Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Sabrang |
| Born | (1902-04-02)2 April 1902 |
| Died | 23 April 1968(1968-04-23) (aged 66) |
| Genres | Hindustani classical music |
| Occupation | singer |
| Years active | 1923–1967 |
| Labels | His Master's Voice,Times Music |
UstadBade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian-Pakistani vocalist, from theKasur Patiala Gharana.[1][2][3]
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born inKasur, of the erstwhilePunjab Province, British India in 1902. Followingpartition of India in 1947,Kasur Tehsil was allocated to Pakistan. At the age of five, Bade Ghulam began training in vocal music from his uncle Kale Khan, and later from his father Ali Buksh Khan Kasuri. He had three younger brothers namelyBarkat Ali Khan, Mubarak Ali Khan and Amanat Ali Khan.
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan had two sons from his first marriage to Allah Jawai. Munawar Ali Khan, his younger son, was born in August 1930 and Karamat Ali Khan, his elder son, was born in Lahore on 28 December 1928. Seven sons were born to his elder son Karamat Ali Khan: Baqi Ali, Asif Ali, Mazhar Ali Khan, Jawaad Ali Khan, Mehdi Ali, Sajjad Ali, and Naqi Ali Khan. Out of the seven sons, three have carried on the Gharana lineage and are still singing. Mazhar Ali Khan died in New Delhi, India, in September 2021. Three children were born to Munawar Ali Khan: two sons, Raza Ali Khan, Shakir Ali Khan, and a daughter. Raza Ali Khan is carrying on the Gharana customs as well.
Though he started his career by singing a few compositions of his late father Ali Baksh Khan and uncle Kale Khan, Bade Ghulam amalgamated the best of three traditions into his own Patiala-Kasur style:
Many of 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 longalaps, particularly considering his tendency towards singing for the masses. He, therefore, changed the music to what the audience wanted. He excelled at more light-heartedragas such as:
Under the pen name ofSabrang, he created many newcompositions. Unlike his younger son,Munawar Ali Khan, who had an open-throated voice, Khan Sahib's voice was slurred.
After thePartition of India in 1947, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan went to his hometownKasur in Pakistan, but moved to India later to live permanently in 1957. With the help of the Bombay Chief Minister,Morarji Desai, he acquired Indian citizenship and moved to a bungalow at Malabar Hill inMumbai. He lived at various times inLahore,Bombay,Calcutta, and finallyHyderabad.[3] Regarding the Partition of India,[4] he once stated:
If one child in every home had been taught Hindustani classical music, India would never have been partitioned
For a long time, he stayed away from singing in films, despite requests and persuasion from well-known producers and music directors. Finally, after much coaxing, he was convinced by the film producer,K Asif, to sing two songs based on the ragas Sohni and Rageshri for the 1960 filmMughal-e-Azam, with music directed byNaushad. He demanded and received an extremely high price, reportedly ₹ 25,000 per song, at a time when the rates of popular and star playback singers such asLata Mangeshkar andMohammed Rafi were below ₹ 500 per song. Prem Jogan Ban Ke & Shubh Din Aayo Raj Dulara from filmMughal-e-Azam are his only two songs in Playback career.[2][5]
Some more songs of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan -
He died inBasheer Bagh Palace inHyderabad on 23 April 1968 after a prolonged illness that had left him partially paralyzed in the last few years of his life. He continued to sing and perform in public with the support of his son,Munawar Ali Khan, until his death.[8][1] He was buried atDaira Mir Momin cemetery in Hyderabad.[9][10]
Indian film directorHarisadhan Dasgupta made a documentary film about Khan in 1968, titledBade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib.[11]
In 2017, theBade Ghulam Ali Khan Yaadgaar Sabha was founded by his disciple Malti Gilani. It helps to keep his music and memory alive even today.[12]
The main street atBasheerbagh is namedUstad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Marg in his honour.[2]
Media related toBade Ghulam Ali Khan at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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