Ustad Amir Khan (; 15 August 1912 – 13 February 1974) was one of the greatest and most influential Indian vocalists in the

Hindustani classical Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

tradition. He was the founder of the

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 in ...

Early life and background

Amir Khan was born in a family of musicians in Kalanaur,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. His father, Shahmir Khan, a sarangi and

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...

player of the Bhendibazaar gharana, served at the court of the

Holkars The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marath ...

of Indore. His grandfather, Change Khan, was a singer in the court of Bahadurshah Zafar. Amir Ali's mother died when he was nine years old. He had a younger brother, Bashir, who went on to become a sarangi player at the Indore station of

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 ...

. He was initially trained in the sarangi by his father. However, seeing his interest in vocal music, his father gradually devoted more time to vocal training, focusing on the merukhand technique. Amir Khan was exposed at an early age to many different styles, since just about every musician who visited Indore would come to their house, and there would be mehfils at their place on a regular basis. He also learned the basics of

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� ...

playing from one of his maternal uncles, who was a tabla player. Amir Khan moved to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

in 1934, and there he gave a few concerts and cut about half a dozen 78-rpm records. These initial performances were not well received. Following his father's advice, in 1936 he joined the services of Maharaj

Chakradhar Singh Raja Chakradhar Singh (19 August 1905 −7 October 1947) was the Raja of Raigarh and Chief of Bargarh ruled by Gond dynasty. He was the ruler of Princely state of Raigarh from 1924 till his death in 1947. He was son of Raja Bhup Deo Singh, w ...

of Raigadh Sansthan in Madhya Pradesh. He performed at a music conference in Mirzapur on behalf of the Raja, with many illustrious musicians present, but he was hooted off the stage after only 15 minutes or so. The organizer suggested singing a thumri, but he refused, saying that his mind was never really inclined towards thumri. He stayed at Raigadh for only about a year. Amir Khan's father died in 1937. Later, Khansahib lived for some time in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

, but after the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the 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: India and Pakistan. T ...

he moved back to Bombay.

Singing career

Amir Khan was a virtually self-taught musician. He developed his own ''gayaki'' (singing style), influenced by the styles of Abdul Waheed Khan ('' vilambit'' tempo), Rajab Ali Khan ('' taans'') and

Aman Ali Khan Ustad Aman Ali Khan ‘Amar’ (1888–1953) was an Indian classical vocalist and composer from the Bhendibazaar Gharana. He brought many Carnatic ragas into Hindustani classical music. Aman Ali was the son of Chhajju Khan, one of the founders ...

(merukhand). This unique style, known as the Indore Gharana, blends the spiritual flavour and grandeur of

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 I ...

with the ornate vividness of khyal. The style he evolved was a unique fusion of intellect and emotion, of technique and temperament, of talent and imagination. Unlike other artists he never made any concessions to popular tastes, but always stuck to his pure, almost puritanical, highbrow style. Amir Khansahib had a rich baritone open-throated voice with a three-octave range. His voice had some limitations but he turned them fruitfully and effortlessly to his advantage. He presented an aesthetically detailed ''badhat'' (progression) in ''ati-vilambit laya'' (very slow tempo) using ''bol-alap'' with merukhandi patterns, followed by gradually speeding up "floating" '' sargams'' with various ornamentations, ''taans'' and ''bol-taans'' with complex and unpredictable movements and jumps while preserving the

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

structure, and finally a ''madhyalaya'' or ''drut laya'' (medium or fast tempo) chhota khyal or a ruba'idar tarana. He helped popularize the tarana, as well as khyalnuma

compositions Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

in the Dari variant of Persian. While he was famous for his use of merukhand, he did not do a purely merukhandi ''

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 unaccompan ...

'' but rather inserted merukhandi passages throughout his performance. He believed that practising '' gamak'' is essential to mastering singing. Khansahib often used the ''

taals The acetolactate synthase (ALS) enzyme (also known as acetohydroxy acid or acetohydroxyacid synthase, abbr. AHAS) is a protein found in plants and micro-organisms. ALS catalyzes the first step in the synthesis of the branched-chain amino acids ( ...

Jhoomra Jhoomra is a tala of Hindustani music. Jhoomra tala has 14 beats. Jhoomra is often used in the vilambit or ati-vilambit (slow) Khyal Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subconti ...

and Ektaal, and generally preferred a simple ''theka'' (basic tabla strokes that define the ''taal'') from the tabla accompanist. Even though he had been trained in the sarangi, he generally performed khyals and taranas with only a six-stringed

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 ...

and tabla for accompaniment. Sometimes he had a subdued harmonium accompaniment, but he almost never used the sarangi. While he could do traditional ''layakari'' (rhythmic play), including ''bol-baant'', which he has demonstrated in a few recordings, he generally favored a '' swara''-oriented and ''alap''-dominated style, and his ''layakari'' was generally more subtle. His performances had an understated elegance, reverence, restrained passion and an utter lack of showmanship that both moved and awed listeners.Amir Khan - Tribute to a Maestro
ITC Sangeet Research Academy website, Retrieved 20 August 2018 According to Kumarprasad Mukhopadhyay's book "The Lost World of Hindustani Music", Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's music was extroverted, exuberant and a crowd-puller, whereas Amir Khan's was an introverted, dignified ''darbar'' style. Amir Khansahib believed that poetry was important in khyal compositions, and with his pen name, Sur Rang ("colored in swara"), he has left several compositions. He believed in competition between the genres of classical music and film and other popular music, and he felt that classical renderings needed to be made more beautiful while remaining faithful to the spirit and grammar of the raga ("बाज़ लोग ऐसे थे के जो खूब्सूरती बनाने के लिये वो राग को ज़रा इधर-उधर कर दिया करते थे, लेकिन मै यह कोशीश करता हूं के ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा राग खूब्सूरत हो लेकिन राग अप्नी जगह राग रहे"). He used to say, "नग़मा वही नग़मा है जो रूह सुने और रूह सुनाए" (نغمہ وہی نغمہ ہے جو روح سنے اور روح سناہے ; music is that which originates from the heart and touches the soul). Characteristics of his style include: * slow-tempo, leisurely raga development (except with Carnatic ragas, which he typically rendered in medium tempo) * improvisation mostly in lower and middle octaves * tendency towards serious and expansive ragas * emphasis on melody * clarity of notes * judicious use of pause between improvisations * bol alap and sargam using merukhand patterns * using sargam in taan-ang * using softer gamaks * sparing application of murki * use of kan swaras ( acciaccatura) in all parts of performance * controlled use of embellishments to preserve introspective quality * rare use of

tihai ''Tihai'' (pronounced ti-'ha-yi) is a polyrhythmic technique found in Indian classical music, and often used to conclude a piece. Tihais can be either sung or played on an instrument. Tihais are sometimes used to distort the listeners’ percept ...

* careful enunciation of text of

bandish Bandish, cheez or gat is a fixed, melodic composition in Hindustani vocal or instrumental music. It is set in a specific raga, performed with rhythmic accompaniment by a tabla or pakhawaj, a steady drone, and melodic accompaniment by a sarangi, ...

* actual bandish as sung may or may not include antara * multiple laya jatis in a single taanKhansahib demonstrated this in an interview with the tabla player Chatturlal * mixture of taan types (including chhoot, sapaat, bal, sargam and bol-taan) in a single taan * use of ruba'idar tarana (considered similar to chhota khyal) Besides singing in concerts, Amir Khan also sang film songs in ragas, in a purely classical style, most notably for the

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

s '' Baiju Bawra'', '' Shabaab'' and '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje''. This attempt to introduce classical music to the masses through films significantly boosted Khansahib's visibility and popularity. He also sang a

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 ...

''Rahiye Ab Aisi Jagah'' for a documentary on

Ghalib ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Kala Mahal, Agra, Maratha Confederacy , death_date = , death_place = Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, British India , occupation = Poet , language ...

. Khansahib's disciples include Amarnath, A. Kanan, Ajit Singh Paintal, Akhtar Sadmani, Amarjeet Kaur, Bhimsen Sharma, Gajendra Bakshi, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Kamal Bose, Kankana Banerjee, Mukund Goswami, Munir Khan, Pradyumna Kumud Mukherjee and Poorabi Mukherjee, Kamal Bandhopadhyay, Shankar Mazumdar, Shankarlal Mishra, Singh Brothers, Srikant Bakre and Thomas Ross. His style has also influenced many other singers and instrumentalists, including

Bhimsen Joshi Pandit Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi BR (; ; 4 February 1922 – 24 January 2011), also known by the honorific prefix Pandit, was one of the greatest Indian vocalists from Karnataka, in the Hindustani classical tradition. He is known for the '' kha ...

, Gokulotsavji Maharaj, Mahendra Toke,

Prabha Atre Prabha Atre (born 13 September 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She has been awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the Government of India. Early life and education Atre was born to Abasaheb and Indirabai Atr ...

, Rashid Khan, Ajoy Chakrabarty, Rasiklal Andharia, Sanhita Nandi, Shanti Sharma,

Nikhil Banerjee Pandit Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee (14 October 1931 – 27 January 1986) was an Indian classical sitarist of the Maihar Gharana. Along with Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan, he emerged as one of the leading exponents of the sitar. H ...

, Pannalal Ghosh, the Imdadkhani gharana, and Sultan Khan. Although he referred to his style as the Indore Gharana, he was a firm believer of absorbing elements from various gharanas. Amir Khan was awarded the

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, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1967 and the Padma Bhushan in 1971.

Research in the field of Tarana

Ustad Amir Khan dedicated a large part of his musical career to the study of taranas. In his research, he found that the words used in Tarana come from Persian and Arabic languages. In one of his research articles he explained their meanings as follows: Tanan Dar Aa - Enter my body. O Dani - He knows Tu Dani - You know. Na Dir Dani - You are the Complete Wisdom. Tom - I am yours, I belong to you. Yala - Ya Allah Yali - Ya Ali In another interview, he also states the meaning of the following syllables: Dar – Bheetar, Aandar (inside) Dara – Andar Aa (get in or come inside) Dartan – Tanke Aandar (inside the body) Tanandara – Tanke Aandar Aa (Come inside the body) Tom – Main Tum Hun (I am you) Nadirdani – Tu Sabse Adhik Janata Hai (You know more than anyone else) Tandardani – Tanke Aandarka Jannewala (One who knows what is inside the body)

Personal life

Amir Khan's first marriage was to Zeenat, sister of the sitar player, Vilayat Khan. From this marriage, which eventually failed and ended in separation, he had a daughter, Farida. His second marriage was to Munni Bai, who gave birth to a son, Akram Ahmed. Around 1965, Khansaheb married Raisa Begum, daughter of the thumri singer, Mushtari Begum of Agra. He had expected that Munni Begum would accept the third wife; however, Munni disappeared and it is rumored that she committed suicide. With Raisa he had a son, Haider Amir, later called Shahbaz Khan. Khansahib died in a car accident in Calcutta on 13 February 1974 aged 61, and was buried at Calcutta's Gobra cemetery.

Discography

Movies

* '' Baiju Bawra'' (music director: Naushad) ** 'Tori Jai Jai Kartar' (raga Puriya Dhanashree; alternate versio
here
** 'Sargam' (raga Darbari) ** 'Langar Kankariya Ji Na Maro' (raga Todi, with D. V. Paluskar) ** 'Aaj Gaawat Man Mero Jhoomke' (raga Desi, with D. V. Paluskar) ** 'Ghanana Ghanana Ghana Garjo Re' (raga Megh) * '' Kshudhita Pashan'' (music director: Ali Akbar Khan) ** 'Kaise Kate Rajni' (raga Bageshree, with Protima Banerjee) ** 'Piya Ke Aavan Ki' (thumri in raga Khamaj) ** 'Dheemta Dheemta Derena' (tarana in raga Megh) * '' Shabaab'' (music director: Naushad) ** 'Daya Kar He Giridhar Gopal' (raga Multani) * '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje'' (music director: Vasant Desai) ** Title song 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje' (raga Adana) * '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (ragamala with Bismillah Khan) ** Bhatiyar ** Ramkali ** Desi ** Shuddh Sarang ** Multani ** Yaman ** Bageshree ** Chandrakauns * ''Ragini'' ** 'Jogiya Mere Ghar Aaye' (raga Lalit)

78 rpm recordings

* Adana * Hansadhwani * Kafi * Multani * Patdeep * Puriya Kalyan * Shahana * Suha Sughrai * Todi tarana

Public and private recordings

Abhogi Abhogi () is a raga in Carnatic music and has been adapted to Hindustani music. It is a pentatonic scale, an ''audava'' raga. It is a derived scale ('' janya'' raga), as it does not have all the seven '' swaras'' (musical notes). ''Ābhōgi'' ...

- three versions *

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

- longer performance of 'Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje' title song, one other version * Ahir Bhairav - three versions * Amirkhani (similar to Vachaspati) * Bageshree - six versions * Bageshree Kanada - five versions * Bahar *

Bairagi Bairagi jaat in Haryana Bairagi is a Hindu caste. They are also called by different names that are Swami, Bairagi, Mahant, Vaishnav, Vairagi, Ramanandi, Shami, Vaishnav , Pujari. They are Vaishnav, and wear the sacred thread. Bairagi cast ...

- two versions * Barwa * Basant Bahar - two versions * Bhatiyar - four versions * Bhimpalasi - two versions *

Bihag Raga Bihag is a Hindustani classical raga belonging to the Bilaval Thaat. It is a melodious Raaga for beginners as well as experts. Raga Bihag uses all seven music swars. In Bihag, both the Madhyams (Shuddha & teevra) are used. The Shuddha Madh ...

- three versions *

Bilaskhani Todi Bilaskhani Todi is a Hindustani classical raga. It is a blend of the ragas Asavari and Todi, and has a close affinity with Komal Rishabh Asavari. Theory The Hindustani classical raga Bilaskhani Todi is an example of the flaws of the Bhatkhand ...

- two versions * Bhavkauns * Chandni Kedar * Chandrakauns * Chandramadhu - two versions * Charukeshi - two versions *

Darbari Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-ce ...

- ten versions * Deshkar - four versions * Gaud Malhar *

Gaud Sarang Gaud Sarang is a raga in Hindustani classical music that combines characteristics of Sarang and the now extinct raga named Gaud. Unlike most other members of the Sarang family of ragas, Gaud Sarang is assigned to the Kalyan thaat rather than t ...

* Gujari Todi - four versions * Hansadhwani - three versions * Harikauns * Hem * Hem Kalyan * Hijaz Bhairav (a.k.a. Basant Mukhari) - five versions * Hindol Basant * Hindol Kalyan * Jaijaiwanti * Jansanmohini - five versions * Jog - three versions * Kafi Kanada * Kalavati - six versions * Kausi Kanada - four versions * Kedar * Komal Rishabh Asavari - four versions * Lalit - seven versions * Madhukauns * Malkauns - three versions * Maru Kalyan * Marwa - three versions *

Megh Megh may refer to * Megh (raga), a classical Indian raga * Meghwal, a people of northwest India and Pakistan * Cyclone Megh, a cyclone in the Arabian sea that struck the island of Socotra in 2015 * Rain. another name for rain in Gujarati Gujarati ...

- five versions * Miya Malhar * Multani - two versions * Nand - three versions * Nat Bhairav - two versions * Pancham Malkauns *

Poorvi Purvi or Poorvi () is a raga in Hindustani classical music that exemplifies its own thaat, the Poorvi thaat. Purvi has a deeply serious, quiet and somewhat mystical character. It is uncommon in performances nowadays. Aroha & Avaroha Aroha ...

Puriya Puriya is a major hexatonic raga of Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shast ...

- three versions * Puriya Kalyan *

Rageshree Rageshree is a raga in Indian classical music, popular in both Carnatic music and Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical ...

- two versions * Ramdasi Malhar - two versions * Ramkali - two versions * Ram Kalyan (a.k.a. Priya Kalyan or Anarkali) *

Shahana Sahana (pronounced sahānā) is a popular ragam (musical scale) in Carnatic music. It is a janya rāgam (derived scale) associated with the 28th Melakarta rāgam Harikambhoji. The Hindustani music ragam ''Sahana'' is an upper-tetrachord-domina ...

- three versions * Shahana Bahar * Shree * Shuddh Kalyan - two versions * Shuddh Sarang (with drut section in Suha) * Suha * Suha Sughrai *

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

- two versions * Yaman * Yaman Kalyan - three versions

Awards and recognitions

in 1967 * Presidential Award in 1971 * Padma Bhushan in 1971Padma Bhushan Award for Amir Khan on GoogleBooks website
Retrieved 20 August 2018 * Swar Vilas from Sur Singar Sansad in 1971

External links

Amir Khan recordings on www.sarangi.info
* , produced in 1970 by the Films Division of India
Discography

Dr. Ibrahim Ali's analysis of Amir Khan's gayaki

Tribute from the ITC Sangeet Research Academy

Forgotten Patterns
- Preview of an article on Amir Khan by his disciple Thomas Ross

Extracts from Pandit Amarnath's lec-dem on Amir Khan's gayaki

Notes

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Amir 1912 births 1974 deaths Hindustani singers Indian Muslims Musicians from Indore Road incident deaths in India Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century Khyal singers Musicians from West Bengal