Abdul Wahid Khan

Early life and background

Abdul Wahid Khan initially learned vocal and sarangi from his father, Abdul Majid Khan. Around age 12, he moved to Kolhapur to learn from Ustad Langde Haider Baksh Khan, a disciple of Bande Ali Khan.

Abdul Wahid Khan founded the Kirana gharana musical family with his cousin Abdul Karim Khan in late 19th century. Abdul Karim Khan had married Abdul Wahid Khan's sister, Ghafooran Bibi. The relationship between Abdul Wahid Khan and Abdul Karim Khan later soured when Abdul Karim neglected Ghafooran Bibi and married his student, Tarabai Mane. Abdul Wahid Khan's hearing was deficient and he was sometimes referred to as Behre Wahid Khan (Deaf Wahid Khan). Wahid Khan's son Hafizullah Khan was born in 1946. Hafizullah's uncles trained him in music, and he became an accomplished sarangi player.

Singing career

Khansahib forbade recordings of his performances to avoid imitation by other singers. Only three of his performances survived, recordings of the ragas Patdip, Multani, and Darbari Kanada, accompanied by Chatur Lal on tabla. They were preserved by music producer Jivan Lal Mattoo, who secretly recorded a radio broadcast in 1947, 2 years before his death, to document Khan's style.

Legacy

Abdul Wahid Khansahib died in 1949 in Lahore. A number of Wahid Khan's students became renowned musicians. They included Sureshbabu Mane, Hirabai Badodekar, Begum Akhtar, Saraswatibai Rane, Pran Nath, Ram Narayan, Shakoor Khan, Pandit Jaichand Bhatt (Khyal Singer), Pandit Sukhdev Prasad, Hafizull Khan (his son) and Mohammed Rafi. See: List of music students by teacher: K to M#Abdul Wahid Khan.

Abdul Wahid Khan influenced Amir Khan of Indore gharana, although he was not one of his formal disciples. Abdul Wahid Khan and Abdul Karim Khan had started evolving the vilambit khyal and their work inspired Amir Khan to develop his trademark ati vilambit singing.