Pandit Amarnath (1924–1996) was an Indian Classical Vocalist and composer. He composed music for the film Garam Coat in 1955. He should not be confused with the very popular composer of the same name, Amarnath, who was very active in Lahore and Mumbai film industry in 1940s and died around 1947.
He was the first and closest disciple of
Amir Khan, who founded the
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 in ...
of
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
. While Amir Khan had specially propagated the ''vilambit'' or the slow style of singing, Amarnath further enriched the gharana with the mystic poetry he wrote as
bandish
Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, vi ...
for
khayal
Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfor ...
singing, under the pen-name of Miturang.
Amarnath was born in 1924 in
Jhang
Jhang (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the List of most populous c ...
in
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, now in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. He received his initial training in music from B.N. Datta of Lahore, from 1942 to 1947, and moved to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
. It was his first guru, Prof. Datta, who suggested that he go to Khan for further learning.
[ As Amarnath was already singing the Ustad's style, and as public opinion was that the disciple sounded so much like his guru, Amir Khan was convinced about his sincerity, and accepted him as a disciple.
Besides devoutly following Amir Khan's style, teaching and demonstrating the style, Amarnath also served at ]All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
for eight years as composer, recruited specially by Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
during the latter's tenure at AIR. Amarnath later served as Director of Triveni Kala Sangam
Triveni Kala Sangam is an important cultural and arts complex and education centre in New Delhi. Founded in 1950, by Sundari K. Shridharani, who was also its Founding Director, Triveni, as it is commonly referred, contains four art galleries, a ...
, and then as Guru at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styles ...
in Delhi. He also provided music for the 1955 film '' Garam Coat'' starring Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy, with songs by Lata Mangeshkar.Mirza Ghalib
)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy
, death_date =
, death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India
, occupation = Poet
, language ...
. This included the first and only ghazal recorded in the voice of Amir Khan; the documentary was made by M. S. Sathyu.
Amarnath died on 9 March 1996.
Legacy
The book, ''Conversations with Pandit Amarnath'' conducted by Bindu Chawla based on conversations with him, was published by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture (India), Ministry of Culture.
History
The Indira Ga ...
, Delhi, in the year 2004.
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
References
External links
Official Website of Pandit Amarnath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nath, Amar
1924 births
1996 deaths
Hindustani singers
20th-century Indian male classical singers
People from Jhang District
All India Radio people
Indian film score composers
Indian musicologists
Singers from Delhi
20th-century Indian composers
20th-century musicologists
Indian male film score composers
20th-century Khyal singers