Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan

During His Lifetime Sufi Abdul Wahid Khan Chisti Sabri Was The Acknowledged Master Of The Kirana Style. His Revival Of Khayal At The Turn Of The 19th Century Stands In Itself As A Virtually Unparalleled Contribution To The Recent History Of Indian Classical Music. Abdul Wahid Khan Began His Studies At An Early Age With His Father Abdul Majid Khan Learning Vocal And Sarangi. Around Age 12 He Was Sent To Kolhapur To Study With Haider Baksh Khan Who Was A Disciple Of The Reknowned Master Of The Beenkar Vina And Voice Mian Bande Ali Khan. Although A Youthful Prodigy Of The Kolhapur Court Remaining Unchallenged After His Public Debut There At Age 18 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. The Most Striking Fact On His Performance Was Apparently His Alap. The Time He Took The Care To Elaborate The Raga Was Exceptional Among Khayal Singers He Might Take Hours On One Raga. When Salamat Ali Khan Was Asked By One Of His Disciples For A Description Of Abdul Wahid Khan He Replied “He Would Begin To Improvise In Lahore And You Could Travel To Delhi And Back And He Would Still Be Improvising. More Than That You Don’t Ask.” Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Said That When Most Musicians Came To The Radio Station They Sang Their Raga And Went Home. When Abdul Wahid Khan Would Come However He Would Sing His Scheduled Broadcast And Then Just Continue For 20 Hours Or So. People Would Come And Go And He Would Still Be Singing. His Command Of The Art Was Such That No Other Musician Ever Performed In His Presence. Abdul Wahid Khan Practiced Todi And Darbari Day In And Day Out. When Asked Why He Limited Himself To Only Two Ragas His Response Was That He Would Have Dropped The Second One Also If Morning Time Could Last Forever. One Lifetime According To Him Was Not Enough To Do Justice To Any Raga. He Was Forced To Change From Todi To Something Else Only Because Of The Setting Sun And The Gathering Darkness. Born In Kirana He Later Moved To Lahore Where He Made An Independent Career Until His Death In Saharanpur In 1949. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Was Inferred The Title Of “Sirtaaj-E-Mousiki” The Crown Of All Musicians The King Of Music. He Had A Most Religious And Pious Attitude To Life Paying Homage Throughout His Life To His Pir The Sufi Khwaja Ali Ahmed Nafi Alam A Saint Living In Multan In The Punjab Now Pakistan. Requiring Rigorous Discipline And Fierce Devotion Abdul Wahid Khan Accepted Very Few Disciples Among Them Pandit Pran Nath Who Became One Of The Most Important Disciples Through His Ceaseless Practice Natural Talent And Extraordinary Ability To Serve His Master. For Almost 20 Years He Served His Guru And In 1970 Came To The USA Where He Has Many Disciples In New York California And Oregon Including The American Composers La Monte Young And Terry Riley. Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan Had Only One Surviving Son Who Followed In His Father’s Footsteps To Also Become A Great Musician On The Sarangi And Voice. Ustad Hafizullah Khan Was A Senior Artist With The Highest Ratings At All India Radio In Delhi For Over 35 Years. read less