Sharafat Hussain Khan (1 July 1930 – 7 July 1985) 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

Agra Gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician of ...

(singing style)."Celebrated Masters" (click on Sharafat Hussain Khan from the shown Artistes Names list to read his Profile) on ITC Sangeet Research Academy website
Retrieved 29 November 2019

Early life and background

Sharafat Hussain Khan was born at a small city called

Atrauli Atrauli is a town and a municipal board in Aligarh district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Situated on the bank of river Ganges, Atrauli is around from Aligarh and from Khair. Atrauli is famous for a variety of Chaat, Croquette, Tikki, ...

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 ...

in July 1930. His father's name was Liaquat Hussain Khan, a court musician in the

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

State, and his mother's name was Alla Rakhi Beghum. Sharafat's father's roots go back to classical musician Inayet Hussain Khan (1845 – 1936) who founded Atrauli Gharana. His maternal grandfather was Mehboob Khan (Daras Piya). Mehboob Khan also belonged to Atrauli Gharana. Sharafat Hussain Khan's music was greatly influenced by the Rangile Gharana of his mother's family. This gharana was founded by Ramzan Khan (1759–1806). Sharafat was trained in classical music by his father, when he was still a child. When Sharafat was only eight years old, his apparent talent impressed the legendary

Faiyaz Khan Ustad Faiyaz Khan (8 February 1886 5 November 1950) was an Indian classical vocalist, an exponent of the Agra gharana of Hindustani classical music. According to SwarGanga Music Foundation website, "By the time he died at Baroda, he had earned ...

(1880 – 5 November 1950), who happened to be his maternal uncle,(Lalith J. Rao
Late Ustad Sharafat Hussain Khan – Gone But Not Forgotten
Agra Gharana - Agra School of Indian Classical Vocal Music, Retrieved 30 November 2019 during one of his visits to

. The maestro Faiyaz Khan had no sons. So he adopted Sharafat, and took him away to

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 ...

to train him in classical music as his heir. The vocal maestro of

Agra gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician of ...

gave Sharafat Hussain Khan a chance to sing on stage after him and to continue singing where he himself had left off, when Sharafat was about 13 years old. The audience showed much appreciation to the young boy's singing talent. He also used to accompany Faiyaz Khan's singing in a supportive role playing the instrument called

Tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

in many concerts. Some music critics believe that Sharafat Hussain Khan deserved to get more credit for his singing talent than he actually did during his lifetime.

Musical training

Sharafat was only 20 years old, when Faiyaz Khan died. After his death, his maternal uncle Ata Hussain Khan started training him. Later

Vilayat Hussain Khan Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan (1895–1962) was an Indian classical singer and teacher belonging to the Agra gharana (singing style). Vilayat composed bandishes in many ragas under the pen name "Pran Piya".Agra gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician of ...

became his father-in-law and continued training him. Sharafat Hussain Khan was a product of training by three classical music gharanas - Agra, Atrauli, and Rangile. Sharafat Hussain Khan was made an Honorary Fellow of the Performing Arts Academy of Uttar Pradesh.

Awards

* Tansen Award *

Padma Shri Award Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred ...

by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

(1983)1983 Padma Shri awards listed on the interactive dashboard for Padma Awards, Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) website
Retrieved 30 November 2019 *

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

(1985)

Death

Sharafat Hussain Khan died due to lung cancer on 7 July 1985, at the age of 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sharafat Hussain 1930 births 1985 deaths Agra gharana Hindustani singers 20th-century Indian male classical singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Singers from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Khyal singers