Amir Khan (singer)

Ustad Amir Khan (pronounced [əˈmiːr ˈxaːn]) (15 August 1912 – 13

February 1974) was a well-known Indian classical vocalist. He is
Amir Khan
considered one of the most influential figures in Hindustani classical
music, and the founder of the Indore gharana.[3][1]

Contents
Early life and background
Singing career
Personal life
Discography
Movies
78 rpm recordings
Public and private recordings
Awards and recognitions
Background information
External links
Birth name Amir Khan
Bibliography
Also known as Sur Rang
References
Born 15 August 1912[1]
Indore, Indore
Early life and background State, British India
Died 13 February 1974
Amir Khan was born in a family of musicians in Indore, India.[4] His (aged 61)[2][1]
father, Shahmir Khan, a sarangi and veena player of the Calcutta, West
Bhendibazaar gharana, served at the court of the Holkars of Indore. Bengal, India
His grandfather, Change Khan, was a singer in the court of
Bahadurshah Zafar. Amir Ali's mother died when he was nine years Genres Indian classical
old. He had a younger brother, Bashir, who went on to become a music
sarangi player at the Indore station of All India Radio.[5] (Khyal, Tarana)
Occupation(s) Hindustani
He was initially trained in the sarangi by his father. However, seeing
classical vocalist[1]
his interest in vocal music, his father gradually devoted more time to
vocal training, focusing on the merukhand technique. Amir Ali was Years active 1934–1974
exposed at an early age to many different styles, since just about Labels EMI, HMV, Music
every musician who visited Indore would come to their house, and Today, Inreco,
there would be mehfils at their place on a regular basis.[5][6] He also Ninaad, Navras,
learned the basics of tabla playing from one of his maternal uncles,
Columbia, The
who was a tabla player.
Twin
Amir Khan moved to Bombay 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 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 and Calcutta, but after the partition of India he moved back to Bombay.[5]

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
(merukhand).[1] This unique style, known as the Indore Gharana, blends the spiritual flavour and grandeur
of dhrupad 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.[6]

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,[7] 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 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 in the Dari variant of Persian. While he was
famous for his use of merukhand, he did not do a purely merukhandi alap but rather inserted merukhandi
passages throughout his performance.[8] He believed that practising gamak is essential to mastering singing.

Khansahib often used the taals Jhoomra 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 and tabla for accompaniment.
Sometimes he had a subdued harmonium accompaniment, but he almost never used the sarangi.[9]

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.[1] 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 खू सूरती बनाने के िलये वो राग को ज़रा इधर-उधर कर िदया
करते थे , ले िकन मै यह कोशीश करता हूं के ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा राग खू सूरत हो ले िकन राग अ नी जगह राग
रहे "). He used to say, "नग़मा वही नग़मा है जो ह सुने और ह सुनाए" (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
careful enunciation of text of bandish
actual bandish as sung may or may not include antara
multiple laya jatis in a single taan<note>Khansahib demonstrated this in an interview with the
tabla player Chatturlal</note>
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 films 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 Rahiye Ab Aisi Jagah for a documentary on Ghalib.

Khansahib's disciples include Amarnath,[3] 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, Shankar Mazumdar,
Shankarlal Mishra, Singh Brothers, Srikant Bakre and Thomas Ross. His style has also influenced many
other singers and instrumentalists, including Bhimsen Joshi, Gokulotsavji Maharaj, Mahendra Toke, Prabha
Atre, Rashid Khan, Ajoy Chakrabarty, Rasiklal Andharia, Sanhita Nandi, Shanti Sharma, Nikhil Banerjee,
Pannalal Ghosh, the Imdadkhani gharana, and Sultan Khan.[5] Although he referred to his style as the Indore
Gharana, he was a firm believer of absorbing elements from various gharanas.[10]

Amir Khan was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967[11] and the Padma Bhushan in
1971.[12]

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.[5] With Raisa he had a son,
Haider Amir, later called Shahbaz Khan.[2]

Khansahib died in a car accident in Calcutta on 13 February 1974 aged 61, and was buried at Calcutta's
Gobra cemetery.[2]

Discography
Movies
Baiju Bawra (Music director: Naushad)
'Tori Jai Jai Kartar' (raga Puriya Dhanashree; alternate version here (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20090326091933/http://paragchordia.com/sounds/akPuriyaDhanashree.mp3))
'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 - three versions
Adana - 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 - two versions
Barwa
Basant Bahar - two versions
Bhatiyar - four versions
Bhimpalasi - two versions
Bihag - three versions
Bilaskhani Todi - two versions
Bhavkauns
Chandni Kedar
Chandrakauns
Chandramadhu - two versions
Charukeshi - two versions
Darbari - ten versions
Deshkar - four versions
Gaud Malhar
Gaud Sarang
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 - five versions
 Miya Malhar
Multani - two versions
Nand - three versions
Nat Bhairav - two versions
Pancham Malkauns
Poorvi
Puriya - three versions
Puriya Kalyan
Rageshree - two versions
Ramdasi Malhar - two versions
Ramkali - two versions
Ram Kalyan (a.k.a. Priya Kalyan or Anarkali)
Shahana - three versions
Shahana Bahar
Shree
Shuddh Kalyan - two versions
Shuddh Sarang (with drut section in Suha)
Suha
Suha Sughrai
Todi - two versions
Yaman
Yaman Kalyan - three versions

Awards and recognitions

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1967[1][12]
Presidential Award in 1971
Padma Bhushan in 1971[12]
Swar Vilas from Sur Singar Sansad in 1971

External links
Amir Khan recordings on www.sarangi.info (http://sarangi.info/amirkhan)
Biographical documentary on Amir Khan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ew7U684X9Q)
on YouTube, produced in 1970 by the Films Division of India
Discography (https://web.archive.org/web/20120406103712/http://www.pathcom.com/~ericp/ak
_discography.html)
Dr. Ibrahim Ali's analysis of Amir Khan's gayaki (http://amirkhanikhayal.googlepages.com)
Tribute from the ITC Sangeet Research Academy (http://www.itcsra.org/TributeMaestro.aspx?
Tributeid=32)
Forgotten Patterns (https://www.jstor.org/pss/834468) - Preview of an article on Amir Khan by
his disciple Thomas Ross
LP cover images (https://web.archive.org/web/20081219041815/http://caferisko.ca/ak/LPCOV
ER.html)
Pandit Nikhil Banerjee's article on Amir Khan (https://web.archive.org/web/20081219042023/ht
tp://caferisko.ca/ak/music%20of%20the%20soul.html)
 Extracts from Pandit Amarnath's lec-dem on Amir Khan's gayaki (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0081208025635/http://ragavani.org/AR_AmirKhanGayaki_071119.aspx)

Bibliography
Amarnath, Pandit (2008). Indore ke masihā: Paṇḍita Amaranathaji dwara Ustad Amir Khan
sahab ke sansmaran (https://books.google.com/books?id=8s9MPgAACAAJ) (in Hindi). Pandit
Amarnath Memorial Foundation. ISBN 978-81-7525-934-8.
Kumāraprasāda Mukhopādhyāẏa (2006). The Lost World of Hindustani Music (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=-MR_6Gr26hAC&pg=PA95). Penguin Books India. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-0-
14-306199-1.

References
1. Amir Khan - Tribute to a Maestro (http://www.itcsra.org/TributeMaestro.aspx?Tributeid=6) ITC
Sangeet Research Academy website, Retrieved 20 August 2018
2. Banerjee, Meena (4 March 2010). "Immortal maestro (Ustad Amir Khan)" (http://www.thehindu.
com/arts/article145736.ece). The Hindu (newspaper). Chennai, India. Retrieved 20 August
2018.
3. Chawla, Bindu (26 April 2007). "Stirring Compassion of Cosmic Vibration" (http://timesofindia.i
ndiatimes.com/Opinion/Speaking_Tree/Stirring_Compassion_of_Cosmic_Vibration/articlesho
w/1955005.cms). The Times Of India. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
4. Review of music CD "The Legend Lives on... Ustad Amir Khan", by Deepa Ganesh (http://ww
w.hindu.com/mp/2008/11/03/stories/2008110351170300.htm)
5. "Amir Khan: In Memoriam", by Suresh Chandvankar, Society of Indian Record Collectors,
Mumbai (http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellpatke/Miscellany/amir%20khan.htm) Retrieved 20
August 2018
6. "Ustad Amir Khan", from "Great Masters of Hindustani Music" by Susheela Misra (http://www.p
arrikar.org/vpl/profiles/amirkhan_profile.pdf) Retrieved 20 August 2018
7. Thomas W. Ross (Spring–Summer 1993). "Forgotten Patterns: "Mirkhand" and Amir Khan".
Asian Music. University of Texas Press. 24 (2): 89–109. JSTOR 834468 (https://www.jstor.org/
stable/834468).
8. Ibrahim Ali. "The Swara Aspect of Gayaki (Analysis of Ustad Amir Khan's Vocal Style)" (https://
sites.google.com/site/amirkhanikhayal/4-theswaraaspectofgayaki). Retrieved 20 August 2018.
9. Jitendra Pratap (25 November 2005). "Pleasing only in parts" (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/f
r/2005/11/25/stories/2005112501720200.htm). The Hindu (newspaper). Chennai, India.
Retrieved 20 August 2018.
10. "Beatstreet (The Legend Lives on...Ustad Amir Khan)" (https://www.thehindu.com/todays-pape
r/tp-features/tp-metroplus/enspBEATSTREET/article15392660.ece). The Hindu (newspaper).
Chennai, India. 3 November 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
11. "Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards - Hindustani Music - Vocal" (https://web.archive.org/web/201
20217185616/http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm). Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Archived from the original (http://www.sangeetnatak.org/sna/awardeeslist.htm#HindustaniMusi
cVocal) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
12. Padma Bhushan Award for Amir Khan on GoogleBooks website (https://books.google.com/boo
ks?id=wwwX6DWfn3gC&pg=PA193&lpg=PA193&dq=Amir+Khan+padma+bhushan+award+in
+1971&source=bl&ots=H9ghhMYpNG&sig=n0mQgtqQ7kHNulu2dzsNHGma5oM&hl=en&sa=X
&ved=2ahUKEwiR_dD02_zcAhWXw4MKHbyLBMYQ6AEwCnoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=Ami
r%20Khan%20padma%20bhushan%20award%20in%201971&f=false) Retrieved 20 August
2018
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amir_Khan_(singer)&oldid=957858915"

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