Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan (1871–1949) was an
Indian subcontinental singer from the
Kirana gharana
Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara).
Singing style
The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tunin ...
. He died in 1949 in
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district.
Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti.
Saharanpur is declared as on ...
, India.
[Profile of Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan on parrikar.org website]
Retrieved 12 January 2022
Early life and background
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan was born in
Kirana, Uttar Pradesh in 1871.
[Treasures from the Past – Abdul Wahid Khan (Profile of Abdul Wahid Khan on ITC Sangeet Research Academy website)]
Retrieved 12 January 2022 The town of Kirana was home to many families of musicians from the Mughal court, who migrated from Delhi after the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
fell in 1857. Kirana gharana's three disciplines are
rudraveena
The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra vina'')—also called ''Bīn'' in North India—is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani Music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the ...
,
sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
and vocals.
[
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan initially learned vocal and sarangi from his father, Ustad Abdul Majid Khan. Around age 12, he moved to Kolhapur to learn from Ustad Langde Haider Baksh Khan, a disciple of Mian Bande Ali Khan, a famous master of ]veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.< ...
and vocal music.[
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan founded the ]Kirana gharana
Kirana gharana is one of the Indian classical khyal gharanas, and is concerned foremost with perfect intonation of notes (swara).
Singing style
The central concern of the Kirana style is swara, or individual notes, in particular precise tunin ...
musical family with his cousin Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian language, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)[Sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...]
player.[
]
Singing career
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan forbade recordings of his performances to avoid imitation by other singers. Only three of his performances survived, recordings of the ragas Patdip, Multani, and Darbari Kanada
Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-c ...
, accompanied by Chatur Lal on tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
. They were preserved by music producer Jivan Lal Mattoo, who secretly recorded a radio broadcast in 1947, 2 years before his death, to document Khan's style.
"Although a youthful prodigy of the Kolhapur court, remaining unchallenged after his public debut there at age 18, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan had no inclination to spend time singing in the courts. Instead he lived a devout, reclusive life, singing in the presence of holy men and at the tombs of Sufi saints and only occasionally sang in public."[
]
Death and legacy
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan died as an Indian national in 1949 in Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district.
Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti.
Saharanpur is declared as on ...
. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan's students included Pandit Jaichand Bhatt (Khyal Singer), Sureshbabu Mane, Hirabai Barodekar
Hirābai Barodekar (1905 – 1989) was an Indian Hindustāni classical music singer, of Kirana gharana. She was disciple of Ustād Abdul Wahid Khān.
Early life and background
Hirabai was born as Champākali to Kirānā Gharānā master Us ...
, Begum Akhtar
Akhtari Bai Faizabadi (7 October 1914 – 30 October 1974), also known as Begum Akhtar, was an Indian singer and actress. Dubbed "Mallika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazals), she is regarded as one of the greatest singers of ghazal, dadra, and thumr ...
, Saraswatibai Rane, Pran Nath, Sukhdev Prasad, Ram Narayan
Ram Narayan (; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument ''sarangi'' as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first international ...
, and Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
.
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan's greatest contribution was his influence on Amir Khan of Indore gharana Indore gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music. It was founded by Amir Khan, who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan and amalgamated their style.
Amir Khan grew up ...
, although he was not one of his formal disciples. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan had started evolving the ''vilambit khyal'' and their work inspired Amir Khan to develop his trademark ''ati vilambit'' singing.[
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan evolved the classical Hindustani music by extending recitals of a raga from approximately 20 minutes to up to an hour. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan was one of the greatest icons of the Kirana
gharana.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdul Wahid
1871 births
1949 deaths
Hindustani singers
19th-century Indian Muslims
19th-century Indian male classical singers
Muhajir people
Kirana gharana
Vocal gharanas
20th-century Indian male classical singers
People from Muzaffarnagar
Singers from Uttar Pradesh
20th-century Khyal singers