If there is one song that sums up the essence of singing of one of the most endearing and popular singer of Patiala, Asad Amanat Ali Khan, it is this one. He gave it his all and it became his identity. There are many other renditions of this song on the internet sung by him at various stages of his career. And the song has been recreated on Coke studio too, and has earned many a new fan for this timeless song.
V for Versatility
The versatility of the singers of Patiala is evident from the number of genres that they have sung in. Be it ghazals or thumris and even singing in films. Sample some film singing by the members of the gharana.
Starting with Ustad Amanat Ali (he teams up with the stellar Noorjehan for this gem in Kalavati) and then of course Shafqat, who has been exceptionally successful in Bollywood
W for words and writers
One of the reasons why many of the Patiala gharana singers have excelled in ghazal singing is because they have chosen to sung the works of great poets. Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was known to be a great connoisseur of Urdu poetry and spent a lot of time with the contemporary Urdu poets of his time to understand the nuances of their work.
Here he sings the words of the acclaimed poet Haider Ali “Aatish”
X for Gen X
This picture of the GenX of the Patiala with Ustad Fateh Ali Khan is a personal favorite. Seen from R-L, Hamid Ali, UFAK, Asad Amanat Ali and Amjad Amanat Ali
Y for Yahan
Sung as part of a promotional campaign for Gilgit -Baltistan, in this song the Patiala vocals find the perfect partner in the form of the sheer natural beauty of the place!
Z for Zeelaf
An old, rare pentatonic raag, believed to have been created by Amir Khusro; now rarely sung, performed here by the Asad and Hamid Ali Khan…because all good things have to come to an end!
Pahadi is a raag borrowed from folk music and that’s why songs based on this raag often find a special connect with us . Here are two Pahadi renditions from Patiala Gharana… bound to make you feel the special love with which they have been sung.
Q for Quami or Milli Naghme
Patiala Gharana has never shied from expressing its love for its country through the beautiful patriotic songs that they have sung over the years. This one by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan is a classic.
And Asad and Hamid Ali Khan sing another one sung by him originally
R for Rustam Fateh ali Khan /Raga Boyz
Rustom is the son of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and is carrying forward the legacy of his illustrious father. He teaches music at a university and has also appeared on Coke Studio. Raga Boyz is a band formed by the sons of Hamid Ali Khan who carry forward the legacy of Patiala while giving it a more contemporary edge
S for Salman Amjad
Son of late Amjad Ali Khan, this talented young singer carries a lot of promise as he keeps the goodness of the Patiala intact in whatever he renders. He has released a ghazal album and also gives back up vocals for Shafqat Amanat Ali’s live performances
T for Taans
The swift taans are the hallmark of Patiala singing. Here the doyen of the Gharana, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, demonstrates this and shows what makes Patiala so special
Shafqat Amanat Ali, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan’s youngest son, decided that it was time for the Patiala Gharana tradition to don another beautiful form in keeping with the times when he formed a band called Fuzon with two instrumentalists. Traditional Patiala thumris emerged in new avtaars and the band struck a chord with the young audiences who no longer had the patience or appetite for long sit down baithaks and the time consuming elaborations. Khamaj, was one such recreated thumri . Made in 2001, it is popular till date and would probably make it to the list of songs with most covers.
L for Raag Lalit
Umeed Ali khan of the Gwalior Gharana was brother of Ustad Akhtar Hussain’s wife. He played an important role in the training and grooming of his nepherws- Amanat and Fateh Ali Khan. He was also peer and friend of Ashiq Ali. This very famous jugalbandi in Lait is a testimony to the fierce, yet friendly combat that they often indulged in musically.
M for Marsiyas
Marsiyasare poems written as tributes to the martyrdom of Hussain Ibn Ali in Karbala. The Patiala Gharana has a beautiful tradition of singing marsiyas. Mujra E Khalq Main In Aankhon Nay Kya Kya Dekha, in Pahadi was composed by Ustad Amaant Ali ;while Yeh Sochta Hun Abid Ka Haal Kya Ho Gais Ustad Fateh Ali Khan’s composition in Todi.
N for Noorjehan
The Mallika-e -tarannum (Queen of melody) also has roots in the Patiala tradition as she received here early classical training under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Here Shafqat Amanat Ali pays tribute to her by singing one of her popular songs.
And the original
O for OSTs
The Pakistani TV shows are popular across the subcontinent and music is an integral part of it. Songs specially composed for the TV dramas there are popularly referred to as OST’s. This is a relatively recent phenomenon so you won’t really find any sung by the older generation of the Gharana. However, Shafqat has sung many and here are a couple of my favourites.
Though I have special love and respect for many artists of the gharana, my favorite will always be Ustad Fateh Ali Khan This doyen of music passed away in January last year and left behind so many gems sung in his inimitable style.
G for Ghazal
The Patiala Gharana artists were not the ones to shy away from embracing change with changing times. Despite their mastery in the pure classical format, Ustad Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali did not hesitate to the try lighter genres like Ghazal which were becoming popular with the audiences.
H for Hamid Ali Khan
The youngest of Ustad Akhtar Hussain is more like the next generation of the gharana. Asad Amanat Ali, his nephew, and he teamed up to form another formidable duo in classical singing and continued the Patiala tradition of singing in pairs.
I For ‘Insha ji utho’ by Ibn- e- Insha
Insha jee utho,ab koch karo;Iss shehar main jee ko lagana kya Vehshi ko sakoon se kya matlab;Jogi ka nagar main thikana kya
( Insha! Rise… it’s time to leave, why grow fond of this life; Of what use is tranquility to passion, Where’s the place for a loner in a crowd)
These beautiful words of the great poet Ibn-e-Inshawere brought to life by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan. And the ustad died very young, at just 43… as if he were eager to walk away from this world full of attachments. His son, Asad, continued singing this song and he went way too early too. The family then began to perceive a stigma of bad luck with the song. The rest of the singing members of the family were thus asked to avoid singing it . Incidentally Ibn-e –Insha passed away early too, at the age of only 50.
J For Jaijawanti
Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was said to be particularly fond of this raag. This information and along with some insight into his musical personality comes through this quote from an article written by his friend…
“Amanat and I …sitting in a Government College hostel room … Amanat is dusting an old harmonium with his handkerchief. The instrument is untuned, but that does not deter Amanat from unravelling a raag in that beautiful voice of his. He loved the raag JaiJaivanti and he used to say that there were nights when he was able to physically invoke the presiding goddess of that divine raag.”
Ali Baksh andFateh Ali Khan founded this school of Indian classical music in the 19th century. The formidable duo, who trained under stalwarts of the Delhi and Gwalior Gharanas, earned the military titles of Jarnail ( General ) and Kernail ( Colonel) for their singing prowess from the Maharaja of Tonk. The pair were also fondly referred to as Alia-Fattu in the music circles.
Akhtar Hussain, son of Ali Baksh, was an accomplished musician who enjoyed the aptraonage of the King of Patiala but when partition happened in 1947, he chose to move to Pakistan. It was a struggle to establish himself again because he had left behind everything he owned. He slowly picked up the pieces of his life by giving music lessons.
But let’s talk here of A for “Ashiq Ali Khan”
This lesser talked about a artist of the Patiala Gharana was quite a maverick. It would be hard to find a Hindustani classical singer who performs in tailored western suits even in this day and age but that’s precisely what he did. His illustrious father, Fateh Ali Khan, one of the co founders of the Gharana, passed away when he was still in his teens. He received some music training from Ali Baksh, his Uncle and the other cofounder of the Gharana, but soon ran away from home and sought solace in opium and Sufi shrines. Some of his father’s students came to his rescue and made sure he received further training. There’s a story about him being poisoned by jealous contemporaries and his losing his voice. To overcome the setback he is supposed to have developed a special style of singing the highlight of which were the immensely fast,yet precise taans. Ashiq Ali Khan taught several students – names like Zahida Parveen, Farida Khanum, Mukhtar Begum.
Bade Ghulam Ali is often refered to as belonging to the Qasur Patiala Gharana, an an off shoot of the original Patiala Gharana, but many think that his ties with the other branch were as strong. An article in fact describes his Shakkar ceremony where he officially honoured his Gurus Ashiq Ali and Akhtar Husaain ( Son of Ali Baksh and grandfather of Shafqat Amanat Ali) in a public ceremony.
But Bade Ghulam Ali Khan did add to the Patiala legacy in a big way and is credited for developing Punjabi ang thumri and khayal singing of Patiala.
C for “Coke Studio”
Patiala Gharana has been represented on this music series more than once. Shafqat Amanat Ali‘s immensely popular Khamaj and Ankhon ke Saagar were a part of Season 2. He featured again in the 10th season after a considerable gap.
Meanwhile season 6 featued Ustad Fateh Ali’s son Rustam Fateh Ali Khan
Hamid Ali Khan sang in the season 7
Infact Shafqat has featured even on Coke studio India..a feat matched by Shila Rao when she sang Paar channa de in season 9 of the Coke studio Pakistan
D for “Darbari”
This drut Khayal features the duo of Ustad Amanat Ali and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan which took Patiala to great heights in the 60’ s and the 11 minutes of this recording shows us why. It showcases everything Patiala- the fast taans, the delicate ornamentation and the perfect division of parts while singing in jodis, which is another Patiala tradition.
E for “East meets West”
Fusion experiments with the west in the Patiala Gharana began probably with this collaboration between the Norwegian Sax player Jan Garbarek and Ustad Fateh Ali.
So if you have been missing hearing Shafqat sing something new, here are some of his recent releases to make your day.
Kuch Nahi- Reprised, Tubelight
Shafqat in a recent interviewshares his view on music directors making multiple versions of a song. If they have come up with something really good they are eager to showcase it and try various ways of presenting it, he says. This was in context of the wonderful Phir le aaya from Barfi that had three beautiful versions. Shafqat’s was the best, I felt. Same goes for this 3- version song from Tubelight. Just listen to how Shafqat’s version ends and you will end up agreeing with me.
Yalghaar, OST
This film is an ambitious project from the Pakistan Film industry which has been in the revival mode since the last couple of years. How many people know that Shafqat is a brilliant composer and lyricist besides being the exceptional singer that he is? He has composed and written most of the songs of his independent albums so far,and this one too!
Alif Allah Insaan,OST
Lekin, OST
Both songs for Pakistani TV series. I love the second one in particular
Channan
Saving the best one for last. A single for the project called Existential Sufis. Love the title and the singing transports you to a quiet, lonely night….restless yet peaceful. Songs like this one make you admire the versatility of Shafqat’s singing. He has such a powerful voice but he sings soft, gentle numbers with so much vulnerability and tenderness. It’s hard, thus, to resist falling in love with it…over and over again!
There are some songs that you keep returning to again and again. They are the songs with a memory tag- it could be the memory of a moment, a season, a time in the day, something from the past that haunts you, or something in the future that you anticipate…it could be an emotion- joy, despair, hope, love…anything.
There are many songs by Shafqat Amanat Ali, which I keep returning to again and again… happily, because to hear him sing is always a joy…even if he is singing sad songs.
Here are some of them…mostly the lesser heard and underrated.
His album Saagar as a part of the Fuzon band was a runaway success. Khamaj and Aankhon ke Saagar are still as popular today as they were back then in 2002 when the album was released. But my two favourites from the album, based on 2 beautiful raags, are these:
Madhbanti
Malhar
Tabeer was Shafqat’s first solo album after breaking away from Fuzon. It showed his prowess as a vocalist and composer. It had big hits like Khedeyan de naal and Darabri, and also his interpretation of the evergreen Dumadum mast kalandar. But what stole my heart was this beautiful little song tucked in between all these big ones… the singing in antara is to die for.
Naina
The album also had a heartfelt prayer to the almighty…it says everything everyone ever would want to say to God in times of distress…
Manqabat
Kyun Dooriyan his second solo album has atleast 3 songs that I absolutely love
Mahiya, the lamenting for a loved one who has gone away.
Naukar tere : I have a special connection with this one. Whenever things go haywire and seem out of control I turn to this joyful surrender to the will of God.
And then there is this one called Pahari because of the raag on which it is based. I love this guitar version in particular which keeps the focus on the voice…
Muh Dikhai came in 2015 and contained many a gem but the ones that I loop the most are these two:
Rang, because of the immense love I have for Amir Khusrau and the fact that Shafqat made it sound like no other previous rendition of this…it is soft, and sweet and feminine and I love it!
Teri Khoj– What do I say about this one except that I just wish more and more people would have the time and inclination to listen to this one for what it has to say. Just the fact that Shafqat had the sensibility to pick up this beautiful poem by Prof Mohan Singh and sing it for the world is worth admiring. You can find the whole poem with translation here. These are words everyone needs to hear and feel…
Moving on to some other singles…
Lang aaja -This languid, semi-classical version of this lovely Punjabi folk is so delightful..
Ram Rai– A shabad by Bhakt Bhikan…This is food for soul
Shafqat shows his light, romantic side in this one…this shall remain forever my happy song!
Tu hi tu hai
He has sung scores of songs for Pakistani TV series and this one remains the one that I keep revisiting every now and then…
Jiya jaaye na :
Yahan : This was done as a promotion for tourism in the Gilgit –Baltistan and has a beautiful video. But I always listen to it with eyes closed and get transported to my home in the hills.
Shaama pai gaiyan- Sung in 2016 for a Punjabi film this one just pure love!
So I keep returning to these songs… to feel happy…
There are some things that bring you joy, and some that bring you peace; there are things that you seek solace in, and there are things that inspire you to go higher. Music is all of those things and for me Ustad Fateh Ali Khan’s music is that and more.
Just over a month ago , as the world was still celebrating the start of another year, this great artist departed from it after a well lived life at 82 on the 4th of January, 2017
When someone passes away they take away with them all that they know, all that they have experienced, all that they have learnt… so with him that day we lost a little bit of the Patiala Gharana legacy- a bit of what his forefathers had learnt from the legendary Tanras Khan of Bahadur Shah Zafar’s court, a bit of the nuances that he picked from Ustad Umeed Ali Khan of the Gwalior Gharana-his maternal uncle and father-in- law; a bit of the lightening fast tans which reminded us of the genius of his uncle Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan, and maybe scores of centuries old, original bandishes which he was a proud custodian of, and either he didn’t have the time to teach or his students didn’t have the capability to learn.
But what he left behind in the form of the music that he performed will take us more than a lifetime to relish, grasp and revere :
Hear him sing an ode to the Mughal dynasty set in Raag Adana- a composition of Tanras Khan
Here he sings in praise, in the same Raag, of his great Uncle after whom he was probably named and one of the founders of the Gharana– Fateh Ali ,who earned the the title of Kaptan for his prowess in singing and was often called Taan Kaptaan for his grip on the rapid melodic passages which are a hallmark of Patiala
Technical correctness in music sometimes robs a performance of the emotional connect that it has with the audience. But that was never the case with Khan Sahib’s singing. In his singing I often felt love, gentleness and ease which makes it such a delight to listen to him
This Pahari rendition of his just proves this
And another one in Bhupali- the effortless ease with which he sings just shows the many many years of hard work that it would have taken for him to make it sound so simple!
Fateh Ali Khan and his music had a connection with Norway. He performed there several times. He also teamed with the famous Norwegian saxophonist Jan Gabarek for a fusion album called Ragas and Sagas which also featured his student Deeyah who is a half Pakistani,half Afghani and from Norway. This track from the album is my favorite
The Ustad was not averse to singing in the lighter generes. Here is a ghazal that’s a favorite
And this Darbari bandish was actually adapted for a movie
The best of course, were his performances with his late brother whom he lost early on in his career.He never quite recovered from the loss of his brother and performing partner. They are now probably united in the heavens above.
Death often arrives without a warning. The onus is on us to take time to listen to ,and to tell more and more life stories in words, in songs, in paintings, in pictures… for it is in these stories that we will find and remember the people who are gone for who they really were…
Because try as hard as we do, we can never get them to speak once they are gone…
Everything that comes in three is perfect or complete, says this Latin phrase. So is it in quest of that perfection that some music composers did not stop at one or even two versions of a song and gave us three ?
The thought of writing this post was triggered when I was listening to this- the rock version of Tum Mile sung by Shafqat.
The song has 2 other versions sung by Neeraj Sridhar and Javed Ali and needless to say that the Shafqat version is my favorite
There’s this lovely blog called Songs of Yore that I often visit and it was this post that I stumbled upon when I started looking for songs with multiple versions. It talks about some well -known and some not- so -well- known old songs which have three versions.
Zindagi ik Safar for instance sung by Asha, Rafi and Kishore respectively and Jab jab bahar aayee with versions by Rafi, Lata and one by Usha Timothy &Mahendra Kapoor
But as we move from the yore to the more recent times, we have the very popular Tu iss tarah se meri zindagi mein from the film Aap toh aise na the in three different versions sung by Rafi, Manahar Udhas, and Hemlata.
Rudaali with music by Bhupen Hazarika and lyrics by Gulzar was quite a music milestone in the Hindi films. Samay O dheere chalo – a hauntingly beautiful song had 3 versions by Asha, Lata and Bhupen Hazarika himself :
The critically acclaimed My Brother Nikhil had 3 versions of a beautiful song called Le chale sung by KK, Shaan, and Sunidhi :
Coming back to Tum Mile the song that the post started with- it is composed by Pritam and it is Pritam more than any other music director in recent times or maybe in all times who has given us multiple versions of the same song
His Te Amo in the film Dum Maro Dum had 3 versions- the female version by Sunidhi, the duet by Ash King and Sunidhi and finally the Reprise version by Mohit Chauhan :
A very interesting experiment by Pritam also deserves a mention here- the title songs of the Dhoom series, where the essence of the song is carried forward but the song is transformed each time in the 3 versions. And it also had an English and Arabic version!
I recently also heard a version by Hadiqa Kiani for a Pakistani TV series.
Alia also featured in one of the three versions of Shiv Batalvi’s wonderful Ikk Kuddi in Udta Punajb, the other 2 being Diljit Dosanjh and Shahid Mallya
Know of any more songs with 3 or more versions? Do let me know….
Musical talent runs in families. No surprise then that there have been a lot of sibling singers around the world . In the Indian classical music we have several examples of people singing in Jodis, (pairs) some of them siblings. Names like Zahiruddin Dagar & Faiyazuddin Dagar and the Gundecha brothers – the very well-known exponents of the Dhrupad tradition; Salamat and Nazakat Ali Khan of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana, and Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali Khan of the Patiala Gharana from across the border- duos who left their mark in Khayal and Thumri singing; Rajan and Sajan Mishrafrom the Banaras gharana – highly acclaimed in classical vocalists of India ;the Sabri brothers from Pakistan and the Wadali brothers from India- the doyens of the Sufi/Qawwali tradition and so on
Even in the lighter forms like film music or folk or pop there have been several singing siblings who have created waves. And though there are loads of examples for singing siblings, I am restricting this post to only to my favorites by siblings who have actually teamed together for singing performances or recordings.
Talking of film music the first singing sibling duo that immediately comes to mind is of course Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. There are many songs that they have sung together but this one remains my favorite
Lata teamed up with her brother Hridyanath Mangeshkar for this wonderful composition in Todi from the film, Lekin
And it is Asha and Usha who come together for this wonderful bhajan from the musically acclaimed, Julie.
Nazia and Zoheb Hassan were sensations when they arrived on the music scene with their blockbuster album Disco Deewane in 1981. This one, from their second album Boom Boom with music by Biddu, is my favorite.
In the 1990’s another brother and sister pair became popular in India by singing the remixes of Biddu. They were Shaan and Sagarika. Their album Naujawan was a hit as this was the time where Indie pop and music videos were really doing well. Sagarika disappeared soon after, taking a break from singing whereas Shaan continued his solo successful journey in pop music and Bollywood
This one by them is from another multi-artist album called Reason to Smile
Switching to folk, and going back a little in time… Punjab had a singing sister pair that took Punjabi folk to new heights. Prakash and Surinder Kaur ,with their well -matched voices, created magic in all that they sung together. This very popular folk by them tugs your heart strings each time…
And another bidai song by them for just one is not enough
To the present once again where another pair of sisters from Punjab have been making waves- the Nooran sisters- Jyoti and Sultana. They remain true to their roots whether they sing a Sufi song in a live performance or record a film song. This one with music by A.R. Rahman is by far my most favorite of theirs.
Shraddha and Shweta Pandit are the nieces of music directors Jatin and Lalit. They have both sung several songs in Bollywood individually but they came together for this album called Sister Act
A very recent hit from Queen had sisters Neha and Sonu Kakkar lending their voices to it along with late Labh Janjua
This post is getting terribly skewed in favor sister pairs so let’s talk about of sister trios then. We have on the Indian side the super cool Usha Uthup with her two sisters who have performed together as the Sami sisters. Pakistan too had a popular sister trio- The Benjamin sisters and their trademark was their poker faced singing 🙂
They seem to have grown more animated with age though
To break the monotony of sister singers, two brother singers, both my absolute favorites who have (as far as I know ) recorded only one song together. Shafqat and Asad Amanat Ali did this one for an album which was a tribute to their father and it was originally sung by the ustaad for a film
Am sure there are more singing siblings. Do let me know if you know of any…
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