Ustad Rashid Khan: Maestro with umatched legacy
Khan was the scion of the fabled Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, known for its languorous style of essaying a “bandish” in middle-slow tempo
Mumbai Ustad Rashid Khan, 55, who died in Kolkata on Tuesday after a prolonged illness, enthralled millions of listeners for over three decades. Like the other maestro, Sachin Tendulkar, connoisseurs of Hindustani classical music saw him grow from a teenage prodigy into one of its master practitioners right before their eyes.
He was the scion of the fabled Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, known for its languorous style of essaying a “bandish” in middle-slow tempo, and was the great grandson of Inayat Hussain Khan. His talent was spotted early and he began his training under the tutelage of his maternal uncle Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan, who was one of the leading gurus of the prestigious Sangeet Research Academy (SRA) in Kolkata.
“Rashid bhai was all of six when he first stepped into the sprawling two-acre SRA campus,” recalls Omkar Dadarkar, noted vocalist and a leading SRA teacher. The toddler was put through the paces by a team of gurus among whom were Pandit KG Ginde, Pandit Gyan Prakash Ghosh and Pandit Kumar Mukherjee. Vijay Kichlu, the moving spirit behind SRA, remained an abiding influence on him.
“Ustad Rashid Khan saheb’s uniqueness lies in his formative years when he showed inexhaustible patience for ‘riyaz’ at SRA. His grandfather would punish him if he missed a single practice session. The SRA archives also introduced him to the beauty and elegance of Ustad Amir Khan’s ‘gayaki’ which influenced him a great deal,” said noted music critic Amarendra Nandu Dhaneshwar.
Rashid Khan, says Dadarkar, could make a raag his own with his majestic sweep and control. “He could elaborate a raag for over two hours in ‘vilambit’-- the slow, laid-back style that tests a vocalist’s breath control and ability to explore the sweep of a raag.
“The effortless ease with which Rashid bhai sang was incredible. It appeared as if he was there not to prove anything and rather he was singing for the sheer happiness which a raag could bring,” says the doyenne of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, Shruti Sadolikar-Katkar. “He was the angel of Indian classical music.”
Rashid Khan was just nine when he made his stage debut. Sadolikar-Katkar remembers that concert held in Mumbai under the aegis of Sajan Milap: “The young lad sang ‘sargam’ with great gusto, leaving the connoisseurs speechless. He was dressed in a sherwani and a cap with woollen tufts which swayed happily each time he moved his head vigorously, immersed in the music.”
Like everything else was fast-forwarded in his life, his hour of glory too came early when Pandit Bhimsen Joshi heard him at a concert and proclaimed: “I am happy that the future of Indian classical music is safe in Rashid Khan’s hands.” After that concert, Rashid Khan would be religiously invited to the annual Sawai Gandharva music festival in Pune organised by Bhimsenm Joshi.
By the early 2000s, he had emerged as one of most talented vocalists in Hindustani classical music who then expanded his repertoire “thumris” and soulful “bandishes” often rendered for popular cinema. He transcended the boundaries of gharanas and experimented with both style and forms in an attempt to widen the scope of his gayaki. “ Ustad Rashid Khan mapped out his own path and interpreted classical music in his own way, creating his own style and idiom which often blurred the distinction between classical music and sugam sangeet,” says Dadarkar.
“Although a male singer, Ustad’s gaayaki was delicate and poignant, unlike the stereotyped male singers.”
Among his popular Hindi film songs were Aaoge Jab Tum (Jab We Met in 2007), Allah Hi Rehem(My Name Is Khan in 2010), Tu Banja Gali Benaras Ki (Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana in 2017), and his last Hindi film song Chanda Se Chhup Ke from Goldfish last year which added to his younger fan base.
Awards too came aplenty -- including the Padma Shri in 2006, the Sangeet Natak Akademi honour in 2007, and the Padma Bhushan in 2022. He also set up a music academy in his mother’s memory in Kolkata where he nurtured young talent. The Ustad is survived by his wife and three children. He will be laid to rest with a given a state funeral on Wednesday amid gun salutes. Though the plaintive strains of the Ahir bhairav which he rendered with such exquisiteness might be more befitting.