Nathu Khan (1920 1971; sometimes spelled as Nathoo), was a Pakistani
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 known for introducing solo sarangi playing tradition with difficult phrases. He was associated with
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...
and
Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
. He was also associated with
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 ...
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. His father Baba Balle was a
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 ...
player. Following the partition of India, he migrated to Pakistan where he became a staff artist at Radio Pakistan.
His uncle Feroze Din was one of his sarangi teachers. He first appearance in a sarangi playing performance was at Kaliyar Sharif where he played Raag Shudh Sarang, a
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, si ...
raag.
He was introduced to
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...
,
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
by its then Managing Director
Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari
Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari often abbreviated as Z. A. Bukhari (Urdu:ذوالفقار علی بخاری) (July 6, 1904 – July 12, 1975) was a broadcaster of British India and later Pakistan. He is notoriously remembered for being the reason Bade G ...
. He later worked at the 'Pakistan International Airlines Arts Academy'. During his career at Radio Pakistan, his composed music for films and radio plays.
According to a major newspaper of Pakistan:
"He was also a great accompanist and accompanied almost all the great vocalists of his time like Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan,
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala gharana.Salamat Ali Nazakat Ali,
Roshanara Begum
Roshanara Begum ( fa, , lit=Adorned in Light); 3 September 1617 – 11 September 1671) was a Mughal princess and the third daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Roshanara was a brilliant woman and a talented poet. She ...
.
According to Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, he was the best accompanist he ever sang with; Ram Narayan being the second best".
Awards
Nathoo Khan was posthumously awarded the
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
award in 2016 by the
government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
Sindhi music
Music from Sindh (), is sung and is generally performed in either the "Baits" or "Waee" styles. The Baits style is vocal music in Sanhoon (low voice) or Graham (high voice). Waee instrumental music is performed in a variety of ways using a s ...
.
Death
Nathoo Khan died in 1971 after a short illness while on a tour of Europe.