Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1909–1993) was an

Indian classical 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 no ...

vocalist from the Rampur-Sahaswan

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

. He was a disciple and son of Fida Hussain Khan and after a long and illustrious career was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 1971. He was the court musician of

Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and was featured extensively on

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 ...

. He was a specialist in

Tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...

. His most famous disciples are

Ghulam Mustafa Khan Ghulam Mustafa Khan, SI ( ur, ڈاکٹر غلام مصطفیٰ خان) (23 September 1912 – 25 September 2005) was a researcher, literary critic, linguist, author, scholar of Urdu literature and linguistics, educationist and religious and ...

and

Rashid Khan Rashid Khan Arman ( ps, ; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Austra ...

Vocal style

Khansahib inherited a vast repertoire of well-known and obscure melodies from his forebearers. His rich, resonant voice was cultivated through decades of training. He embellishes the modal form of the ragas with flashes of " gamaks", " bol-taans" and " sargams". As an exponent of the "

khyal 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 ...

" style, he renders "

tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...

s" with distinction.

Lineage

Khan's most famous disciple was his grandnephew Rashid Khan. He trained Rashid in the traditional master-apprentice manner, first at his own residence at

Badaun Budaun is commonly pronounced Badayun is a city and a seat of Budaun district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located near the Ganges river in the centre of Western Uttar Pradesh. Budaun was the capital of Delhi Sultanate for four years from 1210 ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, and subsequently at the Sangeet Research Academy 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 ...

, where he spent the last years of his life. Khansahib's gharana, the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, owes its existence to the Senia traditions and has a revered lineage of classical vocalists such as Bahadur Hussain Khan, Inayat Hussain Khan, Fida Hussain Khan and

Mushtaq Hussain Khan Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan (1878–1964) was an Indian classical vocalist. He belonged to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. Early life Mushtaq Hussain was born in a family of traditional musicians in Sahaswan, a small town in Budaun District of U ...

Partial discography

78rpm recordings (HMV: c.1938 onwards)

* * * * * * *

EP/LP recordings: HMV 1961

* * * *

HMV 1972

* *

Odeon Records 1990

* With Hafeez Ahmed Khan & Sarfaraz Hussain Khan (vocal support), Shakur Khan (

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 Prem Ballabh (

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� ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Nissar Hussain 1909 births 1993 deaths Indian Muslims Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Hindustani singers 20th-century Indian male classical singers 20th-century Khyal singers Musicians from West Bengal