Vilayat Khan

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The death of India’s sitar wizard Ustad Vilayat Khan’s was a great loss to music lovers.

Born in a family of musicians, Ittawa Gharana, in 1928 in Indore, Khan was the son of an outstanding sitar player, Ustad Inayat Khan. His mother Bashiren was from an eminent vocalist family in Saharanpur and Nahaan.

At the age of 11, he joined All India Radio (AIR) Delhi in 1939 and ZA Bokahri, the then director general, appointed him a radio staff artist. He quickly became a well-known figure in the sitar world.

In the 70s, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bohshan Award, the highest Indian award, but he refused it because Pandit Ravi Shankar, a sitar player he held in great esteem, had not been awarded. The following year, he was awarded the Aftab-e-Sitar Award, the Padma Boshan Award and a sitar made of silver.

The maestro was a great innovator and improviser and each of his sitar recitals had an element of surprise. Ustad Vilayat Khan is credited with introducing the sitar to the layman.