Indian Hindustani classical vocalist
Musical artist
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan
(1871?1949) was an
Indian subcontinental singer
from the
Kirana gharana
. He died in 1949 in
Saharanpur
, India.
[1]
Early life and background
[
edit
]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan was born in
Kirana
, Uttar Pradesh in 1871.
[2]
The town of Kirana was home to many families of musicians from the Mughal court, who migrated from Delhi after the
Mughal Empire
fell in 1857. Kirana gharana's three disciplines are
rudraveena
,
sarangi
and vocals.
[3]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan initially learned vocal and sarangi from his father, Ustad Abdul Majid Khan. Around age 12, he moved to Kolhapur to learn from Ustad Langde Haider Baksh Khan, a disciple of Mian Bande Ali Khan, a famous master of
veena
and vocal music.
[2]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan founded the
Kirana gharana
musical family with his cousin
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan
in the late 19th century.
[3]
Ustad Abdul Karim Khan had married Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan's sister, Ghafooran Bibi. The relationship between Abdul Wahid Khan and Abdul Karim Khan later soured when Abdul Karim neglected Ghafooran Bibi and married his student, Tarabai Mane. Abdul Wahid Khan's hearing was deficient and he was sometimes referred to as
Behre Wahid Khan
(Deaf Wahid Khan). Wahid Khan's son Ustad Hafizullah Khan was born in 1946. Hafizullah's uncles trained him in music, and he became a
Sarangi
player.
[2]
Singing career
[
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]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan forbade recordings of his performances to avoid imitation by other singers. Only three of his performances survived, recordings of the ragas Patdip,
Multani
, and
Darbari Kanada
, accompanied by
Chatur Lal
on
tabla
. They were preserved by music producer Jivan Lal Mattoo, who secretly recorded a radio broadcast in 1947, 2 years before his death, to document Khan's style.
[4]
"Although a youthful prodigy of the Kolhapur court, remaining unchallenged after his public debut there at age 18, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan had no inclination to spend time singing in the courts. Instead he lived a devout, reclusive life, singing in the presence of holy men and at the tombs of Sufi saints and only occasionally sang in public."
[2]
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan died as an Indian national in 1949 in
Saharanpur
.
[4]
[5]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan's students included Pandit Jaichand Bhatt (Khyal Singer),
Sureshbabu Mane
,
Hirabai Barodekar
,
Begum Akhtar
, Saraswatibai Rane,
Pran Nath
, Sukhdev Prasad,
Ram Narayan
, and
Mohammed Rafi
. See:
List of music students by teacher: K to M#Abdul Wahid Khan
.
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan's greatest contribution was his influence on
Amir Khan
of
Indore gharana
, although he was not one of his formal disciples. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan had started evolving the
vilambit khyal
and their work inspired Amir Khan to develop his trademark
ati vilambit
singing.
[1]
Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan evolved the classical Hindustani music by extending recitals of a raga from approximately 20 minutes to up to an hour. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan was one of the greatest icons of the Kirana
gharana.
[2]
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Profile of Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan on parrikar.org website
Retrieved 12 January 2022
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Treasures from the Past ? Abdul Wahid Khan (Profile of Abdul Wahid Khan on ITC Sangeet Research Academy website)
Retrieved 12 January 2022
- ^
a
b
c
Sanghamitra Mazumdar (27 June 2016).
"The others who left Kairana, many decades ago (Abdul Wahid Khan)"
.
The Indian Express (newspaper)
. Retrieved
12 January
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Sorrell, Neil; Narayan, Ram (1980).
Indian Music in Performance: a practical introduction
. Manchester University Press. p. 16.
ISBN
0-7190-0756-9
.
- ^
Wade, Bonnie C. (1984).
Khyal: Creativity within North India's Classical Music Tradition
. Cambridge University Press. p. 181, 188, 196, 210, 254, 281, 294.
ISBN
0-521-25659-3
.