One of the sublime Veena players of Saharanpur Gharana was Bande Ali Khan . he was born in 1830 in Gwalior. His father’s name was Gulam Zakir Khan.
From his Childhood, Bande Ali Khan remained engrossede in music and never gave much thought to day to day life. It is said that he was the dispel of Nirmal Shah, the elder son of Sadarang. After bcoming a famous Veena player, he visited many courts and provinces of that time . he could not serve any king or Maharaja for long time because of his erratic and arrogant nature.
The feature of Khan’s Veena playing playing was that he used to present Meer, Bahlaus, etc. in a very slow tune (Laya) and Gamak, in very high tune. The revered Veena player Murad Khan was the disciple of Bande Ali Khan . Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar was a great admirer of him. Later he visited Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, he was so much impressed by the Raja that he stayed there in Pune for the rest of his life. He died in 1890.