Nisar Hussain Khan

Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan (1906 – 16 July 1993) was an Indian classical vocalist from the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana. He was a disciple and son of Fida Hussain Khan and after a long and illustrious career was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1971.

He was the court musician of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III at Baroda and was featured extensively on All India Radio. He was a specialist in Tarana. His most famous disciples are his cousin Ghulam Mustafa Khan and Rashid Khan.

Career

Nisar Hussain Khan gave his first performance at age 11 which was considered phenomenal at that time. Then he went on to receive a scholarship from the Maharaja of Baroda who also appointed his father as a court musician to further help train his young son Nisar Hussain Khan. By the age of 18, he had gained much more confidence as a singer in Maharaja's court and then Nisar, too, was appointed as a court musician. He remained in that position for nearly three decades.

By the 1940s, Nisar Hussain had become a well-known performer on the concert circuit of India and he also was broadcasting for All India Radio.

Vocal style

Khansahib inherited a vast repertoire of well-known and obscure melodies from his forebears. His rich, resonant voice was cultivated through decades of training. He embellishes the modal form of the ragas with flashes of gamaks, bol-taans and sargams. As an exponent of the khyal style, he renders taranas with distinction.

Lineage

Khan's most famous disciple was his grandnephew Rashid Khan. He trained Rashid in the traditional master-apprentice manner, first at his own residence at Badaun, Uttar Pradesh, and subsequently at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Calcutta, where he spent the last years of his life.

Khansahib's gharana, the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, owes its existence to the Senia traditions and has a revered lineage of classical vocalists such as Bahadur Hussain Khan, Inayat Hussain Khan, Fida Hussain Khan and Mushtaq Hussain Khan.

Awards

• Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India in 1971
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1970
• Tansen Award from the Government of Madhya Pradesh

Partial discography

78rpm recordings (HMV: c. 1938 onwards)

• N 15721: Todi, Allah jane; Jaunpuri, tarana
• N 15747: Kedar, kanha re nanda nandana; Bhairavi, tarana
• N 15776: Puriya dhanashri, payaliya jhankar; Desh, tarana
• N 15809: Multani, kangana mundariya; Miya malhar, tarana
• N 15834: Raga Bahar, kaliyan sanga karan; Bahar, koyalia kuk sunawe
• N 88215: Chayanat, jhanana jhanana; Malkauns, tarana
• N 88260: Basant, samana sunawe koyaliya; Pilu thumri, bake aika mori

EP/LP recordings: HMV 1961

• 7EPE 1202: Gaud Sarang, Bin deke tere; Puriya Dhanashri, tarana
• 7EPE 1236: Vrindabani Sarang, Achchhe Peer More; Pancham, Mohe Ataman Kaise
• 7EPE 1242: Alhaiya Bilawal, Sumiran Kar Man; Jhinjhoti, Tarana: Tana Ta Tana Dere
• ECLP 2260: Abhogi, Vil. jhaptal: Charan Dhar Ayeri; Tarana: tintal; Gowardhani Todi. Vil. ektal: Tu Ayore Ayo, Drut tintal: Kahe Karat Mose Batiyan

HMV 1972

• ECSD 2489: Lalit. Tintal: Yaarda; Bhatiyar. Tintal: tarana
• ECSD 2509: Basant. Phagwa Brih Dekhan; Jaijaiwanti. Tintal: tarana

Odeon Records 1990

• PMLP 3065: Raga Kalyaan Ka Prakar. With Hafeez Ahmed Khan & Sarfaraz Hussain Khan (vocal support), Shakur Khan (sarangi) and Prem Ballabh (tabla)