Pandit Amarnathji trailblazed a new outlook to the lyric of the khayal in the 20th century. He matched the antarmukhi gana or inward-faced singing of his gharana with antarmukhi bol, or inward-looking lyrics, extending his gharana repertoire from 60 to 250 on, a new chapter in the Sufi history of the khayal. Emerging as a think tank, both for Hindustani music and for the Indore gharana in the 20th century, he pioneered many a lost cause in the chequered history of the parampara, post the feudal period. And as a musicologist, he reinterpreted the hidden meanings of esoteric ancient texts to make them accessible for the layman.