Ustad Faiyaz Khan

Faiyaz Khan
Ustad Faiyaz Khan was an
Indian classical vocalist, an
exponent of the Agra
Gharana .
Early life
Born at Sikandara near
Agra in 1886 (contested as
1888, 1889), [1] he was the
son of Shabr Hussain, who
died three months before
his birth. He was brought
up by his maternal
grandfather, Ghulam Abbas
(1825?-1934), who taught
him music up to the age of
25. He was also a student
of Ustad Mehboob Khan
"Daraspiya", his father-in-
law.
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Singing career
Faiyaz Khan served for a
long time as the court
musician of Sir Sayaji Rao
Gaekwad, the Maharaja of
Baroda , where he was
awarded the "Gyan
Ratna" (Gem of
Knowledge). The Maharaja
of Mysore awarded him the
title "Aftab-e-
Mousiqui" (the Sun of
Music). Faiyaz Khan's
specialities were dhrupad
and khyal, but he was also
capable of singing thumri
and ghazal. According to
well known musicologist
Dr. Ashok Ranade who was
a former Director of Music
Centre, University of
Bombay, "There was no
chink in his armour". He
was a frequent performer
in the musical conferences
and circles of Lucknow,
Allahabad, Calcutta,
Gwalior, Bombay and
Mysore and in concerts
organised by provincial
princes who vied with one
another to have the Ustad
perform in their respective
courts. The rulers of
Baroda held him in high
esteem and he was offered
the seat to the right of the
Maharaja of Baroda during
the official functions of the
royal court.He also
performed at Jorasanko
Thakurbari, the residential
abode of Rabindranath
Tagore (1861-1941), who
was an admirer of the
Ustad. It is known that he
had held a musical session
at Jorasanko a few years
before the passing away of
Tagore. Other well-known
admirers include maestros
such as Ahmad Jaan
Thirakwa, Ustad Amir Khan,
Ali Akbar Khan, Vilayat Khan
and Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Some of his best-known
students are Dilip Chand
Bedi, Sohan Singh, Asad Ali
Khan and Shrikrishna
Ratanjankar, apart from in-
house disciples such as
Khadim Hussain Khan,
Vilayat Hussain Khan,
Latafat Hussain Khan, Ata
Hussain Khan and Sharafat
Hussain Khan. Faiyaz Khan
himself was an admirer of
Abdul Karim Khan.
S.N.Ratanjankar was
perhaps the last of his
pupils who excelled both as
a teacher and as a
performer.
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Personal life
Considered a Neo-classicist
by some scholars of Indian
classical music, Faiyaz Khan
was known for his
broadmindedness,
kindness, humility and
sudden fits of temper that
cooled almost
instantaneously. Simple at
heart, he cared little for the
gifts and rewards ("inam")
that was showered upon
him in almost every place
he performed. His
associate and relative and
lifelong companion Ghulam
Rasul accounts an incident
in the 1930s when a
thousand rupee currency
note was found tucked in
the pocket of his sherwani
(a long, collared and
buttoned outer outfit)
when it came home after
being washed, cleansed,
dried and ironed by the
washerman. When asked by
Rasul, the Ustad retorted in
utter innocence - "How do
I know that who is giving
me what and how am I to
know that a single currency
note can be worth more
than a hundred rupees?" In
another incident which
took place at Unaon, near
Kanpur, a few years later;
when the Ustad came to
know that his patron was
expending beyond his
means to host the concert
of the Ustad to celebrate
the sacred thread
ceremony of his son, Faiyaz
Khan accepted only the fare
for his return journey and
blessed the child with a
gold ring purchased from
the local goldsmith during
his afternoon stroll the day
before.
Failing health due to a bout
of typhoid in 1945 followed
by tuberculosis restricted
him to lower his pitch to
"B" and "B Flat" though in
his prime, he always sang
in "C Sharp" and "C". The
available recordings of the
Ustad are almost entirely
from his later years. By the
time he died (on 5
November 1950 at Baroda ),
he had earned the
reputation of being one of
the greatest and most
influential vocalists of the
century.