The Magnificence of Malkauns

"I rule over the emotions. I cause the deepest and gravest feelings to swirl slowly around you just as the Milky Way with millions of stars moves imperceptibly around a central point."

~ Malkauns -What the Ragas Told Me,Vasudev Murty

'Pyaar nahin hai sur se jisko'- Shafqat recorded this while he was part of Fuzon and this remained unreleased after the band broke up. It’s a favorite because of so many reasons : the words that would touch any music lover; the superb singing, but above all Malkauns!

Malkauns is an Audav (pentatonic) raga of the Bhairavi Thaat under the Bhatkande system of classification of Hindustani classical music. Re and Pa notes are omitted from this Raga. Ga, Dha and Ni are Komal. Its vadi (most prominent swara) is Ma and samvadi ( second most prominent) is Sa.

This video demonstrates its basics-

Performed late in night this ancient Raga is said to have been created to placate enraged Lord Shiva as he performed Tandava- the celestial dance. As Vasudev Murthy mentions about the  Raga- “ Komal Dhaivat gives peace, calm and order to the troubled turbulent mind.”

Considered a serious Raga it’s beauty is more pronounced when performed in vilambit (slow) taal (tempo) and Meend is a technique often used by artists while performing this Raga.

“The movement between notes is slow and gradual, like an elephant bearing me as I survey my Kingdom of lesser Raags. Each note blends into the next without breaking”

Another interesting aspect about the Raga and what makes it a unique one is (mentioned here )  that it is a Raga where all its swaras are nyaasa swaras- nyaasa swaras being the notes on which a phrase or a line of a composition in the Raga can end . And the more the nyaasa swaras in a Raga, the more is the scope for an artist for elaboration. Malkauns thus overcomes the disadvantage of restrictive elaboration space that is usually seen with pentatonic Ragas.

Beyond Boundaries

The talk of Malkauns, in a relatively modern Indian musical context, could never be complete without the mention of this beautiful, landmark song created by Naushad for the movie Baiju Bawra. A prayer to Lord Krishna- Composed by a Muslim, written by a Muslim and sung by a Muslim, a perfect example of music breaking all barriers.

Here Naushad talks about the making of the song and gives all credit to the great raga- Malkauns

Malkauns and the Patiala Gharana

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sings a beautiful Malkauns composition-  Mandir dekh dare Sudama-

And for those who don’t know the connection between Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Shafqat- it is the same Gharana of course, but also the fact that Shafqat's grandfather, Ustad Akhtar Hussain, who was his first teacher, also happens to be one of the Ustads under whom Bade Ghulam Ali Khan trained. (read about it here)

Malkauns has been extensively sung by the Patiala Gharana members. Here are the doyens, the brother-duo of Ustad Amanat ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan, creating magic with it.

Dhan Dhan wa kaarigar ke jisne ye sab khel racho hai

Another beautiful rendition of the same composition by Asad Amanat Ali and Hamid Ali 

 -  Tu hi , Tero naam .. sab ka palanahaar - Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

Piya ghar aaye more devo badhayi - AsadAmanat Ali and Hamid Ali

The Malkauns legacy created by Ustad Amanat Ali, yes he was he one composed Pyar nahi hai sur se  jisko, is now being carried on by the younger generations.

• Ustad Fateh Ali Khan's rendition 

• Asad Amanat Ali gives it a delightful twist in the middle and takes it some place else

• A young ,Shafqat performs it in an attire and format that not many have seen him perform in

• Salman and Ali Amjad, Ustad Amanat Ali’s grandsons singing 

The range of genres  for which the raga has been utilized is amazing – from Khayal and Thumri to Ghazals, Bhajans and Fusion

Listen to the beautiful Shehnai of Ustad Bismillah Khan - the tune that we are all so familiar with...

And  here’s another which breaks barriers - Ghulam Ali and Anup Jalota collaborate on a delightful Malkauns composition

A shabad, sounding lovely in Malkauns

Malkauns and Fusion 

So I decide to add this subheading after getting pointed to or reminded of (thank you ) some awesome compositions without which the post would be all but incomplete.

So under this we already had -

This Jazz version  by Shankar Jaikishen from their album "Ragas Jazz Style"

And this one by Charanjit Singh form his album "Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat"

And this, relatively recent, from the very popular CokeStudio Pakistan- the very heady and beautiful Kangna

But you havent heard anything yet if you havent heard this one from an album called Composer's Breath by the one and only Ilayaraja- one that features flute by Hari Prasad Chaurasia

This ethereal, primarily Malkauns/ Hindolam ( Hindolam being Carnatic equivalent of Malkauns) based piece is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet and take you to some place else.

And if you know Shankar Mahadevan only for his Bollywood songs , the ones that he sings or composes, you should know that his real awesomeness lies in his Carnatic renditions. Listen to this one if you want proof.

And last but not the least- this one by who else but Shafqat Amanat Ali. It marks his journey into exploring Fusion as a genre, where he collaborates with  the immensly talented Amir Zaki for a Channel V production. The awesome alaaps are Malkauns based, I am told

Get it in better quality here

"Easy for the beginner and challenging  for the most accomplished artist...," that's how Ramshreya Jha, a distinguished Hindustani Musician and scholar, describes Malkauns; "..as pleasing to the ears of a listener who has just begun to appreciate it, as it is for a music connoisieur" 

And that is why it is the magnificent Malkauns...

Rendezvous with The Ragas : The Allure of Aiman

"One must play with a Raga with a lover's passion. One must learn to love it to pay court to it, like a cavalier, and then alone can a musician tell the story of joy and grief; of laughter and tears.."- Ustad Faiyaz Khan

The magical world of Indian Classical music, where you experience everything with a sense of wonderment when you first enter it, for everything is ethereal, so beautiful… As you spend some more time with the bliss you begin to recognize some patterns, a systematic framework of sorts which gets adorned with the nuances of  the musical genius of a performing artist.

These templates  slowly make themselves visible to even people who are not trained formally in this field … the specific arrangement of musical notes that sets boundaries for performers and which also convert the art of music into a mathematical science that can be analyzed and studied in a systematic manner.

The word Raga is derived from Sanskrit and means color… Colors can be seen and described in words, colors can be given names but, colors are also experienced- they  evoke feelings and affect moods … Similarly the organization of music into Ragas has been done by applying the principles of Math and Physics but their emotional aspect adds a new dimension to the organizational structure of Indian Classical music- the dimension of rasas or moods, which has resulted in Ragas being categorized according to the time of the day and the season of the year and so on

I speak of the Ragas as a novice – an average music listener and lover who has just dipped a toe into waters of the vast ocean that Indian Classical music is... As I go along I hope to begin understanding a little more about these fascinating frameworks that  musicians use to weave their magnificent art..I write and speak from the heart as I begin my Rendezvous with The Ragas

Aiman/ Yaman

Miniature Paiting, Raga Yaman

"...that Raga of languorous waits, the Raga of the philospophers .It is endless, yes endless. If I look outside at the scene created by the setting Sun and the birds that move along slowly from nowhere to nowhere, I can only imagine that God felt too moved to create anything but Yaman.." - Vasudev Murty- 'What the Ragas Told Me'

“ When Aiman plays on the Sarangi, you can’t even move….if you love music even a little bit, that is” – Shafqat  Amanat Ali , on Coke Studio Pakistan

When Shafqat Amanat Ali romanced Aiman, the result was an “Ankhon ke Saagar”- the song that brought him in his own words “into the limelight” A great example of a Raga getting adapted for a popular, contemporary song.

This Raga, also referred to as Yaman, is supposed to be performed in the first quarter of the night, and is often associated with the feeling of peace , tranquility and an inner, spiritual joy. The mood definitely comes across beautifully in this song, which is amongst his most heard and performed songs

The origin and the technical nuances

There are various schools of thoughts about the origin of Aiman.  One of the most popular ones credits Amir Khusro with its creation. It says that Amir Khusro created this Raga along with others like Zilaaf and Sazgari- the latter two are now extinct and no longer performed. However, Khusro himself in his 'Ejaz –e Khusravi 'mentions that he didn’t create the Raga, and it already existed in the Iranian and Indian music. This sounds plausible  because Yaman or Aiman is also considered by many as an innovative blend of the Raga Hindol of Hindustani with the Persian Nairez or Nairiz. 

There are others, however, who believe that the Raga always existed in the Indian classical music as Yamuni, which later became Yaman.

The classification of Hindustani Music that we follow today is the result of extensive work and research of a man called Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkande- he gave us a system that consists of Thaats- families, under which different Ragas are classified. The Thaat represents the parent scale of which the Ragas in that family are a subset.

Yaman or Aiman is a complete or Sampoorna Raga as it utilizes all the seven swars. It falls under the Kalyan Thaat- and is characterized by the use of a teevr (sharp) madhyam. Another very similar raga from the family is the Yaman Kalyan which uses both the teevr and shudh madhyam

This video explains the difference of the teevr and shudh Ma very nicely!

Here’s Ustad Fateh Ali Khan rendering a delightful bandish in Aiman composed  by his grandfather and one of the founders of the Patiala Gharana- Ustad Ali Baksh , also fondly called Jernail . Accompanying him, his nephew- Shafqat’s eldest brother, Amjad Amanat Ali

Aiman in Light Music

Fuzon’s and Shafqat’s engagement with Aiman didn’t end with Aankhon ke Saagar. They did a Neend Na Aaye which too was based on this Raga. But this was before the band broke up and the song was released by Fuzon in their album in the voice of another vocalist. Shafqat’s unreleased version is however available on YouTube

Light music , including ghazals , geet etc.  are often based on or inspired by the Ragas. But unlike the strict mathematical precision of the classical format , this genre often takes liberties in composition and even mixing of Ragas in one song are quite common

And, since the Yaman Kalyan is so similar to and hard to differentiate from Yaman for a listener like me, and also because one modern school of music thinks that the distinction between them  is too little and that they should be considered the same Raga; and mostly because they are so close to my heart, I will be mentioning songs here which may be both  Yaman and Yaman Kalyan based...

So many of my favorite ghazals are in Raga Yaman- Most popular of course is Aaj jaane ki Zid na karo, sung by many including Shafqat.

Then there is Ranjish hi sahi, by Mehdi Hassan .

An absolute, absolute favorite by Noorjehan…'Mujhse pehli si mohabaat mere mehboob na maang' also brings out the beauty of this Raga so well. Faiz is said to have permanently dedicated this ghazal to her after he heard her rendition…

And not too long ago I discovered this one - Yaar ko maine , mujhe yaar ne- beautiful words by Khwaja Haider Ali Aatish composed as well as sung by Ustad Amanat Ali

And this is a clip of Shafqat singing it an interview

Yaman seems to be the mother of all Ragas when it comes to Raga based compositions in Hindi films-There are so many film songs based on this beautiful raga that you can keep counting.

Music director Roshan’s Yaman based  ‘Mann re tu kahe na dheer dhare” by Rafi remains one of my most favorite songs, ever. “Abhi na Jao chor kar” is another one by Rafi where he teams up with Asha – a brilliant romantic number with music by Jaidev. Another Yaman beauty by him is- “Ehsan tera hoga mujh par’ composed by Shankar Jaikishen.

Shafqat recreates the magic of Rafi’s Din Dhal jaaye on the Sony Mix Solos in this video…This time it was S.D. Burman who had brought  Yaman and Rafi together

My father is a die-hard Saigal fan and would play him all the time when I was a kid despite my siblings and I protesting. It was only many years later that I actually begun to enjoy the  singing of this great music legend. His very famous Do naina matware tihare and Diya jala are Yaman based, I believe.

And here Shafqat renders  K.L. Saigal’s Main kya jaanu kya jaadu hai… when asked to sing a song that he heard in his childhood that had had an impact on him, thus affirming his special connection with Aiman…

The list is of film songs based on Yaman simply endless and goes on...

The Devotional Side

The  mood of  Yaman has been beautifully utilized  for devotional or Bhakti compositions as well. Lata’s Sri Ramchandra Kripalu bhaj is a popular one.

I, especially want mention three songs in this genre here ( All, I believe, in Yaman Kalyan)

If you visited my home many years ago chances of these you hearing  these  first two songs in the background would be very high. They were a big favorite with my father and gradually we, the rest of the family, also began to enjoy these.

In the first, Pandit Jasraj sings an ode to the young child Krishna-

Rani tero, Pt Jasraj

The second one  by Kishori Amonkar, is also a prayer dedicated to Lord Krishna, who is called Banke Bihari…

Mharo Pranam, Kishori Amonkar

The third is the result of my engagement with  Sufi music, which began with a love for Sufi poetry and this one has the sublime words of Amir Khusro and the inimitable voice and style of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Munn Kunto Maula, Nusrat FatehAli Khan

So that’s the Raga for you- ancient, versatile, soothing, stirring…it certainly is hard to resist the Allure of Aiman

Some trivia

- Often  the first Raga to be taught to students as it is complete and contains all notes, thus making it ideal for training the voice

- The soothing feeling attributed to the raga is due to use of  Tivra madhyam  interspersed with 6 shudh swaras

-  It is a documented fact that listening to Aiman lowers stress and blood pressure, and also benefits patients of rheumatoid arthritis 

Main nee Jaana Khereyan de Naal...

Heer Ranjha- The Lore and the Love

“The words of the bards come down the centuries to us, warm with living breath.”

A haunting number from Shafqat’s album Tabeer- one that is as popular as Khamaj and Aankhon ke Saagar, his signature songs- Khereyan de naal is one of the few contemporary songs which introduce the present generation to the love and longing of Heer. Sung with a lot of love and feel, it makes you one with Heer’s pain as she pleads with her mother not to force her to marry Saida of the Khera village and send her away because she loves only Ranjha.

It also talks about love having the same status as God…of it being the essence of all faith, spirituality and the entire being.

The song is written and composed by Shafqat, who borrowed its hook from Tufail Niazi’s original. And what a beautiful composition that one is... 

The legend of Heer-Ranjha invariably finds a mention every time anyone talks of immortal love in our part of the world. Our poetry, our music, our art has carried this wonderful tale of love forward for centuries.

Waaris Shah’s Heer-Ranjha is one of the most beautiful examples of the tradition of Qissa poetry in the Punjabi literature. Waaris Shah rewrote this tale of two lovers which was told and retold by many like Damodar Dass and Ahmad Gujjar before him. And Heer today, is synonymous with Waaris Shah’s Heer. Heer Ranjha is the story of lovers who cut across boundaries of society, religion, tradition- It is the rise of love to a spiritual high where all these restriction cease to exist and matter. It is the story of discovery of divinity in love.

Heer -Ranjha, Famous painting By Sobha Singh

Ranjha of Takth Hazara leaves home after a fight with his brothers over property. He meets Heer Sial at the banks of River Chenab and it is love at first sight. Ranjha is hired by Heer’s father as a herdsman on her recommendation. Love blossoms in the forest where Ranjha’s flute beckons Heer and the two lovers continue to meet on sly till Heer’s uncle plays spoil sport. Heer is married off to Saida of Khera despite her protests and claims that she is already married to Ranjha. While Heer continues to pine for her love, Ranjha decides to become a Jogi. Fate brings Ranjha and Heer face to face once again and this time they are determined to unite forever. Even Heer’s parents relent but the villain Qaido strikes again. He creates a misunderstanding which leads each of the lovers to believe that the other is dead. Grieving for their partners, they thus embrace death

The poet has beautifully explored every stage of love- from the initial attraction, to complete devotion and the ultimate sacrifice for love

Written in 1776, it is sung today with the same pathos as it was back then. In fact they say the mettle of a Punjabi singer is actually tested by the way he sings Heer. Many singers on either side of the border that now divides Punjab have sung Waaris Shah’s Heer. But I find this version by Iqbal Hussain Bhatti very endearing as it is a narration of the story interspersed with singing. 

Listen to it here… 

"If you take myth and folklore, and these things that speak in symbols, they can be interpreted in so many ways that although the actual image is clear enough, the interpretation is infinitely blurred, a sort of enormous rainbow of every possible color you could imagine"

-Diana Wynne Jones

The love also came alive with the Sufi poetry of Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain, both of whom sang of it a couple of centuries before Waaris Shah. They used Heer and Ranjha as symbols- Heer is the soul looking to reunite with the Divine, which is Ranjha. Heer became the voice of their own desire in their brilliant kaafis. The love and the longing then culminates into the realization that the Divine resides within

As Shah Hussain says…

"Ranjhan Ranjhan phiraan dhodeindi,

Ranjhan mairay nal"

I wander all over looking for Ranjha

When Ranjha is with me

And Bulleh Shah sings…

"Jidoon dee may jogi dee hoyee

Main wich main na reh gayee koi"

Since I have embraced the Jogi’s love

There’s no “I” left in me

"Ranjha Ranjha kardee

Nee may aapay Ranjha hoyi"

My search, my obsession with Ranjha

Transformed me into Ranhja, Himself

"Sadyo nee maynu Deedo Ranjha

Heer na akho koi"

Please Address me now as Ranjha

For no more is there any Heer

Shafqat sings Bulleh Shah

The Sufi poets therefore see a higher form of love, a notch above the love one has for fellow humans.

Heer in the contemporary context

Amrita Pritam, one of the most powerful names in Punjabi literature, invoked Waaris Shah in an emotional outburst about the tragedy of partition,that divided Punjab amidst the most horrendous bloodshed. She used references from Waaris Shah’s poem to express her anguish over the state of Punjab as it reels under this tragedy.

"Aj aakhan Waaris Shah noo kito.N qabra.N vicho.N bol!

Te aj kitab-e-ishq da koi agla varka phol!

Ik roi si dhii Punjab dii tuu likh-likh mare Wain

Aj lakkha.N dheeyan rondian tainuu.N Waaris Shah noon kahen"

Today, I call out to Waaris Shah, to speak out from his grave

To add another chapter to his Book of love

When one daughter of Punjab cried, you wrote a whole saga

Today a million daughters are crying out to you, O Waaris Shah..

And this is just one example of how Heer and Ranjha have grown over the centuries from being protagonists of a folktale to  symbols of Punjab and Punjabiyat

Heer is relevant even today.In some places love still remains taboo; crimes are still committed in the name of religion, women’s rights still curbed.

Waaris Shah’s Heer of 1776, when admonished by the Qazi for the shame she brings to the family says-“Woe to that nation that destroys its daughters…” and this could well be said by the Heer of 2013

And that is why Heer will continue to be the muse of writers and poets of many generations to come; for there are a thousand facets to Heer and each facet has the potential to inspire a thousand new songs! And as long as we continue to sing and cherish Heer, love will continue to thrive….

The Legacy (III)- Asad Amanat Ali Khan

The Man, the Music, the Memories...

25^th September, 1955 – 8^th April, 2007

My fascination with Asad Amanat Ali began with this particular video, in which he sings probably his most popular song- 'Umran Langiyan'

I am always captivated by the whole aura of his personality as he renders it... Here is a singer who is aware of his mastery over his singing, yet sings without arrogance. He wields a magical power over his audience… hypnotizes them, and indulges them with little treats that he knows will delight them. He playfully engages with the accompanying musicians, his handsome countenance glowing with joy as he sings and displays his mastery over the rhythm  Occasionally he dives deep into his artistic repertoire and pulls out enchanting little nuances … like a diver who explores the depth of the ocean and brings out the beautiful pearls hidden in it…

The song is written by Mazhar Tirmazi, who remembers Asad in an interview as-Khush Mijaaz and Khush Shakal… of a happy attitude and a happy demeanor  In the same interview he mentions the special connection that Asad had with this song- “He sung many songs,” says Tirmazi, “but his soul lay in this song.” He also laments the fact that the potential and the promise that Asad’s talent had could never be  fully fulfilled

Asad died young…he was only 52 when he passed away on this very day, 6 years ago in London.

Always missed by fans and family… “Ghar waapas jab Aaogey tum, Kaun tumhe Pehchaney ga, Kaun Kahega….Tum bin Ye nagari sunsaan”

Shafqat remembers his elder brother very fondly, as a very caring, loving brother, someone who valued relationships; a person who provided not just for his own but also the extended family, someone who kept everyone together.

In an interview on Asad’s first death anniversary Shafqat mentions how in their family the youngsters always maintain a respectful distance from the elders. Asad was almost 13 years older than Shafqat but he was always approachable- “There was a bridge which could always be crossed to reach to him in case of any problem or need.” He recalls a particular incident where he was was short of some money to buy a place for a studio. Asad sensed this and sent him the money even without his asking. When the very grateful Shafqat went to return some of the money back after sometime, Asad refused to accept it and reprimanded him lovingly - “Have you made too much money? Have you become that big?”

Shafqat and Asad came together only once to sing. It was a song of their father, Amanat Ali, that they sang together for album, which was a tribute to the late ustaad.

Shafqat had immense respect for his elder brother as a singer but the fact that they both very heavily influenced by their father’s singing and had similar singing styles is what prevented them from collaborating more often. Shafqat admits, though, that he learnt a lot from his brother. He always looked up to him as a role model and tried to emulate the way he dressed, the way he did his riyaaz,  and even the way he dealt with people.

Asad’s formal debut as a singer happened for a PTV program called Nikhar where he teamed up with his uncle, Hamid Ali (more of a peer and friend as they were of the same age group) and sang Raag Malkauns. It was Ustad Fateh Ali Khan who had suggested that they get together and sing as a Jodi. Asad reminiscences in a mehfil, “It was because he felt that I resembled Baba (Ustad Amanat Ali Khan) and Hamid resembled him (Fateh Ali Khan) and he wanted us to recreate the magic that they had spun as a musical team.”

And this pair too, wove magic. Hamid Ali recalls one of their early performances where they sang with the then Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, in the audience. She was impressed and is said to have complimented them by saying that the duo looked like a Ram –Laxman Jodi.

The Jodi was however not meant to be forever and due to differences the two had to part ways. Asad went solo and also began to foray more into the lighter forms of singing because he felt that they were more appreciated by the new generation audiences who neither had the taste nor the patience to appreciate the classical music in its purest forms. But he felt hurt if he was considered a lesser singer just because of the fact that he was singing other genres. In an interview with Ally Adnan he says…

“It is true that I have trained in classical music, but that is the only type of training a singer can have.You cannot train someone in light music.I have very sound training in classical music and I use that to sing all types of music….If I am to be judged I should be judged on the quality of my singing, not by the genre I choose to sing”

He sang Ghazals and his uniquely textured voice- slightly grainy, slightly nasal with a melodious tinkle, made them memorable. He loved films and Shafqat remembers his fondness for them and how he would sometimes bunk his riyaaz to watch a movie. So it was a sweet coincidence that he sang several songs for Pakistani films and was quite a popular playback singer through the 80’s, but in his own words “the charm (to sing in films) wore off very soon”

One of his favorite Ghazals, and mine too…

And another favorite in Punjabi…

A song from from a Pakistani film

His singing training, which began with his often “cursing himself for being born into a family of musicians who didn't let him do anything but sing” when as a child he had to wake up at 6 in the morning for his riyaaz, progressed to practicing for up to 18 hours a day so that he could “live up to the expectations of everyone and deserve being called the son of Amanat Ali Khan” and culminated in music becoming the “most important thing in his life”. He was awarded the “Pride of Performance” the highest civilian- award in Pakistan for his contribution to music just a couple of weeks before his death.

He often ended performances with this song written by the poet Ibn-e-Insha and originally sung and popularized by his father. He saved it for the last because he would be so emotional after singing it that he couldn't carry on. He died young, just like the poet, and his own father, and thus, became a part of a legend and also a superstition associated with the song…

For me, Asad is, and shall always be, the joy of music, personified. I am pretty sure he must be busy singing happily in mehfils in the heavens above with the angels applauding.

……

Special thanks to Ally Adnan who shared an interview that he had done with Asad in 1989, from which I have quoted extensively J

The Legacy (II) -Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

“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.

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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...

Part I

Part II

Part III