Ustad Amir Khan - My Collection

Abhogi- charan dhar aayo Adana -momadshah rangil re Adana -ZanakJhanakPayalBaje_1955-AmirKhan-HasratJaipuri_VasantDesaiAhirbhairav - jaa jaa re kagawaa Ahirbhairav - piya paradeen param sukh chatur by Amirkhan (AIR)Bageshri-bolo gun kaamanaa jaage -Bageshri-kanada-gore-gore-mukh-par Bahar-Bandish-''Kar Suljaio garavaaBairagi-Khayal Teental''Man sumarat nis din Bihag -kaise sukh sove / Aali ri aali by AmirkhanBilaskhani Todi-Khayal Vilambit jhoomra - bairagi roopChandramadhu -e baran baai Charukeshi-Khayal Teental'- laj rakho tum meriDarbari Kanada -gumaan jagah -Darbari-Khayal Vilambit Jhaptal- Amir Khan-mori ali re jab se bhanak/kin bairan kaan bhare Hamsadhvani (Tarana) by Amir KhanHansdhvani -jai maata vilamba taje -AmirkhanJog-Khayal Vilambit Roopak- O balama tumare bin kal naahi/sajan more ghar aaye KalashriKalavati-AnmaaniPiyaaSoRahatHai-AmirKhanMadhukauns-Khayal in teental Bairan Bhai rainMalkauns1 vilabit zoomara - Amir Khan-jinake man mein ram birajeMalkauns2 by Amir Khan (aaj more ghar)Marwa -piyaa more anant des/gurubin gyan na paave Megh (1969) - e barakhaa ritu aayee Megh-vilambit-jhumra-tarana-drut-ektal Nand-Khayal Vilambit Bandish -ai vaare sainyaa re Puriya-Khayal in teental''chin chin bat takatRageshree (web).movRamdasi_malhar -chhai badaraa kaari Sahana Kanada -sundar aangan baithee Shuddha Kalyan -vilambit-jhoomra- karam karoSuha KanadaSurmalhar (1981)Todi -jaa jaa re more piyaa Untitled Raga - Para karo guna na - Drut TintalYaman-Khayal in Vilambit -sahaje karam baramaane / aiso sughr sundarva Yaman Kalyan-PiyaKaise-at-private-residence

amirkhandocu.mov

Yet to collectBASANT MUKHARI (33:59), Prabhu data vidhata saban ke - JhaptalBILASKHANI TODI (22:00)Ke baraka - Vilambit JhumraBa ke nike gum - Drut tintalCHANDNI KEDAR, Ye ri thu dhan dhan tero bhaag - Vilambit Jhumra/Ye ri thu dhan dhan tero bhaag - Vilambit JhumraCHANDRAKAUNSTarana (c. 1950)JOG, Tarana in TintalKAFI Lalan aayeKafi Kanada -Ab man laag tumhi sang - Vilambit in JhumraKOMAL RISHABH ASAVARIJagaat sapna ka karat guman - Vilambit Jhumra/ Eri ab to - Madhya Laya TintalLALIT, Kahan jaage raat - Vilambit JhumraJogiya more ghar - Drut TintalLALITTadpat hun jaise jal bin meen - Drut TintalDar aa jane man - Drut TintalMiya Malhar

MULTANIDhola to jalamTODI (23:52), Kajo re Mohammad Shah - Vilambit in JhumraMan ke panchi bhaye banware - Drut TintalPATDEEPYeri meri aan (part 1)

RAM KALYANSamagama de (?), Persian composition- Vilambit Jhoomra

SUHA (16:14)Dere na dim ta num - Tarana, Drut Tintal

Film SongsBAIJU BAWRA(Prakash Pictures, 1952)HMV SPHO 830124 (Economy)Music: Naushad; Lyrics: Shakeel BadayuniPURIYA DHANASHREETori jai jai kartaarDesi (with Pt D V Paluskar)Aaj gavat man meroRAAGINI(Ashok Pictures Pvt. Ltd., Bombay; 1958)HMV SPHO 820922 (Economy)Combination cassette with KALPANAMusic: O P Nayyar, Lyrics: Jan Nisar AkhtarRAAG?Chhed diye mere dil ke taarSHABAB(Sadiq Productions Pvt. Ltd.)in CLASSICS FROM FILMS: CLASSICAL ARTISTES SING FOR FILMSHMV SPHO 44251 (Economy)Music: Naushad; Lyrics: Shakeel BadayuniRAAG?

Daya kar giridhar gopal

Ragmala – Ifrom film Gunj Uthi Shehnai, (Aug 1959), Music: Vasant DesaiRAMKALI, DESI, SHUDH SARANG, MULTANI, YAMAN KALYANOJE-14589 N-53120Amir Khan & Bismillah Khan & Party,Ragmala –IIfrom film Gunj Uthi Shehnai (Aug 1959), Music: Vasant DesaiSUR MALHAR, BAGESHRI, CHANDRAKAUNS

Amir Khanfrom film: Kshudhita Pashan, (May 1960)OJE-16145T1 N-77010Amir Khan & Smt. Protimafrom film: Kshudhita Pashan, (May 1960)OJE-16144T1 N-77011Amir Khanfrom film: Kshudhita Pashan, (May 1960)

Baiju Bawra:THE TWIN FT 17512Ustad Amir KhanOJW 2193MEGH, Ghanan ghanan ghan garjeOJW 2194PURIYA DHANASHREE, tori jay jayTHE TWIN FT 17513Ustad Amir Khan and Pandit D. V. PaluskarOJW 2220DESI Part 1, Aaj gavat mana meroOJW 2240DESI Part 2, Aaj gavat mana mero

Amir Khan was born at Indore in 1912.Music was in his blood; his ancestors had beenmusicians in the Mughal courts. His father was an expertsarangi and vina player. A mehfil of Amir Khan's wasalways a pleasant experience. He had a very impressiveand magnetic personality. At his concerts he wouldalways sit in the posture of a yogi doing his tapasya,with closed eyes and deep meditation. He maintainedthe same position till the end of his concert. His smilingcountenance, a total lack of gesticulation or facialdistortion, his absolute concentration on the song, andthe slow, gradual build-up of a raga picture invariablykept his audience completely engrossed. He had, foraccompaniment, two tanpuras tuned to perfection, asubdued harmonium and a tabla with a straight, simplebut steady laya. An atmosphere of solemnity andtranquillity pervaded his concerts, in striking contrastwith the noisy and sometimes unmusical gymnasticbouts some singers have with the tabla players thatentertain listeners with acrobatics rather than providing

them with aesthetic delight.He had cultivated his voice till it was as exquisitelychiselled as a piece of sculpture. While presenting a ragahe unfolded it with extreme skill, delicacy and purity. Attimes, when an ascending note appeared to besuspended in mid-air, he unexpectedly made a lightningplay on that note, holding the audience spellbound.Because of his inborn, instinctive knowledge of avakash,kal and laya he was able to make his voice sound as ifhe was singing swaras from two different octavessimultaneously, treating his audience to a uniquecelestial experience. His mastery over layakari and theswaras was complete. His taans though complicated, andfull of artistic twists. vere executed in an easy andgraceful way. He had an amazingly wide range of pitch,and he moved majestically through this span with hisliquid golden voice. Listeners were always favourablyimpressed by his gayaki and skilled display of tonalbeauty. He did not agree with the popular notion thatthe tarana was just a tongue twisting exercise with ameaningless cluster of words, involving a lot of vocaljugglery in an ever-increasing tempo. He always put intoa tarana a Persian couplet interwoven in the apparentlymeaningless 'Dir tun, tan, din yalali, yalallum', andhonestly believed that these syllables did have somemysterious and mystic import. According to him it wasthe Persian scholar Amir Khusro who invented thetarana. Amir Khan was very keen on establishing thistheory by carrying out research to unravel the hiddenmeanings of the tarana. But cruel destiny snatched himaway and his mission was left unaccomplished.Amir Khan's presentation was always thoughtful andmethodical and he rarely indulged in repetitive phrases.The thorough treatment he gave each raga naturallyrequired considerable time for flawless elaboration. Itwas well-nigh impossible to get a satisfactory expositionfrom him in just 3 minutes. It was therefore only in thelate 1960s that I could have him to record for a longplayingdisc. It was not an easy job to bring him beforethe mike, though obtaining his consent was not all thatdifficult. Even to approach him posed a very big problemfor me. Amir Khan lived, in those days, in verydisreputable surroundings, where it was considered veryobjectionable for any gentleman to go, even during theday. This is the locality a little beyond and opposite theCongress House on Vallabhai Patel Road, near theKennedy bridge. It is inhabited by professional singingand dancing girls, as well as prostitutes. Amir Khan wasgiving tuitions to some of these singing girls for hisliving and therefore had to stay in one of the buildingson the third floor. Later, when his financial positionimproved, he shifted to a flat on Peddar Road. Justbeyond the building where Amir Khan lived was theresidence of an elderly singer by the name of Gangabai.Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan and Ahmed Jan Tirakhwaoften stayed with her. This shows that even women ofthese professions were treated with respect as artists, inartistic circles. As the recording executive of H.M.V. Ihad to contact artists regardless of time and place. Toobtain Amir Khan's agreement for the recording I had to

meet him, and, therefore it was incumbent on me tovisit his residence. I was greatly put off when I learntabout the locality where he stayed. I was afraid of whatpeople would say if they observed me entering a houseof ill repute. Any outsider would naturally draw his ownconclusions, not knowing that an eminent singer wasliving in that building. If I had, out of fear of socialstigma, refrained from going to visit Amir Khan, hisgreat artistry would have gone unrecorded. The idea ofsecuring his consent for recording together with a keensense of duty prompted me to enter the building, eyesdowncast, not looking about me till I entered AmirKhan's room on the 3rd floor. Once in his room I cheeredup, and I talked to him for an hour or two. After that Ivisited him often. We exchanged views on music andgharanas, and such visits gave me opportunities to studyhis likes and dislikes. These visits also gave himconfidence in me. After a couple of months and 4 or 5such visits, he agreed to come for a recording. Somemore time was lost in persuading him to agree to theterms of payment. Finally this hurdle too was crossed.Yet Amir Khan went on cancelling dates, giving freshones and then again postponing the recording on someflimsy ground. I got fed up with his dilly-dallying and,in spite of my great regard and respect for him, Ijustifiably felt very annoyed. Ultimately one day Iplucked up my courage and said to him, 'If I hadapproached God Almighty as many times as I have cometo you, he would have blessed me, but all I can get fromyou is the promise of a future date.' Seeing myexasperation he became thoughtful, smiled a little andreplied, 'Please do not disbelieve me. Name any day ofthis week and I will keep the appointment.'True to his word he came on the day I named, and I gotfrom him his first long playing disc. His favourite ragaswere Marwa, Darbari Kanada and Malkauns. It is indeedrare these days to hear Raga Marwa as it was presentedby Bade Gulam Ali and Amir Khan. His first LP wasreceived with tremendous enthusiasm by the public. Thisdelighted Amir Khan, and he was more than ready foranother recording. In spite of this I had to put in a lotof effort and time to bring him to the studio again. Thistime he made an LP containing ragas Lalit and Megh andthis was all that could be obtained from him before hewas lost to the world.G.N. Joshi - Down Melody Lane