The Senia-Maihar Gharana, to which Arup Ratan belongs, has evolved directly from Tansen, the celebrated disciple of Saint Musician Swami Hari Das. Through the guru sishya parampara the musical tradition of this gharana has been preserved for over five centuries. It was Baba Alauddin Khan, who provided a quantum leap to the music of this gharana. Baba introduced the Dhrupad style to the contemporary Indian Instruments thus improving their technical qualities and emotional appeal. The change catapulted these instruments to center stage. The term Maihar Gharana thus simply denotes the creative evolution of Senia Gharana in the hands of Baba Alauddin Khan, the court musician of erstwhile Maihar State.