Ustad Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian, , Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marat ...

Sultan Khan (15 April 1940 – 27 November 2011) was an Indian ''

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 and classical vocalist belonging to ''Sikar Gharana''. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group

Tabla Beat Science Tabla Beat Science was a musical group founded in 1999 by Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. Its style consists of a mixture of Hindustani music, Asian Underground, ambient music, drum and bass and electronica. In 2001 Karsh Kale was approached by ...

, with Zakir Hussain and

Bill Laswell William Otis Laswell (born February 12, 1955) is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, ...

. He was awarded the

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 ...

, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2010.

Early life

Sultan Khan was born on 15 April 1940 in Sikar District,

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

, a princely state in the

Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. He learned sarangi from his father Ustad Gulab Khan.

Career

Sultan Khan started his career at the

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 ...

station, Rajkot in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

as a 20-year-old boy in 1960. After having spent eight years in Rajkot very happily, he got a chance to play with

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

during her visit to Rajkot. She asked him to play the sarangi while she sang. This proved a turning point for him and his career. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Mumbai radio station. Having joined the Mumbai radio, he was not only deeply involved with the Mumbai classical music circuit but also with film industry music. He gave his first performance at the All-India Music Conference at the age of eleven, and has performed on an international scale with

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 ...

on George Harrison's 1974 Dark Horse World Tour. He has had the good fortune of accompanying all the great music maestros like

Ustad Amir Khan Ustad Amir Khan (; 15 August 1912 – 13 February 1974) was one of the greatest and most influential Indian vocalists in the Hindustani classical tradition. He was the founder of the Indore gharana. Early life and background Amir Khan was born ...

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala gharana.Omkarnath Thakur Pandit Omkarnath Thakur (24 June 1897 – 29 December 1967), was an Indian music teacher, musicologist and Hindustani classical singer. A disciple of classical singer Vishnu Digambar Paluskar of Gwalior gharana, he became the principal of Gand ...

, Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan-Salamat Ali Khan of Pakistan,

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was a leading Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur ''gharana'', or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She was a performer of the classical genre ' ...

, Zakir Hussain and many others. He also performed on-stage with the sitar player

and tabla player

Alla Rakha Ustad Alla Rakha Qureshi (29 April 1919 – 3 February 2000), popularly known as Alla Rakha, was an Indian tabla player who specialized in Hindustani classical music. He was a frequent accompanist of sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar and ...

at the classical music concerts. He is acknowledged both as a sarangi player and a vocalist and has several albums to his credit. He has taught music producers such as Sukshinder Shinda and

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television.** * ...

(who provided the music for his film, '' Deyyam'') to play the ''sarangi''. He had many students, but few gandhabandh disciples are Bollywood music composer & Director

Vishal Bhardwaj Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bha ...

, Sandesh Shandaliya, composer Ilaiyaraaja,

Gurdas Maan Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over 3 ...

Falu Falu (born Falguni Shah in Mumbai, India) is an American singer whose music blends ancient classical Indian melodies with contemporary western sounds. In her burgeoning U.S.-based career, she has worked and collaborated with a wide array of ar ...

, Anand Vyas,

Ikram Khan Ikram Khan is a famous singer from Rajasthan, India. He hails from a family of musicians belonging to the Sikar Gharana. He was initiated and groomed by his father, Ustad imamudeen Khan, who was also a very famous sarangi player from Jaipur. He u ...

, Vinod Pawar, Sabir khan, Dilshad Khan, and Deeyah, a Norwegian-born singer, and he performed on her debut album ''I Alt Slags Lys'' in 1992. He contributed vocals and ''sarangi'' to Dizrhythmia's first LP and Gavin Harrison's 1998 solo album Sanity & Gravity. He sang "

Albela Sajan Aayo Re Albela Sajan Aayo Re is a classical Hindi song popularized by Ustad Sultan Khan of Indore gharana in the early 1970s. Ustad Sultan Khan sang it in the Bollywood movie, ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' along with Shankar Mahadevan and Kavitha Krishnam ...

..."along with Kavita Krishnamurthy and

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...

in the Hindi film ''

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ''Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It was released internationally as ''Straight From the Heart''. The film stars Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. B ...

'' in 1999. He has also given his voice in films like

Maqbool ''Maqbool'' is a 2004 Indian crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starring Irrfan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Piyush Mishra, Murali Sharma and Masumeh Makhija in an adaptation of the play ''Macbeth'' by Shakesp ...

, Kachche Dhaage, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer,

Parzania ''Parzania'' (translation: ''Heaven and hell on earth'') is a 2007 Indian drama film co-written and directed by Rahul Dholakia; David N. Donihue is the other co-writer. The film featured Naseeruddin Shah and Sarika in the lead roles, while Cor ...

Jab We Met ''Jab We Met'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Dhilin Mehta under his banner Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision. The film stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in their f ...

Agni Varsha ''Agni Varsha'' is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language epic film produced by Kashish Bhatnagar on I Dream Productions banner, directed by Arjun Sajnani. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Nagarjuna, Raveena Tandon, Milind Soman and Prabhu D ...

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

, Rahul and

Paanch ''Paanch'' (English: ''Five'') is a 2003 Indian crime thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap in his directing debut, starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The film is "loo ...

. He also performed or recorded with Pakistani qawwali singer

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi devotional music. Sometimes ...

. In 1982, the Oscar-winning film

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

also featured his music and thereafter he recorded for other Hollywood films such as

Heat and Dust ''Heat and Dust'' (1975) is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that won the Booker Prize in 1975. The book was also ranked by ''The Telegraph'' in 2014 as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels. Plot summary The initial stages of the nove ...

in 1983 (Merchant Ivory productions). Sultan Khan played the sad sarangi music during the sorrowful scenes of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's assassination and funeral. In 1993, he performed along with Ustad

and Ustad Zakir Hussain in one of the rooms at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom where eminent persons were in attendance to witness a rare musical performance. After that, he became a regular artist for

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

London. He was also interviewed for the BBC world service and also composed the musical track for the BBC 2 documentary "London Calling"(1997). The association with film maker

Ismail Merchant Ismail Merchant (born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman (25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005)) was an Indian film producer, director and screenwriter. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included Direct ...

further when Ustad Sultan Khan together with Ustad Zakir Hussain composed the soundtrack for the film In Custody (1993) and where the musical score adapted to suite a particular genre of the

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

He has several albums to his credits and he has been applauded by for his performances by Madonna in 1997. He also performed in a Sufi Music Festival at the

White house The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

in Washington, D. C. in 1998. He played at a select party in honour of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

's birthday at Buckingham Palace in 1997. Sultan Khan appeared on

Good People in Times of Evil ''Good People in Times of Evil'' is the fifth collaborative live album by bassist Jonas Hellborg and guitarist Shawn Lane, released on 10 November 2000 through Bardo Records. For this line-up they are joined by percussionist V. Selvaganesh, and a ...

in 2000 with

Jonas Hellborg Jonas Hellborg (born 7 June 1958) is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Anders Johansson, Ginger Baker, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaga ...

and guitar virtuoso

Shawn Lane Shawn Lane (March 21, 1963 – September 26, 2003) was an American musician who released two studio albums and collaborated with a variety of musicians including Ringo Starr, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Reg ...

. Sultan Khan once told an interviewer, "Western influences have given a different dimension to my music." Ustad Sultan Khan's album Piya Basanti together with indian playback singer

K. S. Chitra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various I ...

was released in 2000 and it was the number one album of the year. The title song won an international viewers' choice award at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Some of his other famous albums are Ustad & the Divas (T-Series), Ustad Sultan Khan & his friends (Times Music), Shoonya (BMG), Bhoomi (Virgin), and Pukaar (Sony Music) with Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Sultan Khan performed for the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

film ''Yogi''. He played a solo ''sarangi'' for ''Yogis theme and also for the song "Yaarodu Yaaro" from the same album. British writer

Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer (born 5 June 1958) is an English author. He has written a number of novels and non-fiction books, some of which have won literary awards. Personal background Dyer was born and raised in Cheltenham, England, as the only child of a ...

has said that he is an admirer of Sultan Khan's work, especially his rendition of a Rajastani folk song at the end of a 1991 recording of Rag Bhupali with Zakir Hussain on tabla. He has written of Khan's performance, "It is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I know - an audible vision of how the world might appear if you were able to purge yourself of all baseness and ugliness." His last musical offering along with his son Sabir Khan will be used in the upcoming

multilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

film Amma which is being directed by

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

director

Faisal Saif Faisal Saif (27 April 1976 – 13 September 2022) was an Indian film director, film critic and writer. He began his film career as an assistant director on '' Aur Ek Prem Kahani'', ''Angaar'' and ''Grahan''. He mostly chose controversial horror ...

Awards and recognition

Award in 2010. *Sultan Khan won numerous musical awards including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992, also known as the President's Award, as well as the Gold Medalist Award of Maharashtra and the American Academy of Artists Award in 1998. In 1997, he was requested to perform at Prince Charles' 49th birthday celebrations.Devidayal, Namita (28 November 2011)
Sultan Khan, sarangi maestro, passes away
The Times of India, Retrieved 22 October 2020

Family

He is survived by his wife Bano, son Sabir Khan who is his disciple and a

player, as well as two daughters Reshma and Shera. His brother Late Nasir Khan was a sitar player, as is his younger brother Niyaz Ahmed Khan. His nephews include Salamat Ali Khan (sitar player), Imran Khan (sitar player and music composer), Dilshad Khan (sarangi player) and Irfan Khan (sitar player). His most prominent student has been London-based Kaleem Sheikh (vocalist and musicologist). He has been a music journalist for the BBC and has successfully performed at London's Nehru centre and other venues. His work has received commendations from British Parliamentatians.

Death and legacy

Sultan Khan died on 27 November 2011 in

Mumbai 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 ...

, Maharashtra, India after a prolonged illness. His death occurred on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the release of his album, Piya Basanti Re. He was undergoing kidney dialysis for the last four years and lost his speech in the last few days of his life. He died on his way to the hospital. The funeral was held in his hometown of

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

on 28 November 2011. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' newspaper carried his obituary and reportedly quoted the tabla player Zakir Hussain as saying, "It is thought among musicians in India that his sarangi literally sang. He was able to coax out of the instrument all the nuances of the vocal style of Indian music."

References

Sources

India TV News

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sultan 1940 births 2011 deaths Hindustani instrumentalists People from Jodhpur Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Sarangi players 20th-century Indian musicians Indian male classical musicians Musicians from Jharkhand 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Khyal singers