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…
EverythingShafqat 