Roots and Wings

 “I had an inheritance from my father,

It was the moon and the sun.

And though I roam all over the world,

The spending of it’s never done.”

― Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Shafqat Amanat Ali hails from an illustrious musical family and is infact the seventh generation performer, who carries forward the tradition of the Patiala Gharana that was founded by his great grandfather Ali Baksh.

Imagine growing up in a household where music is a way of life and comes as natural as breathing … (Shafqat recalls his first lessons of music from his grandmother, here) Having lost his father, Amanat Ali Khan at a relatively tender age of 9, his musical training came from his uncle, Fateh Ali Khan

Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali performing together

Fateh Ali Khan talks about his Gharana and Gayaki

“Every child born in the family had to compulsorily train in music for 10-12 years and though no one was forced to take up music as a career, at the end of the rigorous grinding they all just wanted to be musicians”- says Shafqat. 

According to him, his elder brother’s sons Amjad Amanat Ali’s sons Salman Amjad and Ali Amjad are ready to enter the industry whereas Sikander Asad (brother,Asad Amanat Ali’s son) is also waiting for the right time to surprise everyone. “Even my own 15-year-old son Saadat Ali Bakhs is getting formally trained from the gharana”( Read the interview)

Someone has said, “The songs of our ancestors are also the songs of our children” – and this is so true for the great tradition that Shafqat today represents.Here’s hoping that many generations of this family will continue to enthrall the music lovers worldwide!