MUSIC PROJECT

USTAD AMIR KHAN

Ustad Amir Khan

(August 15, 1912 – February 13, 1974)

Ustad Amir Khan was a well-known Indian classical vocalist. He is

considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani classical music,

and the founder of the Indore Gharana

Early life and background

Amir Khan was born in a family of musicians in Indore, India .His father, Shahmir Khan, a sarangi and veena player of the Bhendibazaar gharana, served at the court of the Holkars of

Indore. His grandfather, Change Khan, was a singer in the court of Bahadurshah Zafar. Amir Ali's mother died when he was nine years old. He had a younger brother, Bashir, who became a sarangi player at

the Indore station of All India Radio.

He was initially trained in the sarangi by his father. However, seeing his interest

in vocal music, his father gradually devoted more time to vocal training,

focusing on the Merukhand technique. Amir Ali was exposed at an early age to many different styles, since just about

every musician who visited Indore would come to their house, and there would be mehfils at their place on a regular basis. Also, he learnt the basics of tabla playing

from one of his maternal uncles, who was a tabla player.

Amir Khan moved to Bombay in 1934, and there he gave a few concerts and cut about half a dozen 78-rpm records.

These initial performances were not well received. Following his father's advice, in 1936 he joined the services of Maharaj Chakradhar Singh of Raigadh Sansthan in Madhya Pradesh, but he stayed only about a year. Amir Khan's father died in 1937. Later, Khansahib lived for some

time in Delhi and Calcutta, but after the partition of India he moved back to

Bombay.

Singing careerAmir Khan developed his own singing style, influenced by the styles of

Abdul Waheed Khan (vilambit tempo), Rajab Ali Khan (taans) and Aman Ali Khan (merukhand). This unique style, known as the Indore Gharana,

blends the spiritual flavor and grandeur of dhrupad with the ornate vividness of khyal. He presented an aesthetically detailed badhat

(progression) in ati-vilambit laya (very slow tempo) using bol-alap, followed by gradually speeding up sargams with various ornamentations,

taans and bol-taans, including Merukhandi patterns, and finally a madhyalaya or drut laya (medium or fast tempo) chhota khyal or a

ruba'idar tarana. He had a rich baritone voice with a three-octave range. His performances had an understated elegance, reverence, restrained passion and an utter lack of showmanship that both moved and awed

listeners. According to Mohan Nadkarni's book "Great Masters: Profiles in Hindustani Classical Vocal Music", Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's music was

extroverted and exuberant, whereas Amir Khan's was an introverted, dignified 'darbar' style. Amir Khansahib believed that poetry was

important in khyal compositions, and with his pen name, Sur Rang ("colored in swara"), he has left several compositions.

Amir Khan helped popularize the tarana, as well as khyalnuma compositions in Persian. He often used the taals Jhoomra and Ektaal, and generally preferred a simple theka (basic tabla strokes that define the taal) from the tabla accompanist. As in

the case of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan's initial sarangi training was important in

establishing him as a great singer. Even though he had been trained in the sarangi, he generally

performed khyals and taranas with only a tanpura and tabla for accompaniment. Sometimes he had

a subdued harmonium accompaniment, but he almost never used the sarangi.

Besides singing in concerts, Amir Khan also sang film songs in ragas, in a purely classical style, most notably for the films Baiju Bawra, Kshudhita Pashan, Shabaab, and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje. He

also sang a ghazal Rahiye Ab Aisi Jagah for a documentary on Ghalib.

Khansahib's disciples include Amarnath, A. Kanan, Shankar Mazumdar, Srikant Bakre, Singh Brothers, Mukund Goswami,

Gajendra Bakshi, Kankana Banerjee, Pradyumna Kumud Mukherjee and Poorabi Mukherjee, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Akhtar Sadmani,

Amarjeet Kaur, Ajit Singh Paintal, Bhimsen Sharma, Munir Khan, and Kamal Bose. His style has also influenced many other singers

and instrumentalists, including Prabha Atre, Bhimsen Joshi, Rashid Khan, Mahendra Toke, Shanti Sharma, Rasiklal Andharia,

Gokulotsavji Maharaj, Nikhil Banerjee and the Imdadkhani gharana.

Although he referred to his style as the Indore Gharana, he was a firm believer of absorbing elements from various gharanas.

Amir Khan was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967 and the Padma Bhushan in 1971.[11]

Personal life

Amir Khan's first marriage was to Zeenat, sister of the sitar player, Ustad Vilayat Khan. From this marriage,

which eventually failed and ended in separation, he had a daughter, Farida. His second marriage was to Munni Bai, who gave birth to a son, Ekram Ahmed. Around

1965, Khansaheb married Raisa Begum, daughter of the thumri singer, Mushtari Begum of Agra. He had

expected that Munni Begum would accept the third wife; however, Munni disappeared and it is rumored that she committed suicide. With Raisa he had a son,

Haider Amir, later called Shahbaz Khan.Khansahib died a premature death in a car accident in Calcutta, and was

buried at Calcutta's Gobra cemetery.

Awards and recognitions

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967

Presidential Award in 1971

Padma Bhushan in 1971

Swar Vilas from Sur Singar Sansad in 1971

Prepared by

CHRIS JAIMONSTD X CMMIS