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Ustad Vilayat Khan is considered to be one of the greatest sitaryas of our era.
He is most widely acclaimed for the Gayaki Ang of Sitar,
in which he used the Sitar to render the finer nuances
which are normally possible only to an accomplished vocalist.
Born in Gauripur, (a village in present day Bangladesh) in 1924
to Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan Sahib, his ear received the initial training in the musical environment at home.
His father was himself a famous Sitariya and grandfather had been an acclaimed Rudra-Veena player.
Young Vilayat lost his father at a tender age of 13 and
took up the responsibility of looking after his family.
In 1930, Vilayat Khan trained under his maternal uncle, Zinda Hussain Khan.
It was during this period that he developed the 'Gayaki Ang' for which he later became famous.
Ustad Vilayat Khan has had a very extensive professional career
performing in various national and international concerts.
He has also scored music for several films like Satyajit Ray's 'Jalsaghar' .
Ustad Vilayat Khan was given the title of Aftab-e-Sitar.
Later, he was also selected for the Padmabhushan., an award given by the Govt. of India
to citizens of outstanding merit, which he respectfully declined.
Ustad Vilayat Khan. has been a revered guru to many of today's
prominent musicians which include his sons, Ustad Shujat Khan and Hidayat Khan,
Pt. Arvind Parekh, Ustad Shamim Ahmed Khan, Pt. Satish Vyas and Ustad Rais Khan.
The divine fingers which could make the sitar literally 'sing' khayals,
dropped the plectrum on March 13th, 2004 when the Ustad left for his heavenly abode
after a distinguished career spanning 70 years.
However, many "taraafe" (resonating strings) of many a sitar will continue to resonate
in the memories of their days of glory when they 'sang' Khayals to the dictum of a great Ustad.
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Maestros
of India
