Ustad Sabri Khan (21 May 1927 – 1 December 2015) was an Indian sarangi player, who was descended on both sides of his family from a line of distinguished musicians.

Early life

Sabri Khan was born on 21 May 1927 in

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and ...

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 195 ...

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 ...

.A tribute to the sarangi mastery of Sabri Khan (link to his old interview on Rajya Sabha TV also included)
Scroll.in website, Published 5 December 2015, Retrieved 14 December 2021 He belonged to the Sainia Gharana. This Gharana traces the tradition of its music back to Mian

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pr ...

, the great vocalist in the court of

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled ...

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 ...

. He had been initiated into sarangi-playing by his grandfather, Ustad Haji ''Mohammed Khan'' and later continued his training under his father Ustad ''Chajju Khan'', both accomplished sarangi exponents of their time. Khan also learned some important and rare techniques of playing from his uncle Ustad ''Laddan Khan'' of Rampur.

Music career

Sabri Khan played sarangi with a galaxy of vocalist musicians on

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 ...

and also served as a staff artiste there. He accompanied the noted sitar player

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 In ...

and tabla player Alla Rakha on their tour of the United States in the early 1960s. Sabri Khan toured extensively across the world and performed in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

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England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

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, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Norway, Finland and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. The credit of introducing the Sarangi to American and European audiences goes to Sabri Khan. He also played a duet with the renowned

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

and was invited as a visiting professor by the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, United States in 1981. In appreciation of his contribution to the Classical Music of India, Ustad Sabri Khan received numerous honours and awards, including the

Sahitya Kala Parishad Sahitya Kala Parishad (साहित्य कला परिषद) (Academy of Performing and Fine Arts) is the Cultural wing of the Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) of Delhi for music, dance, drama & fine arts, established ...

Award, UP, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, National Sangeet Natak Academy Award, the prestigious

Padma Shree 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 confer ...

Award (1992) and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Award (2006) 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 Murm ...

– Government of India.Sarangi maestro Ustad Sabri Khan dead
Hindustan Times (newspaper), Published 2 December 2015, Retrieved 14 December 2021

Family

Ustad Sabri Khan Sahib has four sons and five daughters. He has many grandsons playing musical instruments:

Suhail Yusuf Khan Suhail Yusuf Khan (Hindi: सुहेल युसूफ खान; born 1988) is an Indian sarangi player and vocalist. He is the grandson of Sarangi maestro Ustad Sabri Khan (1927-2015). In 2016, Khan released ''Everything Sacred'', a colla ...

(Sarangi), Faisal Yusuf Khan (Tabla), Shariq Khan (Tabla), Junaid (Guitar) and Nabeel Khan (Sarangi).

Death and legacy

In the early morning on 1 December 2015, Ustad Sabri Khan died surrounded by his family at his home in New Delhi at age 88.

Awards and honours

*Sahitya Kala Parishad Award *Shobhna Kala Sangam Award – 1985 *Begum Akhtar Award *

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 ...

– 1986 *Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Lucknow, UP – 1990 *

Award by the President of India, Government of India – 1992 *Ustad Chand Khan Award – 2002 *Sangeet Bhushan Award – 2002 *Lifetime Achievement Award – LEGENDS OF INDIA – DMA – Delhi – 2003 *National Artist Award – All India Radio Prasar Bharti Award – 2004 *

Award by the President of India, Government of India – 2006Ustad Sabri Khan Dies at 88
NDTV website, Published 1 December 2015, Retrieved 14 December 2021 *Sangeet Natak Akademi Tagore Ratna Award – 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sabri 1927 births 2015 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists Indian male classical musicians Indian Muslims Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts People from Moradabad Sarangi players 20th-century Indian male classical singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Chishti-Sabiris