“There is a difference between a 'competent singer' and a 'great artist'. The former is a jaankar; sings in sur and laya ; understands raag and taal; and, knows how to connect with the audience. The latter is one who has led a full life; one who has been through life's ups and downs, experienced love and betrayal, dealt with friends and enemies, survived poverty and abundance, and tried to make sense of all that life encompasses.” ~ Ustad Fateh Ali Khan
A living-legend
in the true sense of the word, one of the most prominent representatives of a
great musical lineage, the doyen of the great tradition of the Patiala Gharana…
Ustad Fateh Ali Khan.
It is hard to
talk about the music and achievements of this stalwart, who has spent more than
6 decades in the field, in just a few words. And that’s the reason why I have
been stuck with writing this post for weeks now.
My engagement with the music of this great artist happened because of my admiration for Shafqat’s singing which has set me on a path of exploration of the Patiala Gharana legacy. And experiencing his singing has just reaffirmed my belief that music in its pure classical form is as divine as a heartfelt prayer.
And the one
thing that I feel hasn’t changed about him over the years- a thing that I
noticed over a period of time as I watched video after video of his
performances on YouTube- is his child like enthusiasm every time he sings. The
pure joy on his face as he renders the difficult ups and downs of the musical
scale reminds me of the expression on the face of a child who has just entered
a candy store. This purity of his singing is what makes an instant connection
with his listeners and then it that stays on with them forever.
Raag Aiman with nephew Amjad Amanat ali Khan
Born in 1935 in
what is now the Indian Punjab, Fateh Ali Khan recalls his childhood in an
interview- He would go to school like the other children but unlike them he
would neither be interested in studies nor the games and play. Instead he would
run away to the nearby fields and sing to his heart’s content. He began his professional musical journey
along with his elder brother Amanat Ali Khan when at the age of 11 he sang raag
Aiman at the All India music conference at Calcutta.
Though he
received his formal musical training from his father Ustad Akhtar Hussain,
Fateh Ali Khan gives a lot of credit to his mother, too. She was the daughter
of none other than Ustad Pyare Khan of the Gwalior Gharana and sister of Ustad
Umeed Ali. Dr. Anjum Altaf, Dean of the LUMS recalls ..
“Ustad Fateh Ali Khan once gave me an
interesting insight into this (children growing up in musical families). He said that a child at riyaaz in such a
family can quite expect a shout from his mother, cooking chapatis in the
kitchen, that he had missed the pancham by a shruti. In all likelihood, the
mothers themselves are daughters of musicians and while not performers
themselves are quite fluent in the language”
The partition
in 1947 saw the family’s fortune fall as they had to migrate to the newly
formed Pakistan leaving behind all material belongings and a luxurious
lifestyle which they had enjoyed under the patronage of the King of Patiala.
“Amanat and I came to Lahore sitting atop a
train. Even now, when I travel by train, I always look at the roof and bitter
memories come back to haunt me.”- recalls the Ustad
It was difficult to make two ends meet and his
father had to resort to giving private music lessons. Thanks to the popularity
of classical music on radio and later, with the advent of television the duo of
Amanat and Fateh Ali Khan slowly captured the hearts of music lovers. They
dominated the classical music scene in Pakistan right through the 50’s and 60’s
when they took Khayal and thumri singing to new heights while performing as a
Jodi
The year 1974
brought a great setback personally and professionally for the young musician
who lost his brother and singing partner.The Ustad remembers the tragedy...
“I lost my brother when I was forty years
old. My father had trained us in complementary portions of khayal. Amanat Ali
Khan used to focus on aalaap and behlava. My specialty was taan and tayyari.
His death dealt me a double blow. I lost a brother and my partner in music.
This happened two years after the death of my father. His death paralyzed me
emotionally and I was unable to sing for a long time.”
Fateh Ali Khan listens to his nephew singing Insha ji Utho- a Ghazal which his brother sang
originally- He breaks down in the middle as he remembers his departed brother…
It was his mother,
who pulled him out of this grief that left him numb. “She helped me practice Amanat Ali Khan's portion of khayal and, with
her encouragement, guidance and prayers, I was able to start performing again”,
says Ustad Fateh Ali Khan
The Ustad
speaks of the Patiala Gharana with great pride and about how it imbibes the
greatness of so many legendery singers under whom the founders Ali Baksh (his
grandfather) and Fateh Ali Khan trained. He talks especially of Tanras Khan, of the Dilli Gharana who apparently passed on more than 5000
bandishes to Aliya-Fattu.
Here the Ustad
renders one of those bandishes which had been composed in the honor of the Mughal
Kings. Just the thought that you are hearing something that was originally
composed and performed so long ago is so very exciting for a classical music
lover. It also illustrates how this ancient art that has stood the test of time
and is as alluring and magical today as it was then.
And here he sings in praise of ‘Kernail’ Fateh Ali Khan-the "Taan Kaptaan"
His Khayal and
thumris delight the connoisseurs but here he sings a Ghazal in his inimitable
style.
And this one is a gem in Darabari Kannada from a Pakistani movie which he has sung with Zahida Parveen
He hasn’t shied
away from experimenting, either. His coming together with Jan Garbarek, the
famous musician and saxophone player from Norway, produced the magnificent
Ragas and Sagas- an album which fuses the sounds of Jazz beautifully with the
notes of Hindustani classical music. Such a wonderful example of music reaching
out beyond boundaries. This one also
features Deepika Thattal alias Deeyah, his student
Described as a
large hearted and generous teacher by his students, Fateh Ali Khan continues to
teach music and pass on the wisdom and the rich musical heritage of his Gharana.
I wish him good health and long life and hope that the legacy that he so
proudly guards and propogates will be carried forward by the next generation of
his family and his pupils.
---------------
Some of the
references for this post come from a superb 3-article series on Ustad Fateh Ali
Khan written by Ally Adnan- A must read for fans of the Ustad and the Patiala Gharana.
Links...
