Imrat Khan (17 November 1935 – 22 November 2018) was an Indian
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...
and
surbahar
''Surbahar'' (; ) sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is closely related to the sitar, but has a lower pitch. Depending on the instrument's size, it ...
player and composer. He was the younger brother of sitar maestro
Grove Music Online
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
''. (subscription required for full text).
Training and early career
Imrat Khan was born in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
on 17 November 1935 into a family of musicians tracing its roots back for several generations, to the court musicians of the Mughal rulers. The training in music traditionally has been passed down from father to son for nearly 400 years. He belonged to
Etawah gharana
The Etawah gharana is a North Indian school of sitar and surbahar music and named after a small town close to Agra where Imdad Khan (1848–1920) lived.Imdadkhani gharana
The Etawah gharana is a North Indian school of sitar and surbahar music and named after a small town close to Agra where Imdad Khan (1848–1920) lived.Enayat Khan
Ustad Enayat Khan ( ur, عنایت خان ; 1894–1938) also known as Nath Singh was one of India's most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th century. He was the father of Vilayat Khan, one of the topmost s ...
(1895–1938), recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his time, as had been his grandfather,
Imdad Khan
Ustad Imdad Khan (1848 – 1920) was a sitar and surbahar player. He was the first sitar player ever to be recorded. Imrat Khan's father died when Imrat was a child, so he was raised by his mother, Bashiran Begum and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan. In 1944, the family moved with
Vilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player.Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
where both the brothers learned sitar-playing extensively from their uncle
Wahid Khan
Wahid Khan was an Indian surbahar and sitar player. He was the son of Imdad Khan and belonged to the Imdadkhani gharana or ''Etawah gharana'' of classical music.
Early life
Wahid Khan was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. He was still quite young ...
. In 1952, Vilayat and Imrat moved in together in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. They performed together for many years. The two brothers were part of the first cultural delegation to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and Eastern Europe in 1956.
Solo career and legacy
From 1961 onwards, Imrat Khan performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and surbahar.
For decades, Imrat Khan recorded extensively on both his instruments. His full performance practice started with a surbahar alap in
dhrupad
Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...
''ang'' (embellished with more romantic touches), followed by a shorter alap on the sitar leading into ''gat'' in traditional Imdadkhani style. (Sitar players such as
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 ...
and
Nikhil Banerjee
Pandit Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee (14 October 1931 – 27 January 1986) was an Indian classical sitarist of the Maihar Gharana. Along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, he emerged as one of the leading exponents of the sitar. He ...
added bass strings to their sitars to achieve at least some of the surbahar's lower range on a single instrument).
Imrat Khan performed in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and Southeast Asia. He also performed at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in 1970. He spent a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
.
Imrat Khan's music has been featured in films made by noted filmmakers like
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...
and
James Ivory
James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screen ...
.
"In 1971, he made musical history as the first Indian musician to play at London's Royal Albert Hall for the first ever all night performance of Indian classical music in the BBC Promenade Concert Series"... says the
Webster University
Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate program ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
website.
Imrat Khan was the senior performer of the
Imdadkhani gharana
The Etawah gharana is a North Indian school of sitar and surbahar music and named after a small town close to Agra where Imdad Khan (1848–1920) lived.Imdad Khan
Ustad Imdad Khan (1848 – 1920) was a sitar and surbahar player. He was the first sitar player ever to be recorded.St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, United States where he had been residing for over two decades prior to his death. He had been ill for some time before his death.
Imrat Khan had five sons,
Nishat Khan
Nishat Khan (born 25 October 1960) is an Indian sitar player from an illustrious musical family and the foremost sitar virtuoso of his generation.
As a composer and music producer he has collaborated with some of the world's leading musicians su ...
(sitar player),
Irshad Khan
Irshad Khan (born ) is an Indian classical surbahar and sitar player based in Canada. He is the second son of Imrat Khan and nephew of Vilayat Khan.
Irshad's international debut was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, UK, when he was only 13; ...
(sitar player), Wajahat Khan (sarod player) and Shafaatullah Khan (tabla player), and Azmat Ali Khan, who were all trained by him, and are all talented musicians themselves.
Awards and recognition
In 1988, Imrat Khan received a
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...
from the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
.
In 2017, he was awarded the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...
; however, he refused to accept the award stating "It is too little and came little too late"; which also sparked pandemonium among his students and members of the fraternity.Padma Shri too little too late Times of India (newspaper), Published 3 February 2017, Retrieved 14 July 2020
According to ''
Outlook
Outlook or The Outlook may refer to:
Computing
* Microsoft Outlook, an e-mail and personal information management software product from Microsoft
* Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft
* Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...
'' of India, "The noted musician was disappointed that the Indian government never recognized his contributions, even as several of his juniors and those who trained under him were presented with Padma awards".