Khushal Khan Gunsamundra
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Khushal Khan was a vocalist and instrumentalist in the Mughal court. He was the foremost luminary of the
durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance ...
of the Mughal emperor
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
.


Career

He was trained in
alap The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompani ...
and
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 ...
by his father Lal Khan " Gunsamundra." Khushhal Khan was one of the most feted Mughal court musicians of his time. Chief musician to the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan (r. 1627–58) and Aurangzeb ‘Alamgir (r. 1658–1707), he was written about extensively in his lifetime as a virtuoso classical singer of exceptional merit and serious character. He was the teacher of Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
in classical music. In 1658, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb bestowed a gift of a She-elephant to Khushhal Khan. In February 1659, after the victory in
Battle of Khajwa The Battle of Khajuha was a battle fought on January 5, 1659, between the newly crowned Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Shah Shuja who also declared himself Mughal Emperor in Bengal. Shuja's army rested by the tank of Khajwa, about 30 miles to the we ...
,
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
bestowed gifts on Khushhal Khan.


Depiction

A portrait of him, dressed in pink with other renowned court musicians at the wedding of Dara Shukoh in 1633, may be found in the
Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
.


See also

*
Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
*
Sadarang Sadarang (1670–1748) was the pen name of the Hindustani musical composer and artist Naimat Khan, who was active in the eighteenth century. He and his nephew Adarang changed the Khayal style of Hindustani music into the form performed today. Na ...
*
Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...
*
Wazir Khan (Rampur) Ustad Mohammad Wazir Khan (1860-1926) served as the head of Arbab-e-Nishat (Music Department of Rampur State) during the period of Nawab Hamid Ali Khan of Rampur. He was also an excellent playwright who established the Rampur theatre in the bu ...
*
Kishangarh Kishangarh is a city and a Municipal Council in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. History Kishangarh State was founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Prior to the rule of Kishan Singh this area was ruled by Ra ...


References

{{Authority control 17th-century Indian musicians Indian royalty Mughal nobility Indian Shia Muslims Hindustani instrumentalists Indian male classical musicians