Ustad Rafique Khan (born 30 June 1968) is an Indian musician and composer who plays the

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 ...

. He belongs to the sixth generation of musicians from the Dharwad Gharana. His father, the late Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was a distinguished sitarist at his time, and his grandfather who was awarded the 'Sitar Ratna', Rahimat Khan was accredited for adding the base octave to the sitar and for modifying the three-string sitar to the seven-string instrument that is common today. Khan is the younger brother of Ustad Bale Khan and

Chhote Rahimat Khan Chhote Rahimat Khan (born 1959), is a Hindustani classical sitar player of the Bande Ali Khan (beenkar) Gharana, taught by his father, Abdul Karim Khan, and grandfather, Ratna Rahimat Khan, as well as his older brothers. Rahimat Khan is the eld ...

and has a twin brother, Shafique Khan, also a sitarist.

Early life and education

Rafique Khan was born in

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

and started playing the sitar at the age of nine. He was tutored by his father and his elder brothers Ustad Usman Khan and Ustad Bale Khan. He was also trained in Gayaki Ang by his uncle Ustad Dastagir Khan. He passed his music exams from

Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya New Delhi is an institution established in 1939 to popularize Indian classical music and dance. The Mahavidyalaya (school) came into being to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar, the great reviver of H ...

, Mumbai and graduate with a degree in philosophy at the University of Goa.

Achievements

Rafique Khan won the "Sur Mani Award" from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, at the age of 23 years. He is also an empaneled artiste of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. Rafique Khan has toured across the nation and the world, performing at various music festivals. He has been rated as a 'top-grade' artiste by

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 ...

and has had four of his recitals aired on their national programmes. He has performed at music festivals and collaborated with musicians all over the world including Europe, Middle East and South East Asia.

Musical style

One of the unique characteristics of his playing is that he preserves the purity of the

Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...

and maintains the balance of the two mixed styles in ''Gayaki Ang'' (vocal style) and ''Tantakari Ang'' (instrumental style). He has mastered the ''Gamak Taans'', which is considered to be one of the most difficult techniques on the sitar. His command over the finger board is exemplary. The music that he produces is pure melody. Audiences are enthralled by the movements of his nimble fingers on each note he plays.

Current position

Rafique Khan currently works at

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

. He is the President of the music organization Sangeet Bharati Foundation and also has an Academy of Hindustani Music at Mangalore.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Rafique Living people 1968 births Indian male classical musicians Sitar players People from Dharwad Musicians from Karnataka