Imrat Khan
Encyclopedia
Imrat Khan is a leading sitar
and surbahar
player. He is the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan
.
rulers. His father was Enayat Khan
(1895–1938), recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his time, as had been his grandfather, Imdad Khan
(1848–1920), before him. His father died when Imrat was a child, so he was raised by his mother, Bashiran Begum and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan. In 1944, the family moved with rising star Vilayat Khan
, Imrat's elder brother, to Bombay where both the brothers learned extensively from uncle Wahid Khan
, Enayat Khan's brother. Wahid Khan
was one of the greatest surbahar players of his generation and a top-level sitar player, and taught Imrat on the instruments in the family style, known as the Imdadkhani gharana
(school), or Etawah Gharana, after a village outside Agra
where Imdad Khan lived.
In 1952 Vilayat and Imrat moved in together in Calcutta. They performed together for many years. From the 1960s onwards, Imrat has performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and surbahar.
ang (embellished with more romantic touches), followed by a shorter alap on the sitar leading into gat in traditional Imdadkhani style. (Sitar players such as Ravi Shankar
and Nikhil Banerjee
added bass strings to their sitars to achieve at least some of the surbahar's lower range on a single instrument).
He has toured in Europe
, the Americas
, and East
and Southeast Asia
. Surbahar players are rare today, and Imrat is the main living exponent.
Imrat has four sons, Nishat
, Irshad
, Wajahat
and Shafaatullah
, who are all classical musicians: Nishat plays the sitar, Wajahat concentrates on the sarod
and Shafaatullah is accomplished on sitar
, tabla
, and surbahar
. The surbahar tradition is largely upheld by Irshad (also a sitar player), who has made some very traditional solo recordings.
Imrat Khan currently spends a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at Washington University in Saint Louis. In addition to his sons, Brian Jones
of the Rolling Stones and George Harrison
of The Beatles
(who also studied under Ravi Shankar) have been some of his famous students.
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
and surbahar
Surbahar
Surbahar , sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of North India. It is closely related to sitar, but it has a lower tone. Depending on the instrument's size, it is usually pitched two to five whole steps below the standard sitar, but...
player. He is the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan
Vilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of India's well known sitar maestros, born in Gauripur in Mymensingh, Bengal...
.
Training and early career
Imrat was born in Calcutta into a family of musicians tracing its pedigree back for several generations, to the court musicians of the MughalMughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
rulers. His father was Enayat Khan
Enayat Khan
Enayat Khan was one of India's most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th Century. He was the father of Vilayat Khan, one of the topmost sitariyas of the postwar period....
(1895–1938), recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his time, as had been his grandfather, Imdad Khan
Imdad Khan
Ustad Imdad Khan was a sitar and surbahar player. His two sons Enayat Khan and Wahid Khan, his grandsons Vilayat Khan and Imrat Khan, and great-grandsons Shahid Parvez, Shujaat Khan, Nishat Khan, Irshad Khan, Wajahat Khan, Shafaatullah Khan and Hidayat Khan have all upheld his musical tradition,...
(1848–1920), before him. His father died when Imrat was a child, so he was raised by his mother, Bashiran Begum and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan. In 1944, the family moved with rising star Vilayat Khan
Vilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of India's well known sitar maestros, born in Gauripur in Mymensingh, Bengal...
, Imrat's elder brother, to Bombay where both the brothers learned extensively from uncle Wahid Khan
Wahid Khan
- Childhood and training :When Wahid Khan was still quite young, Imdad Khan moved into Kolkata from Etawah with his family. There they used to stay at the house of noted connoisseur Sri. Taraprasad Ghosh, where Imdad Khan rigorously trained his two talented sons Enayat Khan and Wahid Khan. Wahid...
, Enayat Khan's brother. Wahid Khan
Wahid Khan
- Childhood and training :When Wahid Khan was still quite young, Imdad Khan moved into Kolkata from Etawah with his family. There they used to stay at the house of noted connoisseur Sri. Taraprasad Ghosh, where Imdad Khan rigorously trained his two talented sons Enayat Khan and Wahid Khan. Wahid...
was one of the greatest surbahar players of his generation and a top-level sitar player, and taught Imrat on the instruments in the family style, known as the Imdadkhani gharana
Gharana
In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...
(school), or Etawah Gharana, after a village outside Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
where Imdad Khan lived.
In 1952 Vilayat and Imrat moved in together in Calcutta. They performed together for many years. From the 1960s onwards, Imrat has performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and surbahar.
Solo career and legacy
For decades, Imrat has recorded extensively on both his instruments. His full performance practice starts with a surbahar alap in dhrupadDhrupad
Dhrupad is a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition. Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" and "pada"...
ang (embellished with more romantic touches), followed by a shorter alap on the sitar leading into gat in traditional Imdadkhani style. (Sitar players such as Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar
Ravi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
and Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Banerjee
Nikhil Ranjan Banerjee was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar Gharana who played the stringed instrument sitar.-Early life and background:...
added bass strings to their sitars to achieve at least some of the surbahar's lower range on a single instrument).
He has toured in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and East
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. Surbahar players are rare today, and Imrat is the main living exponent.
Imrat has four sons, Nishat
Nishat Khan
Nishat Khan is an Indian sitar player and son of surbahar player Imrat Khan.Khan was born in the mid-1960s in Kolkata. He performed with musicians of the genres jazz, Gregorian chant, flamenco and Western classical music. In August 2002, Khan performed for the Diet of Japan in Tokyo and played in...
, Irshad
Irshad Khan
Irshad Khan is a surbahar and sitar player based in Canada. He is the second son of Ustad Imrat KhanAs one of the foremost representatives of the Imdadkhani Etawa Gharana, Irshad Khan is internationally recognized as one a leading sitar players and as the leading surbahar exponent of his generation...
, Wajahat
Wajahat Khan
Wajahat Khan is an Indian sarod player who has earned international acclaim since 1977. He is the third son of Imrat Khan, nephew of Vilayat Khan and a member of the multi-generational musical Khan family which founded the Imdadkhani Gharana...
and Shafaatullah
Shafaatullah Khan
Shafaatullah Khan is a tabla, sitar and surbahar player. He is the fourth son of Imrat Khan.-External links:*...
, who are all classical musicians: Nishat plays the sitar, Wajahat concentrates on the sarod
Sarod
The sarod is a stringed musical instrument, used mainly in Indian classical music. Along with the sitar, it is the most popular and prominent instrument in the classical music of Hindustan...
and Shafaatullah is accomplished on sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
, tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, and surbahar
Surbahar
Surbahar , sometimes known as bass sitar, is a plucked string instrument used in the Hindustani classical music of North India. It is closely related to sitar, but it has a lower tone. Depending on the instrument's size, it is usually pitched two to five whole steps below the standard sitar, but...
. The surbahar tradition is largely upheld by Irshad (also a sitar player), who has made some very traditional solo recordings.
Imrat Khan currently spends a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at Washington University in Saint Louis. In addition to his sons, Brian Jones
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
of the Rolling Stones and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
(who also studied under Ravi Shankar) have been some of his famous students.