sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
player.
Early life and career
Bundu Khan was born 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 ...
in a family of musicians. He received his early training in
sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
from his father Ali Jan Khan starting at 8 years of age, and later from his uncle Mamman Khan, a veteran Sarangi and Sursagar Player who belonged to the
Patiala gharana
The Patiala ''gharana'' (, ) is one of the vocal (tradition, school, or style of music) of Hindustani classical music, named after the city of Patiala in Punjab, India where it was established. The ''gharana'' was founded in the mid to late 19th ...
(House of Patiala) of classical musicians. Bundu Khan played the sarangi from
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 ...
,
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 ...
Station, when it first started broadcasting in 1935. He served the princely court of
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 ...
for 27 years as a court-musician. He studied
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
in order to have access to the classical music of ancient India. He introduced what is known as ''Meendh Soot Ki Sargam'' in which the musician, in the midst of recurring melody, shifts from one note to another. He had mastered more than 500
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 ...
s. "He had great mastery over Raga system, Taan-palta, various traditional compositions – especially Ragas such as ''Malkauns'',
Malhar
"Malhar" is a Hindustani classical raga. Malhar is associated with torrential rains.
Besides the basic Shuddha Malhar, which was the original Malhar, several Malhar-related ragas use the Malhar signature phrase m (m)R (m)R P, including "Miyan ...
, Bhairav."Profile of Bundu Khan on SwarGanga Music Foundation website Retrieved 2 January 2022
"Bundu Khan's sarangi was smaller in size than the usual one, with some metal strings instead of gut strings and so it sounded much different."
Bundu Khan was also a musical theorist or a musicologist. His book on music, ''Jauhar-i-Mausiqi'' in Urdu, known as ''Sangeet Vivek Darpan'' in Hindi, was published simultaneously in Urdu and Hindi in June 1934.
Death and legacy
He migrated to Pakistan and lived in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
until his death on 13 January 1955. "After migrating to Pakistan after the
independence of Pakistan
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
Award 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.Tribute to a Maestro (Bundu Khan) ITC Sangeet Research Academy website, Retrieved 2 January 2022