music during the reign of legendary Muhammadshah Rangile (1716-1748 AD).

He was a loving and generous patron to many musicians. Qawwali was reintroduced into the Mughal imperial court and it quickly spread throughout South Asia faster than ever before, incorporating many newly patronized instruments such as Sarod, Surbahar, Sitar and Sursingar that bolstered the traditional Tambura, Veena and Tabla.

Khayal was popularized by Niyamat Khan (Sadarang) and his nephew Firoz Khan ( Adarang), both musicians in the court of Muhammad Shah Rangile. Khayal was pre-existing at that time, but for the first time, it became so popular that it later almost replaced Dhrupad.