Ustad
Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian language, Persian, , Azerbai ...
Rais Khan ( ur, ; 25 November 19396 May 2017) was a Pakistani
sitarist
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 ...
. At his peak he was regarded as one of the greatest sitar players of all time. He continued performing till his last days. He moved from India to Pakistan in 1986, where he took up Pakistani citizenship. In 2017, Khan was awarded Pakistan's third highest civilian honour, the
Sitara-i-Imtiaz
The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially meritorious contribution to the ...
.
Personal life
Rais Khan was born on 25 November 1939 in
Indore
Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
,
Indore State
Indore State, also known as Holkar State, was a kingdom in India. Its rulers belonged to the Holkar dynasty. After 1857, Indore became a 19-gun salute Maratha princely state (a rare high rank) under the British Raj.
Indore state wa ...
,
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 ...
, to an
Urdu-speaking
Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccani people of the Deccan plateau in south-central India (who speak Deccani Urdu) and the M ...
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
family.
He grew up in
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- ...
. His training began at a very young age, on a small coconut shell sitar.
In 1986 he moved to Pakistan, seven years after marrying his fourth wife – a
Pakistani singer named
Bilqees Khanum. In 1979, the two met for the first time in a programme by the
Sabri Brothers
The Sabri Brothers ( Punjabi, ) were a musical band from Pakistan who were performers of Sufi qawwali music and were closely connected to the Chishti Order. They are considered as one of the greatest Sufi qawwali singers of all times. The Sabr ...
in Karachi. They have two sons together - Farhan Khan and Huzoor Hasnain Khan.
Rais Khan had four sons:
Sohail Khan,
Cezanne Khan
Cezanne Khan is an Indian television actor. He is known for his role of Anurag Basu in '' Kasautii Zindagi Kay'', that aired on Star Plus. He has also worked in Pakistani television series.
Early life
Khan was born into a Muslim family in Mumb ...
, Farhan Khan and Huzoor Hasnain Khan.
Career
Rais Khan belonged to the
Mewati gharana (classical music lineage), which is connected to
Indore gharana Indore gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Indian classical music. It was founded by Amir Khan, who studied the styles of Abdul Wahid Khan, Aman Ali Khan, Rajab Ali Khan and Abdul Karim Khan and amalgamated their style.
Amir Khan grew up ...
and the "beenkar baz
gayaki ang" (singing style combined with rudra veena approaches) carried out by Rais Khan's father Mohammed Khan, a
rudra veena
The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra vina'')—also called ''Bīn'' in North India—is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani Music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the m ...
player and a sitarist.
"Belonging to the Mewati gharana which goes back to the Mughal period, it produced famous singers Haddoo, Hasso and Nathu Khan, and later singers such as Bare Ghulam Ali Khan, as well as sitarists and sarod players."
"The famous Indian sitar player Ustad Vilayat Khan is his maternal uncle who came to live with them when Vilayat's father died. Rais Khan denies there is any friction between them, contrary to the rumours that exist even today. He praises 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 ...
, said to be a rival too, as a brilliant musician who has introduced the sitar to the world."
Despite his extensive
meend
In Hindustani music, meend (Hindi: मीण्ड, ur, ) refers to a glide from one note to another. It is an essential performance practice, and is used often in vocal and instrumental music. On the veena, sitar, sarangi and other plucked str ...
work and the
gandhar pancham sitar style he used, Rais Khan's
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 ...
i, gatkari and
gamak
Gamaka (also spelled gamakam) refer to ornamentation that is used in the performance of North and South Indian classical music. Gamaka can be understood as embellishment done on a note or between two notes. Present-day Carnatic music uses at le ...
i work was different in approach, pacing, and even technique, from the
Etawah
Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) m ...
style. Amongst the ''khayal'' and ''dhrupad'' doyens, Rais Khan's gharana had the classical music lineage containing the masters Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan, Nathan Khan,
Bande Ali Khan, Babu Khan, Wazir Khan, Waheed Khan, Murad Khan, Latif Khan, Majid Khan, Nazeer Khan, Amanat Khan and
Rajab Ali Khan of
Dewas
Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pua ...
.
As Rais Khan's mother was a singer and his father was a beenkar (veena player), a unique combination of
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 ...
(the most popular classical vocal style),
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 ...
(the older and more orthodox classical form) and
thumri
Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...
(lyrical semi-classical form) – 'angs' (approaches) developed in his playing.
He gave his first public concert at Sunderbai Hall in the presence of the then
Governor of Bombay
Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
Sir Maharaja Singh.
In 1955, Khan was chosen to represent India in the
International Youth Festival
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
in Warsaw, where 111 countries took part in the string instrument conference.
He has also performed at the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...
. While in India, he played film music for
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...
,
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
and
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur
and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
.
In India, he played a key role by his association with film composers like
Madan Mohan
Madan Mohan is a form of the Hindu god, Krishna.
Krishna is celebrated as ''Madan Mohan'', who mesmerizes everyone. His consort, Radha is glorified as Madan Mohan's ''Mohini'', who can even mesmerise Madan Mohan (her Kahn). Radha is known as th ...
which resulted in many super-hit songs.
He had toured extensively throughout the world.
He was also a vocalist and was the first sitar player to record the super-hit song "Ghungroo Toot Gaye" for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
London in 1978 as an instrumental song with the sitar.
for a Pakistani film ''Naz'' (1969). Like his uncle