Imrat Khan (Born 1936) is India's leading surbahar (bass sitar) player, younger brother of sitar great Vilayat Khan. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The surbahar, also known as a bass Sitar, is a traditional stringed musical instrument from India. ... Premla Shahane playing a sitar, 1927 The sitar is a Hindustani classical instrument. ... Vilayat Khan (Bangla: বিলায়েত খাঁ) (August 8, 1928–March 13, 2004) was an Indian virtuoso sitar maestro. ...

Training and early career

Imrat was born in Calcutta into a family of musicians tracing its pedigree back for several generations, to the court musicians of the Mughal rulers. His father was Enayat Khan (1895–1938), recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his time, as had been the grandfather, Imdad Khan (1848–1920), before him. His father died when Imrat was just a child, so he was raised by his mother, Bashiran Begum, and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan. In 1944, the family moved with rising star Vilayat to Bombay and sent Imrat to uncle Wahid Khan. Wahid Khan was a surbahar master, and taught Imrat on the instrument in the family style, known as the Imdadkhani gharana (school), or Etawah gharana, after a village outside Agra where Imdad Khan lived. This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... An old studio photograph of Enayat Khan with surbahar – in his day the more prestigious instrument Enayat Khan (1895–1938) was one of Indias most influential sitar and surbahar players in the first decades of the 20th Century. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Imdad Khan with the surbahar, an instrument he is said to have invented Imdad Khan (1848–1920) was a famous Indian sitar and surbahar player, the grandfather of 20th Century sitar great Vilayat Khan. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article or section should be merged with Mumbai Mumbai (previously known as Bombay) is the worlds most populous conurbation, and is the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world. ... In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization which groups musicians who are linked by lineage and/or discipleship and who adhere to a particular musical style. ... For other uses, see Agra (disambiguation). ...

In 1952 Vilayat and Imrat moved in together in Calcutta. For years they would perform together, but had a great falling-out after which they were for a long time not on speaking terms. From the 1960s onwards, Imrat has performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and surbahar. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is on Calcutta/Kolkata, the city. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Solo career and legacy

For decades, Imrat has recorded extensively on both his instruments. His full performance pratice starts with a surbahar alap in dhrupad ang (embellished with more romantic touches), followed by a shorter alap on the sitar leading into gat in traditional Imdadkhani style – in stark contrast with players such as Ravi Shankar and Nikhil Banerjee, who have added bass strings to ther sitars to achieve at least some of the surbahar's lower range. He has toured to Europe, the Americas and East and South-East Asia. Surbahar players are rare today, and Imrat is considered the greatest living exponent. Dhrupad is the oldest surviving genre of classical singing in India; most forms of Indian classical music, including Carnatic_music or South Indian and Hindustani Khayal, are derived from it, albeit at different epochs. ... Pandit Ravi Shankar, Sitar Maestro © www. ... Nikhil Banerjee (Bangla: নিখিল ব্যানার্জী) (1 October 1931–27 January 1986) was one of Indias most prominent sitar players of the second half of the 20th Century. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

He has four sons, Nishat, Irshad, Wajahat and Shafaatullah, who are all classical musicians: Nishat plays the sitar, Wajahat concentrates on the sarod and Shafaatullah typically accompanies his father on the tabla. The surbahar tradition is continued by Irshad, who has made some very traditional solo recordings. The sarod is an Indian classical musical instrument which probably originates from the Senya rebab, an Indio-Persian instrument played in India to the 19th century. ... a typical set of Tabla, black spots called Syahi The tabla is a widely popular South Asian percussion instrument used in the classical, popular and religious music of the northern Indian subcontinent. ...

Famous Students

George Harrison , the Beatles (Later George became a student of Ravi Shankar)

Keith Jones, the Rolling Stones

Nikhil Gutha, the Meatheads

External links

• Offical web site