Mohammad-Hussain Sarāhang ( fa, محمدحسین سرآهنگ - ''Sarāhang''; 1924–1983) was an

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

ghazal singer and an exponent of Indian classical music from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

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 bordere ...

Career and education

Mohammad-Hussain Sarahang ( née Mohammad-Hussain) was born in 1924 in the Kharabat area of Kabul, an old district known for producing some of the country's greatest musicians. He was the second oldest son of musician Ghulam Hussain, who taught his son the basics of music. Sarahang studied Indian classical music in the

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

style of singing under Ashiq Ali Khan. After 16 years, Sarahang returned to Kabul at the age of 25 (c. 1949). Sarahang typically performed various genres of classical and semi-classical music including khayal,

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...

and ghazal. He usually sang the ghazals of

Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian ...

and Abul Ma'āni Bedil, famous poets who wrote in Persian, as he was a '' Bedil Shenās'' (Bedil Expert). At the age of 25 (c. 1949), Sarahang participated in a festival of music held at Kabul's Pamir Cinema. Amongst the participants were Qasim and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. At this festival, Sarahang was awarded a Gold Medal. A few years later, the government of Afghanistan awarded him the title of Sarāhang.

Books

He wrote two books about classical music, ''Qānūn-e Tarab'' (The Law of Music) and ''Mūssīqī-e Rāg-hā'' (Music of Ragas).

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

does not list ''Mūssīqī-e Rāg-hā''. He has also created or composed several ragas including ''Hazra'' and ''Minamalee''. In addition he once also wrote articles for the Pashtun Ghag newspaper in Kabul.

Honors

He earned the following titles and degrees from various music schools of India: * Degrees of Master, Doctor and Professor of Music from Kalakendra School of Music,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

* Title of “Koh-e Beland” (''High Mountain of Music'') from Chandigarh School of Music,

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...

* Title of “Sar Taj-e Musiqee” (''Top Crown of Music'') from Central School of Music, Allahabad * Title of “Baba-e Musiqee” (''The Father of Music'') in his final concert in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, 1979 * Title of “Sher-e Musiqee” (''Lion of Music'') in his last performance in Allahabad, 1982

Death

Upon his last trip to India in 1982, Sarahang fell ill and was hospitalized and ordered not to sing and to keep his talking to a minimum. Sarahang told his doctors he was feeling homesick and he would get better if he went back to Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan but disregarded the orders of his doctors and continued his performance. In 1983 he became ill again and was hospitalized in Kabul where he died from a heart attack.

Notes

External links

A collection of some of his performances from North Indian Classical Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarahang 1924 births 1983 deaths Pashtun people Afghan musicians Hindustani singers Afghan male singers Male ghazal singers 20th-century singers Afghan ghazal singers Persian-language singers 20th-century male singers 20th-century Khyal singers Classical music in Afghanistan 20th-century Afghan male singers