vocal 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 m ...
(a family's style of singing) in Hindustani classical music known for the singing of vocal duets. It is also known as the cradle of drupad. It is one of the four singing gharanas of Punjab; the other three are: Patiala, Talwandi and Kapurthala. It is most notably represented in modern times by the brothers Nazakat and
Salamat Ali Khan
Salamat Ali Khan (12 December 1934 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani vocalist and touring artist known for his contribution to the Hindustani classical music.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest classical singers of the Indian subcontinent, ...
.
History
The gharana is believed to have been founded in the 16th century by Chand Khan and Suraj Khan who were contemporaries of Tansen at the court of Mughal emperor
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
. Successive generations of musicians in the gharana specialised in the dhrupad form of singing and evolved a tradition of duet vocal (
jugalbandi
A jugalbandi or jugalbandhi is a performance in Indian classical music, especially in Hindustani classical music but also in Carnatic, that features a duet of two solo musicians. The word jugalbandi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet ca ...
) performances. Meer Baksh and Khairdeen, Karam Elahi Khan, Vilayat Ali and Hadayat Khan, Ghulam Shabir Khan and Ghulam Jafar Khan, Nazakat Ali and Salamat Ali are noted practitioners of
jugalbandi
A jugalbandi or jugalbandhi is a performance in Indian classical music, especially in Hindustani classical music but also in Carnatic, that features a duet of two solo musicians. The word jugalbandi means, literally, "entwined twins." The duet ca ...
from this gharana.
The gharana is centred at Shamchaurasi in the Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, India; alternate spellings include Shamchurasi. An explanation of the name is that ''sham'' is taken from the name of the
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
saint, Sant Shami Shah and (''chaurasi'' =84) was named after a cluster of 84 villages which constituted a land revenue unit., Retrieved 7 November 2018 According to one legend, the founders were given a parcel of land here as a grant to them by Mughal Emperor
Akbar
Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
. In an alternative version of the origin, the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah "Rangila" was said to have been so impressed by the gharana that he gave all income from the 84 local villages, known as 'Chaurasi', to the Sufi saint Sant Shami Shah.
Nazakat and Salamat Ali Khan
Around the turn of the century, the gharana was represented by Vilayat Ali Khan, who was noted for his dhrupad singing. His sons were Salamat Ali Khan, Nazakat Ali Khan, Tasadaq Ali Khan, Akhter Ali Khan and Zakir Ali Khan.
The brothers Nazakat Ali Khan (1928-1984) and Salamat Ali Khan (1934-2001) had their debut performance on All India Radio, Delhi in 1942, when Salamat was only 8. They went to
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
for a memorable concert:
:"When the performance started, it seemed like a feast of musical notes had descended upon us in the audience. Every member of the audience was amazed and in complete awe of the duo. It was almost unbelievable that boys of that age could give such a fine performance. When the drut portion started, the brothers gave a blazing display of taans, sargams and ''layakari'', which left the audience stunned".:
After the 1947
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, the family first moved to Multan, Pakistan and later moved to Lahore. They emerged as one of the leading performers of
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
in Pakistan. Famous Indian playback singer Lata Mangeshkar once reportedly said that Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was the greatest classical vocalist of the Indian subcontinent.
A number of their recordings exist from their very fruitful partnership until 1974. Subsequently, due to differences over finances,Biography of Salamat Ali Khan on The Friday Times (newspaper) Published 14 Jan 2011, Retrieved 7 November 2018 they broke up, and then Nazakat Ali Khan died in 1984, but Salamat Ali Khan continued singing along with his sons
Sharafat Ali Khan
Sharafat Ali Khan (1955 30 November 2009) was a Pakistani classical singer. He used to sing in various Hindustani classical genres such as thumri, kafi, khayal and ghazal throughout his career. The recipient of Saraswati Samman conferred by t ...
and
Shafqat Ali Khan
Shafqat Ali Khan (born 17 June 1972) is a classical singer of the khyal vocal genre, from Pakistan, belonging to the Sham Chaurasia gharana.Ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
, Thumri and Kafi singing.
Notable students (shagird) of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan include Ustad Hussain Bakhsh Gullu, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and many more. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was awarded the Pride of Performance Award in 1989 by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Profile and award info for Salamat Ali Khan travel-culture.com website, Retrieved 7 November 2018