Ustad Salamat Ali Khan & Nazakat Ali Khan

Classical Music of North India
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avichinnu
Posts: 47
Joined: 28 Jan 2006, 21:07

Post by avichinnu »

I wonder why we have not discussed about these two great artists!

Profile:
Salamat Ali Khan and Nazakat Ali Khan were the most famous classical singers of Pakistan in the post independence time. Renowned as Ali brothers when they were singing together and later Salamat as a solo singer reached great heights.

Ali brothers were born in Sham Chaurasi in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab. They received rigorous classical training from their father Ustad Wilayat Ali Khan, the doyen of Sham Chaurasi gharana, and began giving concert at a very young age. They even gave a radio concert from Lahore in 1942. Impressed by their singing, ruler of Champanagar state in Bihar made them is court musicians. Soon they lost their father and then the partition happened. They decided to migrate to Pakistan.

Ali brothers continued to tour India from their base in Pakistan, participating in music conferences and giving concerts. After the 1965 Indo-Pak war and esp. after 1971 war, patronage for classical music greatly declined in Pakistan. In 1974 Nazakat Ali Khan, the elder brother separated because of a family feud and Salamat had to adopt to solo singing. Nazakat nearly quit singing.

Sham Chaurasi gharana is a very old dhrupad gharana going back nearly 500 years. Credit for bringing khayal singing to this gharana goes to Ali brothers. Deeply influenced by dhrupad, the khayal style they evolved had long alaap and great layakari. In that sense their khayal is very different from other long established khayal gharana-s.

In September 1978 Salamat suffered a stroke while performing at the Ravi Shankar Hall in London. He took a long time to recover and finally was back on stage with his son Sharafat Ali Khan. But the magic of earlier years was gone. In July of 1971 Salamat Ali Khan passed away after a prolonged period of illness. His sons Sharafat Ali Khan, Shafqat Ali Khan, Sukhawat Ali Khan and Riffat Salamat are carrying forward the tradition of Sham Chaurasi gharana, especially the duo of Sharafat and Shafqat. Nazakat Ali Khan's son Rafaqat Ali Khan is classically trained but prefers to sing experimental classical - pop fusion music.

In 1961 they were awarded the "Pride Of Performance" medal by the government of Pakistan.

gobilalitha
Posts: 2056
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12

Post by gobilalitha »

some years back, sangeeth sarita of AIR was regularly posting his song, especially the one in maanj kamaj, . a favourite raag of RAVI SHANKAR,'kaise din beete"of film Anuraada. sorry I am drifing away from the subject..but what else I have got to say , ? Avichimmu has dealt with the subject extensively and beautifully gobilalitha

avichinnu
Posts: 47
Joined: 28 Jan 2006, 21:07

Post by avichinnu »

The above info from some website.Anyway here is another article on Salamt ali..

The death of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was a tragedy and tremendous loss for us all. He was a remarkable human being who possessed the traits of excellence, humility, sensitivity and compassion. Apart from his soft nature, the maestro had a great sense of humour and would display a sense of warmth to those who were close to him.
n terms of musical achievement, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan firmly established the Shamchaurasi gharana as a unique and independent stylistic school of Hindustani classical music. The alaap part of his presentation was heavily oriented towards the Dhrupad style and would cast a surreal spell on listeners. His behlawas were characterised by the way in which he embellished each musical note to enhance the poetic content of the bandish and presenting the beautiful aspect of music. The ustad employed certain facets of thumri singing into his performances, helping to increase the popularity of classical music amongst the masses. Unsurpassed layakari or rhythmic interplay was arguably the greatest contribution of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan towards classical music and was seen to be his forte. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was simply a genius who has left an indelible mark on the development of South Asian classical music.
Although my association with Ustad Salamat Ali Khan lasted for many years at Radio Pakistan, Lahore, I had the pleasure of first hearing him in 1945 at the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar. During that time, an annual musical event used to take place at the historic temple, mainly devoted to classical music. On that particular occasion there were almost a thousand people present on each day of the musical event. A huge tent was set up to cater for the large crowd and the organisers had designed a beautifully decorated stage situated in the middle. During the first evening, I had the pleasure of hearing the performances of Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Krishanrao Shankar Pandit Gwaliori, and Ustad Bhai Lal Amritsari. The three giants of the Gwalior gharana gave a splendid display of khayal gayaki, and were given a grand ovation by the knowledgeable audience.
The following evening, I saw that there were two youngsters attired in black achkans, white pyjamas and red fezzes, sitting on the stage in preparation to open the second day’s proceedings. They were probably aged around ten or eleven, had dark complexions, smiling faces and dazzling eyes. The organiser announced that the two boys by the name of Nazakat Ali- Salamat Ali were the scions of the Shamchaurasi gharana and the disciples of their father, Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan. They had been specially invited from Shamchaurasi as a source of encouragement and would present raag Malkauns. I noticed that Ustad Bhai Lal was also on the stage tuning the tanpura for the brothers. When the performance started, it seemed like a feast of musical notes had descended upon us in the audience. Every member of the audience was amazed and in complete awe of the duo. It was almost unbelievable that boys of that age could give such a fine performance. When the drut portion started, the brothers gave a blazing display of taans, sargams and layakari, which left the audience stunned. On completion of the recital, the brothers received a fabulous response from the audience, many people came up to the stage congratulating the boys and their father. The brothers were showered with flowers, bouquets and garlands and were even offered nazaranas in the form of monetary amounts. It was certain that the youngsters would one day capture the imagination of all music lovers and achieve great heights in the field of classical music. This mehfil was indeed unique and in later years, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and myself often recalled the events of that particular evening.
By M.A. Sheikh
in http://www.sadarang.com

Sam Swaminathan
Posts: 846
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45

Post by Sam Swaminathan »

I wonder if any of the musical institutions, government of India included, ever honoured these two most venerable and respected musicians ?

ragam-talam
Posts: 1896
Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15

Post by ragam-talam »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFdfH1Bq8Wo
A moment to cherish...the Ali brothers in a live performance

Sam Swaminathan
Posts: 846
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45

Post by Sam Swaminathan »

Ragam-talam - thank you very much....enjoyed it thoroughly plus the other videos as well....remarkable artists.

Kanti Dattani
Posts: 30
Joined: 16 Oct 2007, 02:17

Post by Kanti Dattani »

If you are interested in buying CDs of this great artiste I have the following music by him. Email me kantidattani@aol.com for further information. I am not in music business and don't sell CDs. I am interested in World music. CDs are cheaper in India and US. I am in UK

WDR55.837 with Nazakat Ali Khan, 'Legendary Khyal Maestro' - Darbari, Rageshri, Pahadi
D4HV0543 with sons 'Salamat Remembers Nazakat' - Marwa, Madh Kalyan, Chandrakauns and Mishra Pilu
MUS1008 with son Sharafat - Miyan Ki Todi, Malkauns and Saraswati
Nimbus NI5307 & NI5444 with sons, Gunkali, Saraswati and Durga. - Madkauns, Suha Kanada, Verag Todi and Kalawati
PSLP5755 with Nazakat 'Thumriya' - Gavati
PSLP5203 with sons - Malkauns, Thames and Bhairavi
WCD10071 with sons - Desi Todi, Abhogi Kanada and Pahadi
WLA18 with sons - Rageshwari, Bhupali and Misra Khamaj
Cassettes, Title 'The Legendary Salamat' ( 1, 2 and 3) - Aiman Kalyan, Alhaiya Bilawal, Bhairav, Sri, Bhairavi and Durga. - Gaur Malhar, Gunkali, Hem Kalyan, Pahadi, Darbari and Desi. - Hameer, Mian Ki Malhar, Jogiya, Abhogi Kanhra, Barwa and Zilla Kafi
Cassettes, Title 'In Memorium' with Nazakat - Gorakh Kalyan, Adana, Misra Khamaj, Kafi, Sindhi Kafi, Pahadi, Sindhi Bhairavi, Bhoopali and Kedar. - Miyan Ki Todi, Marwa, Gavti, Madhuvanti, Malkauns, Poorvi and Abhogi Kanada

Kanti Dattani

DrKashyap
Posts: 28
Joined: 24 Mar 2008, 08:10

Post by DrKashyap »

Thanks & compliments to mr. avichinnu for starting such a wonderful topic.

I think in this period of commercialization, certain musicians are busy in maintaining their position. Some collateral benificiaries are also there. Ultimately true music gets lost or remains localized to few 'rasika's only. There are various lobbies active in promoting particular artist to get mutual advantage. How can they promote nazakatali salamatali if they are not to get anything in return ? Belive me those who criticise nazakat/salamat in public get much appreciated if they are even wrongly compared to nazakat/salamat. why ? Ultimately such rare gems get lost for the coming generation. Thanks to multimple electronic media that their old treasure is fast being revived.

Thanks Mr. avichinnu, books can be written in the praise of nazakat/salamat, on their style of singing, etcc it will be nice to exchange email with you.

- Dr. Kashyap (medilizer@yahoo.co.in)
Last edited by DrKashyap on 24 Mar 2008, 08:39, edited 1 time in total.

jhnlasik
Posts: 15
Joined: 11 Aug 2006, 19:11

Post by jhnlasik »

avichinnu
First of all thanks for starting a thread on the Ali Bros. However, pay attention when you copy and paste from a website.
"In September 1978 Salamat suffered a stroke "
"In July of 1971 Salamat Ali Khan passed away after a prolonged period of illness"
Does the above make any sense?
JHN

coolkarni
Posts: 1729
Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

Strange ! I never seem to have the problems that JHN has.

Probably because I have never troubled myself to find out who is who.

Umakanth or Ramakanth
Ganesh or Kumaresh
Saroja or Lalitha
Radha or Jayalaxmi
Rajan or Sajan
Ranjani or Gayathri
RN Thiagarajan or Oh My !
I dont even seem to remember the other name.
:D

....
Last edited by coolkarni on 12 Jun 2008, 07:43, edited 1 time in total.

avichinnu
Posts: 47
Joined: 28 Jan 2006, 21:07

Post by avichinnu »

Dear kulkarniji,
Its R N Tharanathan....

DrKashyap
Posts: 28
Joined: 24 Mar 2008, 08:10

Post by DrKashyap »

Live concert tracks of 1960 in India
----------------------------------------------------


Dear nazakat/salamat lovers,

Here is a very unique collection of duo from their 1960 india concert. They contain Adana, Gorakhkalyan, Pahadi thumri & Sindh bhairvi. ALL THE TRACKS ARE UNHEARD & NEVER PUBLISHED EVEN ON NET. This is revived from old ragged tapes.

Sarangi accompaniment is by great Pt. Gopal Mishra & Tabla Accompaniment is by U. Allarakha khan. Both of them go neck to neck with nazakat/salamat duo.

Tape courtsey - kind permission of a gentleman in his 90s.

Here is the link-

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=314f ... 942d5b3120

Enjoy!!

More suprise package expected.

avichinnu
Posts: 47
Joined: 28 Jan 2006, 21:07

Post by avichinnu »

Thanks a lot for uploading these unheard recordings of Salamat and NaZakat.
Waiting for more stuff..

maniomani
Posts: 15
Joined: 28 Jan 2007, 11:47

Post by maniomani »

Dear Dr.Kashyap,

I am unable to locate the Nazakat & Salamat brother's file in the link you had given viz.,

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=314f … 942d5b3120

Can you help me toin locating them ?

Santosh Jha
Posts: 1
Joined: 13 Jan 2009, 18:34

Post by Santosh Jha »

I have been following the discussions here and decided to join today. I am a staunch music buff but learning as always.

I heard a lovely clip of Salamat Ali Daiyya Kahan Gaye woh log in Alaihiya Bilawal. Does anybody have it? I have not been to India in awhile and would buy it as soon as I can. However if someone can share it would be nice. In fact the link indicated here on mediafire is supposed to have it but does not files any more there.

coolkarni
Posts: 1729
Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 06:42

Post by coolkarni »

..
Last edited by coolkarni on 24 Nov 2009, 10:59, edited 1 time in total.

santoshjha
Posts: 20
Joined: 01 May 2009, 15:58

Post by santoshjha »

Well not much on Salamat Ali Khan for a long time so I thought to revive the topic, here is a link to download some of his music. One of the finest ever though not recognised so much.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=8663 ... 71ed7794f9

Enjoy the music after downloading.

Just another trivia. There is a reference to Ruler of Champanagar as one of his early patrons. This was Kumar Shyamanand Singh of Champanagar Banaili. Salamat Ali and Nazakat Ali also composed a song in Basant Bahar for the ruler. Kumar Saheb was himself an accomplished vocalist. You can read about him at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajkumar_Shyamanand_Sinha

gobilalitha
Posts: 2056
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12

Post by gobilalitha »

Thanks. my favourite song of the ustads is a piece in raag maanj kamaj. RaviShankarji has composed an unforgettable melody in this raag ' kaise din bete, in the film ANURADHA, emotionally sung by Lataji. Gobilalitha

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