Ustad Vilayat Khan was born on the 28th of August, 1924 (some say it was 1928). Though he died in 2004, his musical legacy will live on in several generations of instrumentalists whose playing style he completely overshadowed.
Born into a musical family, the famous Etawah gharana, Ustad Vilayat Khan was a 5th generation musician and like his forbears before him, universally acknowledged as the finest sitariya of his generation – as was his father Ustad Inayat Khan before him, and before him, his grandfather Ustad Imdad Khan. In fact, such was Ustad Imdad Khan’s stature as a musician that after him, the gharana also came to be called Imdadkhani gharana. His family can be said to be true “tantkaars” or instrumentalists though today he is famous for popularising and expanding the “gayaki ang” (vocal aspect) in his sitar craft.
Despite belonging to the premier sitar gharana of India, Ustad Vilayat Khan was truly a self made man. His father died very young, when he was 13, and thus he had to establish himself in the world of music purely based on merit not lineage. He completed his musical training under his paternal uncle Ustad Wahid Khan, his mother who belonged to a leading vocal gharana (daughter of Ustad Bande Hassan Khan, court musician in Nahan), with inputs from his maternal uncle Ustad Zinda Hassan.
Born with a totally receptive musical mind, and completely open, the young master absorbed whatever good he heard from masters like Ustad Fayaz Khan, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, later Ustad Amir Khan and others. As he once said, “agar main kisi rah jaate bhaand ko bhi achhi baat kehte sunoo, to main voh bhi loonga” (if I even hear a small singer on the way side sing something worth adopting, I will take it)
When he started his concert playing career in the late1930s there was no really outstanding sitariya around, so in a sense there was a niche that he ably filled. Later, he did have to contend with the great Pandit Ravi Shankar but by then Ustad Vilayat Khan had established himself, and undoubtedly reigned supreme and in every music circle in every city of India, be it Calcutta, Bombay, Poona, Allahabad, Jallandhar or Banaras was a much sought after regular. As son and heir Ustad Shujaat Khan says, “Ustad Vilayat Khan sahib changed the whole world of instrumental music. Not just with the “gayeki ang” but with every aspect of instrumental performance”.
Amongst his most illustrious disciples, his brother Ustad Imrat Khan, Pandit Arvind Parikh (his senior most student outside his family), his nephew Ustad Rais Khan (who sadly publicly has denied learning from his uncle), his sons Ustad Shujaat Khan and Hidayat Khan. But more amazing was the far reaching influence of his “baaj” (style) imperceptibly creeping into the music of so many renowned musicians who never learnt from him.
It is hard not to agree with his son Ustad Shujaat Khan when he says, “No instrumentalist today can escape the effect of his baaj…every instrumentalist follows him today; it doesn’t matter which gharana you belong to.”
Ustad Vilayat Khan’s nephew and today one of the few surbahar exponents, Ustad Irshad Khan concurs, “Ustad Vilayat Khan sahib was truly an iconic figure; he has influenced musicians not just of his generation and the next generation, but will continue to influence generations of classical musicians to come. There is no sitar player who can put on his mizrab (plectrum) without remembering Khan sahib, his techniques, his music…”
Leading Maihar gharana sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee says, “Ustad Vilayat Khan was a role model for every sitar player. His mastery over the instrument was so complete that it was as if the instrument was a part of his body – listening to his every command even before he made it.”
Anupama Bhagwat, today one of the finest sitariyas of the younger generation, says, “For me Ustad Vilayat Khan is the master who revolutionised the world of instrumental music ions. The way he could express all the emotions and every aspect of vocal and instrumental music through sitar is just inconceivable. There can be no one like him.”
It is said that even Pandit Nikhil Bannerji, himself a legend on the sitar, used to say that for sitar you have to hear Vilayat Khan sahib, you cannot ignore him. The great Ustad Ali Akbar played many jugalbandis with him in the 1950s-1960s; testimony to his admiration of him as an instrumentalist, as gharana wise, Maihar considered itself far richer.
Ustad Vilayat Khan accepted only one title “Aftab-e-sitar” (son of the sitar) given by fans – he felt he had been offered Government recognition too late. His technical innovations on the sitar itself have resulted in what is now known as the “Vilayat Khan” style of sitar.
Sadly during his lifetime he refused to record with All India Radio, then the most prolific archiving body in India so all his music played in his peak in the 1950s-1960s is available only through private label recordings. In his later years he changed his mind on his total boycott of government run media and recorded a series of episodes “Jugalbandi” for Doordarshan in which he was the host for several memorable concerts.
He married twice – first to Hindu socialite from Calcutta, Monisha Hazra, from whom he had 3 children – Shujaat, Yaman and Zila. He then married Lisa, with whom he had Hidayat.
An interesting episode in his life were his years in Simla – he was charmed by the hill station, and the State government honoured him by renting him the Raja of Jubbals palace Parimahal at the princely sum of Rs 1 per year! The Ustad lived in Simla for a few years in the late1960s, then for family reasons shifted to Dehradun and finally to the US.
As a man, Ustad Vilayat Khan was an aesthete in the true sense of the word. Impeccably attired always, with a finely honed eye, he collected the finest shawls, jewelery, accessories. He loved good carpets, chandeliers…. He loved cars and could tune a car engine by the sound of its running engine! All his senses were very refined – be it of taste – he loved rich food, or smell – he always bought and used the world’s finest perfumes, and of course, he had the most subtle sense of sound.
Ustad Vilayat Khan was also a very personable charming man with the most courtly manners – he was sought after by every host in every city. He was a wonderful raconteur, and one was riveted, hearing him describe an incident or tell a tale. Today, one remembers not just the music but also the man.
