Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
(Devanagari :बड़े गुलाम
अली खान, Shahmukhi: ﺑﮍﮮ ﻏﻼﻡ
ﻋﻠﯽ ﺧﺎﻥ ) (c. 1902 – 25 April
1968) was a Hindustani classical
vocalist, from the Patiala
gharana.[1]
Early life and background
Khan was born in Kasur, then in
the Punjab province in British
India; after partition, Kasur
became a part of Pakistan. [2] His
father was a famous singer, Ali
Baksh Khan, in a West Punjabi
family of musical heritage.
At the age of seven, he learned
sarangi and vocal from his
paternal uncle Kale Khan, who
was also a singer and composer
of repute, and after his death he
picked up a few compositions
from his father who had re-
married by this time. [3] This
tenure lasted for almost three
years. It was at this juncture that
he improvised the musical
instrument "Kanoon" to the
present "Swaramandal" which
became his trademark. When he
was about 21 years old, he
moved to Benaras where he
accompanied a courtesan named
Zarabai on the sarangi and
started to perform in public.
↑Jump back a section
Singing career
Though Khan started his career
by accompanying female singers
on the sarangi, he also used to
sing a few compositions of his
late uncle. He was also a disciple
of both Ustad Akhtar Hussain
Khan and Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan,
two scions of the Patiala
Gharana. [4] He became popular
as a vocalist after his debut
concert in Kolkata. Khan
amalgamated the best of four
traditions: his own Patiala-Kasur
style, the Behram Khani
elements of Dhrupad, the
gyrations of Jaipur, and the
behlavas (embellishments) of
Gwalior. His voice had a wide
range, spanning three octaves,
effortless rendition, sweetness,
flexibility and ease of movement
in all tempi. [3] His raga
expositions were brief, contrary
to convention, and while he
agreed that the beauty of
classical music lay in leisurely
improvisation, he believed that
the audience would not
appreciate long alaps, and he had
to sing for the masses and
change the music to what the
audience wanted. [5]
After the partition of India in
1947, Khan went to his home in
Pakistan, but returned to India
later to reside permanently. He
did not approve of the partition,
stating: "If in every home one
child was taught Hindustani
classical music this country would
never have been partitioned." In
1957, with the help of Bombay
chief minister Morarji Desai, he
acquired Indian citizenship and
moved to a government-provided
bungalow at Malabar Hill. He
lived at various times in Lahore,
Bombay , Calcutta , and
Hyderabad.
For a long time, Bade Ghulam Ali
stayed away from singing in films
despite requests and persuasions
from well known producers and
music directors. However, he was
coaxed and convinced by K. Asif
to sing two songs based on ragas
Sohni and Rageshree for the
1960 film Mughal-e-Azam , with
the music directed by Naushad .
He demanded a very, very high
price, reportedly Rs. 25,000 per
song, when the rate for popular
and star playback singers such as
Lata Mangeshkar and
Mohammed Rafi was below Rs.
500 per song. [6]
Khan was awarded the Sangeet
Natak Akademi Award and the
Padma Bhushan in 1962. [7][8]
Khan died in Hyderabad at
Basheerbagh Palace in 1968,
after a prolonged illness which
left him partially paralysed in his
last years. He continued to sing
and perform in public with the
support of his son Munawar Ali
Khan (1930–1989) until his
death.
↑Jump back a section
The legacy
Today, the Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Yaadgar Sabha, founded by his
disciple Malti Gilani, keeps his
music and memory alive. It aims
to promote Hindustani classical
music and organises many
concerts to this end. Its primary
aim, however, is to provide
medical aid to ailing musicians.
The Sabha organises a Sabrang
Utsav every year in the memory
of the maestro. Under his pen
name, Sabrang, Khan left
numerous compositions.
Khan was married to Ali Jiwai,
who died in 1932. His son
Munawar was a classical singer.
His grandson, Raza Ali Khan, is
also a classical singer.
Many years after the death of his
first wife Allah Jiwai, he married
an issueless widow, Allah Rakhi,
who survived him and died on 11
August 1996.
The main street at Basheerbagh
is named Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan Marg in his honour.
(Devanagari :बड़े गुलाम
अली खान, Shahmukhi: ﺑﮍﮮ ﻏﻼﻡ
ﻋﻠﯽ ﺧﺎﻥ ) (c. 1902 – 25 April
1968) was a Hindustani classical
vocalist, from the Patiala
gharana.[1]
Early life and background
Khan was born in Kasur, then in
the Punjab province in British
India; after partition, Kasur
became a part of Pakistan. [2] His
father was a famous singer, Ali
Baksh Khan, in a West Punjabi
family of musical heritage.
At the age of seven, he learned
sarangi and vocal from his
paternal uncle Kale Khan, who
was also a singer and composer
of repute, and after his death he
picked up a few compositions
from his father who had re-
married by this time. [3] This
tenure lasted for almost three
years. It was at this juncture that
he improvised the musical
instrument "Kanoon" to the
present "Swaramandal" which
became his trademark. When he
was about 21 years old, he
moved to Benaras where he
accompanied a courtesan named
Zarabai on the sarangi and
started to perform in public.
↑Jump back a section
Singing career
Though Khan started his career
by accompanying female singers
on the sarangi, he also used to
sing a few compositions of his
late uncle. He was also a disciple
of both Ustad Akhtar Hussain
Khan and Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan,
two scions of the Patiala
Gharana. [4] He became popular
as a vocalist after his debut
concert in Kolkata. Khan
amalgamated the best of four
traditions: his own Patiala-Kasur
style, the Behram Khani
elements of Dhrupad, the
gyrations of Jaipur, and the
behlavas (embellishments) of
Gwalior. His voice had a wide
range, spanning three octaves,
effortless rendition, sweetness,
flexibility and ease of movement
in all tempi. [3] His raga
expositions were brief, contrary
to convention, and while he
agreed that the beauty of
classical music lay in leisurely
improvisation, he believed that
the audience would not
appreciate long alaps, and he had
to sing for the masses and
change the music to what the
audience wanted. [5]
After the partition of India in
1947, Khan went to his home in
Pakistan, but returned to India
later to reside permanently. He
did not approve of the partition,
stating: "If in every home one
child was taught Hindustani
classical music this country would
never have been partitioned." In
1957, with the help of Bombay
chief minister Morarji Desai, he
acquired Indian citizenship and
moved to a government-provided
bungalow at Malabar Hill. He
lived at various times in Lahore,
Bombay , Calcutta , and
Hyderabad.
For a long time, Bade Ghulam Ali
stayed away from singing in films
despite requests and persuasions
from well known producers and
music directors. However, he was
coaxed and convinced by K. Asif
to sing two songs based on ragas
Sohni and Rageshree for the
1960 film Mughal-e-Azam , with
the music directed by Naushad .
He demanded a very, very high
price, reportedly Rs. 25,000 per
song, when the rate for popular
and star playback singers such as
Lata Mangeshkar and
Mohammed Rafi was below Rs.
500 per song. [6]
Khan was awarded the Sangeet
Natak Akademi Award and the
Padma Bhushan in 1962. [7][8]
Khan died in Hyderabad at
Basheerbagh Palace in 1968,
after a prolonged illness which
left him partially paralysed in his
last years. He continued to sing
and perform in public with the
support of his son Munawar Ali
Khan (1930–1989) until his
death.
↑Jump back a section
The legacy
Today, the Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Yaadgar Sabha, founded by his
disciple Malti Gilani, keeps his
music and memory alive. It aims
to promote Hindustani classical
music and organises many
concerts to this end. Its primary
aim, however, is to provide
medical aid to ailing musicians.
The Sabha organises a Sabrang
Utsav every year in the memory
of the maestro. Under his pen
name, Sabrang, Khan left
numerous compositions.
Khan was married to Ali Jiwai,
who died in 1932. His son
Munawar was a classical singer.
His grandson, Raza Ali Khan, is
also a classical singer.
Many years after the death of his
first wife Allah Jiwai, he married
an issueless widow, Allah Rakhi,
who survived him and died on 11
August 1996.
The main street at Basheerbagh
is named Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan Marg in his honour.
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