USTAD AMIR HUSSAIN KHANSAHEB

The doyen of the Farrukhabad gharana, Ustad Amir Hussain Khan was the true embodiment of Indian culture. Born in a village called Bankhanda in Meerut District of Uttar Pradesh in October 1899, he was initiated into music by his father when he was six years old. His father Ustad Ahmed Baksh Khan was a renowned Sarangi maestro who was brought to the Nizam of Hyderabad`s durbar from Meerut.

With the young Amir Hussain`s obvious preference for the tabla, it was his maternal uncle, Munir Khan who took up the responsibility of giving the young enthusiast advanced lessons in Tabla, during his visits to Hyderabad. He generously imparted all his knowledge to his disciple, who reciprocated with diligent practice and application.

Amir Hussain subsequently went to live with his uncle Munir Khan in Mumbai for further training. Khansaheb religiously did `riyaz` for hours on end, every day, to attain perfection in the nuances of this art practiced in different Gharanas. Munir Khan taught Amir Hussain everything that he knew, including the art of composing for tabla. Soon Amir Hussain began to create his own compositions. He stayed with his guru till the latter`s demise in 1937.

Ustad Amir Hussain Khan`s reputation spread far and wide. He was a great crowd puller and always played before a packed audience. From a slow and steady beat, he used to effortlessly build up the rhythm into such frenzy that many in the audience used to go into an ecstatic trance. Once, as a guest of the Maharaja of Raigadh State, Khansaheb gave a breathtaking performance for a full four hours, without repeating a single `Bandish`. Overwhelmed by the superb skill of the artiste, the Maharaja bestowed on him a gift of 1000 gold coins!

From about the mid-1940s the maestro settled in Mumbai and had a remarkable career. He was left-handed and therefore played the bayan with the right hand. He established a tabla school named Munir Khan Tabla Vadan Kalalaya in Girgaum, Mumbai. His students included, among others, Pandit Nikhil Ghosh, Pandit Arvind Mulgaonkar, Pandharinath Nageshkar, Ghulam Rasul Khan, Sharif Ahmed and Fakir Hussain (son), most of whom were to become great gurus and torchbearers of this gharana.

Ustad Amir Hussain Khan left for his heavenly abode on 5th January 1969.