On seventeenth May is the thirtieth
death anniversary of Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, a stalwart of Agra Gharana and a
musician’s musician. His repertoire was so phenomenal and his erudition so vast that
musicians often consulted him for a solution of finer points of music which were beyond
their comprehension.
Vilayat Hussain was born in a family of
musicians who claim lineage from Haji Sujan Khan, a contemporary of Miyan Tansen. Haji
Sujan was a Rajput and practiced Vaishnavism, but he later became a convert to Islam and
changed his original name which Sujansing Nauhar. He was Dhrupad singer practicing Nauhar
Bani (i.e. Nauhari Style of Dhrupad).
In 1835, Ustad Vilayat Hussain’s
grand-father Ustad Sher Khan, came to Bombay and was the first artiste to teach classical
music in Bombay. His son Ustad Natthan Khan also settled in Bombay for some years and
taught music and gave performances. They both were great musicians and were greatly
respected for their knowledge and erudition.
Natthan Khan had achieved mastery over
Layakari and Bol-Taans. His most famous disciple was Pandit Bhaskarbuva Bakhle, one of the
greatest musicians of his time. When Natthan Khan died, Vilayat Hussain was only six years
old; hence, he received training in music from his brothers – Ustad Mohammad Khan and
Ustad Abdullah Khan who, too, were great musicians. He also received Talim in Dhrupad from
Ustad Karamat Khan and in Khayal from Ustad Kallan Khan, who were court musicians of
Jaipur Darbar. Consequently, Vilayat Khan’s repertoire consisted of hundreds of
Dhrupads, Dhamars and Khayals. Moreover, he knew a large number of Bandish Thumris.
Vilayat Hussain’s forte was Layakari
and Bol-Taans. He knew a very large number of rare Ragas and presented every Raga in its
pristine purity. Ustad Ahmedjan Thirakwa the gtreat Tabla wizard often accompanied him on
the Tabla and it was a great treat to listen to both these Ustads indulging in a friendly
contest.
Vilayat Hussain was a composer par
excellence of Bandishes, which contained the quintessence of the Raga. There were no
traditional Drut Bandishes in Ragas like Raisa Kanada, Pancahm Sohini, Hem etc. He
composed superb Bandishes under the nom de plume of "Pran Piya" in these and
many other Ragas numbering about 70. Moreover, many of these Bandishes have Shri Krishan
as the hero. His pupils Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan (son), Ustad Khadim Hussain Khan (nephew)
and Pandit Jagannathbuva Purohit also composed numerous excellent Bandishes under the nom
de plume of "Darpan", "Sajan Piya" and "Gunidas"
respectively. His other illustrious pupils were Moghubai Kurdikar, Indira Wadkar, and
Saraswati Faterpekar. He was very large hearted and taught his pupils without any
reservations.
Sangeet Natak Academy has publised his
book "Sangeetkaron ke Sansmaran", which is a mine of information regarding
various Gharanas (schools) of vocal music and numerous great musicians of a bygone era.
Vilayat Hussain was a poet and had composed many Ghazals in Urdu. In his book he had
composed poetic eulogies summing up the characteristics of each of the artists but,
unfortunately, they were deleted by the publishers. In his book, he has mentioned what
Ragas he had learnt from his forty-one Gurus. Even those who taught him just a song or two
are also referred to in his book as his Gurus.
Vilayat Hussain had a big family to
support: hence, he spent all his earning after them. When he was 30, both his elder
brothers died and there was a great financial strain on him. With the intention of helping
him Pandit Bhaskarbuva Bakhle had organized a concert and had collected 1600 Rupees. When
he offered this sum to Vilayat Hussain, the latter said, "Sangeet Vidya is our real
treasure and, by the grace of God, I have that in great abundance, hence, the money should
be paid to Tilak Swaraj Fund". Bhaskarbuva had to accede to this request and the
money was presented to the said fund.
After the death of Bhaskarbuva, one of
his admirers often used to say "Sangeet ki Sarita ab sook gayi hai" ( The river
of music has now dried up). Sometime after this Vilayat Khan sang in a concert which was
attended by this person. He was so much charmed by the music that after the concert was
over, he embraced Vilayat Khan and said that he was mistaken and that the river of music
was still flowing with grace and serenity.
In spite of the greatness, Vilayat
Hussain was a picture of humility. Whenever some listener praised him for his proficiency
in Layakari, he used to say, "Mere pitaji to bahot layadar they, lekin mai to abi tak
lay ko dhundta hoon" (My father had a great command over Laya, but I am still groping
in order to find it).
During the last ten years of his life,
Vilayat Hussain Khan was appointed a "Salahkar" (Advisor) by the A.I.R. at
Delhi, where he died on 18th May 1962.
I have grave doubts whether we shall ever
find a musician of his caliber and stature.
- Batuk Devanji, 1992.