Munawar Ali Khan | |
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Background information | |
Native name | मुनावर अली ख़ान |
Birth name | Munawar Ali Khan |
Born | 15 August 1930 Lahore, Punjab, British India |
Died | 1989 (aged 59) Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
Genres | Hindustani classical music |
Occupation(s) | Indian Classical and light classical Vocalist. |
Ustad Munawar Ali Khan (1930–1989) was an Indian classical and light classical vocalist of Kasur Patiala Gharana. He was the younger son of the maestro Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
Munawar Ali Khan was taught by his father Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and his uncle Barkat Ali Khan. "He accompanied his father Bade Ghulam Ali Khan to all his concerts and became an integral part of his father's recital after his father had a paralytic attack in early 1961.
Munawar Ali Khan had a full-throated voice with open aakar and his style differed from his father's quicksilver style. After his father's death in 1968, he started giving solo concerts and became the worthy representative and the "Khalifa" of the Kasur Patiala Gharana.
Munawar Ali Khan was a top-grade artist at All India Radio. He also joined Bharatiya Kala Kendra in Delhi as a music teacher. He performed in major music festivals in India and abroad. He toured extensively in Germany, Switzerland, U.K., France, Australia and represented India in Afghanistan in 1986 and in Pakistan in 1984. He has several discs to his credit both in India and abroad, released by Audiorec, HMV, EMI Music and Sony Nad. With Sandhya Mukherjee he also sang for a Bengali film "Jaijawanti" (1971).
Ustad Munawar Ali Khan sahib created many khyal and thumri bandishes as well as geets and ghazals. He sang ragas which were not very popular in his Gharana, such as Shuddh Kalyan, Bairagi Bhairav, Abhogi Kanada, Suha Kanada, Devgiri Bilawal, and Ahir Bhairav and he created a new raga named Malini Basant.
Ustad Munawar Ali Khan was also a successful and outstanding teacher. His students include his son Raza Ali Khan, his nephews Mazhar Ali Khan, Jawaad Ali Khan, Naqi Ali Khan, Ajoy Chakraborty, Indira Misra, Primila Puri, Sanjukta Ghosh, Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, Sajjad Ali, Adnan Salem and Kumar Mukherjee. This Kasur Patiala legacy is now carried by his son Ustad Raza Ali Khan and his nephews Ustad Jawaad Ali Khan, Ustad Mazhar Ali Khan, Naqi Ali Khan, and Abdul Aziz Khan.