Rudra veena exponent Ustad Asad Ali Khan dead! 14 June 2011

I am posting the sad news about Ustad Asad Ali Khans death at the age of 74 and since I don't have anything else available on vinyl I am pointing out a very recent post here with one of his early records from the seventies!


Rudra veena exponent Ustad Asad Ali Khan dead
New Delhi, June 14, (PTI):


(original news article in the Deccan Heral here)

Rudra Veena exponent Ustad Asad Ali Khan, one of the last existing advocate of the Khandarbani dhrupad school, passed away in the wee hours here today. He was 74.

The classical musician who represents the 12 generation of Jaipur's Beenkar Gharana breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Science at around 2:30 am, his adopted son and disciple Ustad Ali Zaki Haidar told PTI.

"I had taken Ustad ji to hospital in the evening for a routine check-up and he was admitted around 7 pm. They conducted routine tests. Around 2:00 am while he was watching TV in his air-conditioned room, I noticed he was sweating. He passed away a little later," Haidar said.

Ustad Khan who was unmarried is survived by his nephew Haidar whom he had adopted as his own son at a very young age and trained to become his successor, said Pawan Monga, a disciple of the Rudra Veena exponent.

The musician, who received the Padma Bhushan in 2008 underwent training under his father Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan Beenakar. His father, grandfather Ustad Musharraf Ali Khan Beenakar and great-grandfather Ustad Rajab Ali Beenakar were court musicians in the princely state of Alwar where Ustad Asad Ali Khan was born in 1937.

His father later moved to the princely court of Rampur where he undertook to teach him music. For the next 15 years he learnt to play Rudra Veena, practicing 14 hours a day. Ustad Khan was a artiste of the All India Radio and participated in 'sangeet samelans' and musical performances across the country and the world. He has also performed at concerts in Afghanistan, Australia, Holland, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the US and other countries.

Ustad Khan has also been a professor of music at Delhi University. Rudra Veena, an instrument said to be created by Lord Shiva, has remained essentially unchanged for millennia.

It comprises a bamboo piece mounted on two gourds and has 19-24 frets fixed with beeswax with four main and three side strings having a range of four to four and half octaves. Unlike a sitar or sarod, the rudra veena does not have resonance strings.

Ustad Khan used to play dhrupad in tile kharbandi style, which is one of the four ancient styles of Indian music. It is named after Khanda, the Rajput warrior's traditional sharp curved sword.

Ustad Asad Ali Khan • Rudra Vina - P.1978

Ustad Asad Ali Khan • Rudra Vina 
EMI India - ECSD 2533 - P.1978





Side A

A1 Mian ki todi - alap, jod and jhala 21'28


Side B


B1 Desh - jod, jhala and composition in jhanpatal 21'55




Here is another treasure I like to share with you. The sound is far from the deep long sustain of the sonorous been of Zia Mohiuddin, but nonetheless a wonderful vital echo from the past and it is no wonder, Asad Ali Khan's father, Ustad Sadiq Ali, served in the Alwar court before he moved to the Rampur court. It was at Rampur that Asad Ali was born and initiated into the instrument by his father, when he was just six. Fourteen hours of practice every day for 15 years was the painstaking discipline he was put through until the Rudra veena itself became a part of his existence. His father studied the same way under his grandfather Ustad Musharraf Ali Khan, who in turn was groomed by Khan Saheb's great grandfather the legendary Ustad Rajab Ali Khan. This is another of the great findings from my good friend ‘His Excellency's’ collection of records. The kindness of his voice, unable to subdue a light chuckle, still lingering in my ears... Just take it, take the lot, and do what you please with them, there can be no harm letting those Luobaniyans here some good music...



Ustad Asad Ali Khan is considered to be the only surviving exponent of Rudra Veena in ‘Khandarbani’, one of the four ancient styles of Indian Classical music. The history of his family can be traced back to seven generations. His ancestors belonged to Jaipur Gharana of Rajasthan. They were court-musicians to the Maharajas of Jaipur and also taught them music. An account of this family is available in the history of Rajasthan and the instruments of Asad Ali's ancestors are displayed in the museums of Jaipur and Alwar. His grandfather, a leading Veena player of the country, was chosen by the British Government to represent India at the fair of Oriental Wonders in Paris at the beginning of this century.




Ustad Asad Ali Khan was born at Alwar in 1937 - 2011)
(he passed away 14 June 2011 ed. bolingo)

He had his early training in vocal music. Sitar and Veena from his illustrious father, late Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan, who was a great exponent of the Veena and a court-musician of Rampur. Through innate talent, vigourous practice, and playing in duets with his father for years, Asad Ali Khan consummated his style with complete control over the instrument.

An accomplished musician today, Ustad Asad Ali Khan plays with rare skill and utmost precision. His recitals are marked with detailed elaboration and masterly treatment of the Ragas. Particularly notable in his performance are the meditative character of his Alap and the clarity of his strokes, particularly in Gamak-Jod and Jhala.

Ustad Asad Ali Khan is the recipient of the ‘Sangeet Shiromani’ Award from Lalit Kala Kendra of Kanpur. He has been regularly participating in Radio Sangeet Sammelans, Television, National Programmes and various music conferences all over the country. He has visited Afghanisthan. Italy and England and appeared in many concerts abroad.

The instrument

Rudra Veena sometimes called ‘Been’ or ‘Veena’ (North Indian) is the most sacred and ancient instrument of India according to the Hindu faith and is said to be more than 5000 years old. It is the only stringed instrument created by lord Shiva. one of the three ‘Rupas’ (faces) of God. It is further said that he created this instrument while contemplating the shapely figure of His Wife, the Goddess Parvati.

‘Rudra Veena’ has a bamboo fret-board about 22' long and 2' wide, upon which are fixed 19 to 24 metallic frets, one for each semitone of two octaves. The fretboard is mounted on two full gourds, each about 14" in diameter. The instrument has four main strings and three side strings.

A Rudra Veena player masters ‘alap’ which is elaboration of the ‘raga’ in slow tempo, ‘gamak-jod’ in medium tempo, and ‘Jhala’ which is quick tempo. Usually the serious classical music of the purest form called ‘Dhrupad’ is played on this instrument and the main percussion accompaniment is the ‘Pakhawaj’.

It is stated that the Veena is the forerunner of the Sitar. Amir Khusro of legendary fame invented the Sitar on the basis of the Veena around the 13th Century. With this instrument, all the twenty-two ‘shrutis’ (subnotes) of Indian music can be explained and demonstrated distinctively. Though a stringed instrument, it is claimed that it can display the subtleties of a Raga more effectively than a Veena.

For this, his first LP on the Rudra Veena, Ustad Asad Ali Khan has selected two Ragas: Mian Ki Todi and Desh. He is ably accompanied on Pakhawaj by Pandit Gopal Das who is an artiste of All India Radio, Delhi.

Don't miss these webpages that focus on the been



Here is an article from The Hindu describing a documentary made about him, anyone knows how to get to see that movie?



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Zia Mohiuddin Dagar • Raga Chandrakauns - P.1974

Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar • Glimpses of Ancient Music of India 
- Raga Chandrakauns
HMV EMI India - ECSD 2736 - P.1974



Side A


A1 Chandrakauns - Alap, Jod, Jhala, Gat - Chautaal 20'34


Side B

B1 Rudra Veena Recital - Gat - Jog  Aditaal 10'17
B2 Mridang solo - Chautaal, by Swami Pagal Das 8'30

This post is more than overdue and to say that the influence of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin on me and many of my friends has been tremendous is almost an understatement. Not only because of his own music but also what it brought with it of other musicans in the family and its extensions as well as a tremendous inspiration to find out more about Indian culture as a whole. It is with so much profound joy that I listen to almost any vibrant note by his gentle steady pluckings of the been and it never fails to soothe my weary mind when it starts rambling. 

A very good musician friend of mine, who met Ustad already in the sixties said, that he felt, that just being in the same room with him would slow everything down. Ustad did everything in slow motion just like his music developes in  one peaceful, yet forceful wave after another. Nothing in this world has such a steadying impact on my psyche. This is pure balsam for my soul. Of course again we will have to repeat that the LP format is not ideal for the grandeur of Ustads music, but we all know that fortunately there are other longer recordings to behold. But I hope that no one shall be dissatisfied with these first real post of the Dagar family traditions. There will be many more to follow and there is pages to write about this music, as has already been done. Search the net and I assure you that you shall find some more information. 

On this compilation that I posted earlier here, there is also a very short track by Ustad to behold.

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28 September 1990), was a North Indian (Hindustani) classical musician, one of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was largely responsible for the revival of the rudra vina as a solo concert instrument.

Z. M. Dagar was born in the town of Udaipur, Rajasthan and began musical study with his father, Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar, court musician for the Maharaj of Udaipur. He was trained both in vocals and in the rudra vina, an instrument used by vocalists to practice melodies. The vina was traditionally not played in public, but the young Zia Mohiuddin adopted it as his primary instrument, giving his first recital at age 16. Although he was discouraged by his father from experimenting with the structure of the vina, he nevertheless modified the instrument after his father's death to better equip it for solo performance, transforming it into a larger bass instrument (sometimes called a Dagar vina): With the help of the instrument house Kanailal & Brother, he enlarged the tumbas (gourds) and dhandhi (hollow neck) to create greater resonance and to allow the notes to sustain longer and so better reproduce the techniques used in dhrupad singing. Because of these modifications, the instrument was too heavy to be held in the standard Northern posture (with one tumba on the left shoulder), so he played instead in the Southern posture, with one tumba on the ground and one on the left knee.
snipped from wikipedia here




And by all means check this site out for more history of the instrument, and musicians.





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Classical Music of India - Recordings by John Levy P.1969

Classical Music of India

Featuring renowned soloists

Recordings by John Levy

Nonesuch Explorer - H 72614 - P. 1969

Side 1

A1 Bansri (tranverse flute) Yaman 8'10 Devindra Murdeshwar

A2 Sarangi (fiddle) Puriyadhanashri 6'12 Fateh Khan

A3 Jaltarang (cup-harmonicon) Bhupali 4'35 Chintamani Jain

A4 Thumri (love-song) Bhairavi 6'11 Mohammed Ismail

Side 2

B1 Rudra Vina (stick zither) Chandrakauns 5'40 Zia Mohiuddin Dagar

B2 Haveli Sangit (devotional song) Gauri 14'25 Amarlal

B3 Naubat Shahna'i (Royal Gateway Music) Todi 7'40 Suleiman Jumma & Sumar Jumani, Abdullah Ramatulla

This LP comes with an accompanying leaflet with annotations by John Levy and Jairazbhoy.

Graciously recieved by his Excellency, who was in very good spirits, I partook in an unplanned and most impromptu repast at his mansion some afternoons ago. As on previous occasions music is always omnipresent, and in the continued sitting that ensued, where selfless presence were being expounded while leisurly sipping tea contemplating the there and now, we came upon the topics of many good artists that have long passed. And sighing, that even thou there are many young budding talents, the reasons for making the music seems to have fundamentally changed.

Suleiman Jumma & Sumar Jumani, Abdullah Ramatulla

His Excellency suddenly mentioned the Naubat Shahna'i piece represented on the LP in the latest blogpost, the John Levy compilation on CBS. I was bemused that he took time to follow my blog and even more so when he said he had been inspired by the idea to preserve these old records and I was very happy indeed to see him pulling out another record, saying that those recordings, also by John Levy, must have been made around the same time as the one in my post. To my big surprise there was not only tracks with Naubat Shahna'i, but one more track with jaltarang, also by Chintamani Jain, a sarangi track by Fateh Khan and above all, a short but very good Chandrakauns, played on the been by Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar.

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar

Chintamani Jain

Hidayat Khan

Mohammed Ismail

He kindly lent me his copy of the record and I hope you will all enjoy. He was even kind enough to let me botanize on my own in the shelves, so I can assure you that there are several other good and rare records that will follow. It was also understood that our meetings could maybe be elevated to a jour fixe, set aside for music and contemplation.

Devindra Murdeshwar

Fateh Khan

Amarlal

Music ▼ +