On his 93rd start anniversary, remembering the sitarist who rose above all of the hardship and criticism
August 28 is a crucial day for Hindustani instrumentalists. On today, 92 years in the past, one of many best sitarists of our occasions, Ustad Vilayat Khan, was born. Since he was born on Janmashtami, the Maharaja of Gauripur, the place his father was a courtroom musician for a short interval, named him Kanha Singh.
Vilayat Khan noticed troublesome occasions in his childhood, however ultimately reached nice heights. Despite not accepting any authorities awards, he was universally acknowledged as ‘Aftab-e-Sitar’ (solar of the sitar), a title given to him by the previous President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Vilayat Khan valued this title immensely. “It was never given to anyone before me, nor will it be given to anyone after me,” he had remarked.
In one among his compositions in raag Gaur Malhar, Vilayat Khan vents his anguish, ‘Kya bhasha un sang karenge, jo baat na jaane; humko woh kya jaane, jo koi na pehchaane’ (in what language can one converse with somebody who’s ignorant; how can somebody who no person recognises assess me). He ends with an emotional ‘aise log humme samajhaaye’ the place he goes as much as ‘teep’ sa with a stupendous meend, conveying his frustration musically.
Growing up in a feudal society, when royal patronage was the one technique of livelihood for musicians, Vilayat Khan had the best courtroom manners, but in addition immense satisfaction and sense of self-worth. In an interview to BBC, he had mentioned, “I am a very principled man”, and he by no means put up with a perceived slur or slight.
Often described as moody and smug, Vilayat Khan had one other facet to him. Long-time good friend Lalita Khanna recollects incidents from his days in Simla within the Sixties that confirmed the humility and generosity of the person. Her father, Raja Padamjit Singh, had a coronary heart drawback and was bedridden. When Vilayat Khan got here to find out about it, he drove as much as Khanna’s home and performed raag Des and Tilak Kamod on the sitar, sitting on the ground beside her father’s mattress. He defined later, “I knew my music would make him feel better.” Two days later, he went once more, this time accompanied by tabla participant Mansa Khan.
Organisers used to say he was “difficult” to cope with when it got here to cash. He insisted on being paid greater than some other artiste of his time, and prematurely. Artistes of his calibre should not speculated to be so “materialistic”, however what has been forgotten is that when he was in dire want of cash and alternative, he was badly handled by organisers, who paid him miniscule quantities or nothing in any respect.
Ustad Vilayat Khan with Kishan Maharaj at a live performance
Influenced by his type
Many additionally criticise him for not being beneficiant as a guru; but among the best sitariyas on the time have been educated by him; together with his brother Ustad Imrat Khan and nephew Ustad Rais Khan (sadly, this was strongly denied by the latter). Pt. Arvind Parikh, his senior-most disciple, has handed on the legacy to the following era. Shujaat Khan, his son, is a worthy torchbearer. Vilayat Khan’s youthful son, the U.S.-based Hidayat Khan, additionally learnt from him. The affect of his type on a whole era of instrumentalists, together with his up to date, Carnatic veena vidwan S. Balachander, is simple.
Critics have spoken about his restricted raag information, but the imaginative and prescient of the raags he performed was startling. Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri as soon as commented that even earlier than he reached the madhyam of raag Aiman/ Kalyani, he would present how a lot soch (thought) had gone into his music. He usually talked about how he visualised the temper a raag represented, the colors it invoked in his thoughts. For him, a raag was a residing entity.
So much has been mentioned about his technical improvements on the sitar. Some sitar gamers who envied his reputation attributed his music to the excellence of his instrument. No one who knew him will dispute that he may tune any sitar, even probably the most imperfect one, so completely that it sang for him. And the magic got here from his fingers.
Vilayat Khan as soon as mentioned, “I am different as a sitar player only due to my emotions.” For him, except music had the facility to arrest, the facility to convey feeling (taaseer), it amounted to nothing. In his phrases, “You have to play assuming no one in the audience knows anything about your music; you have to play for yourself, and slowly you start listening to your playing and enjoying your own music. That’s when your audience connects with the music.”
In an interview, two years earlier than his demise in 2004, he had mentioned, “I am not satisfied. Music is like climbing a never-ending mountain, it’s a constant struggle. [But] I want my next life to be linked with music again.”
