Learning of Ustad Raees Khan’s death on social media on Sunday woke me up to the fact that none of the media channels had telecast this news on Saturday; an indicator of callous attitude towards the condition of great artists.
Ustad Raees Khan was an internationally renowned sitar player. He was born on November 25, 1939 in Indore, British India. His active performance years started in 1948 and lasted until his demise in Karachi.
Ustad Raees Khan was the descendant of the Mewati Gharana, which is connected to Indore and the “Beenkar Baaj Gayaki Ang” carried out by Raees Khan’s father Muhammed Khan, a Rudra Vina player and a sitar player. Despite his extensive ‘Meend’ work and the ‘gandhar pancham’ sitar style he used, Raees Khan’s alaap, gatkari and gamaki work was different in approach, pacing, and even in technique. This specialty gave him edge over his contemporaries. Amongst the Khayal and Dhrupad domains of classical music followers, Raees Khan’s Gharana was a lineage containing the masters Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan, Bande Ali Khan, Nathan Khan, Babu Khan, Wazir Khan, Waheed Khan, Murad Khan, Latif Khan, Majid Khan, Nazeer Khan, Amanat Khan and Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, India. Ustad Raees Khan was a singer also and his father was an instrumentalist, a Beenkar. Both styles were merged in his singing and Sitar recitals. He gave his first public concert at Sunderbai Hall in the presence of the then Governor of Bombay Sir Maharaja Singh.
I have performed many times with Ustad Raees Khan’s wife Bilquis Khanum for PTV. She and Ustad Raees Khan stayed at Mushtaq Hashimi’s house for some time in 1980s when they moved to Karachi from Bombay. The couple has visited my house along with Bilquis’s brother Muhsin Raza. We found Ustad Raees Khan a down to earth and a charming personality. He was also a vocalist and was the first sitar player to record the super-hit geet ‘Ghungroo Toot Gaye’ for BBC London in 1978 as an instrumental song with the sitar. This song was also witnessed as in the music of Nisar Bazmi written by Qateel Shifai, for a Pakistani film Naz. Like his uncle Ustad Vilayat Khan, he often sang and demonstrated compositions by his accompanying sitar playing. Ustad Raees Khan and the great Bismillah Khan used to get together and do live concerts together as a duo, called ‘Jugalbandi’ as they did in a live concert in New Delhi on 23 November 2001.
Ustad Raees Khan used to travel abroad extensively for his performances. He tutored his son Farhan Raees Khan to carry forward his legacy. Raees Khan was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2005.He was given ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ this year. I shall remember his for his sitar pieces in Madan Mohan’s songs “Naino Mein Badra Chhayey” in the film ‘Mera Saya’, “Rasm-e-Ulfat Ko Nibhaen” in ‘Dil Ki Rahein’ and “Aaj Socha Tau Ansoo Bhar Aye” in ‘Hanste Zakhm’. His introduction on sitar in the song “Baharo Mera Jeevan Bhi Sanwaro” in Khayyam’s ‘Aakhri Khat’ is superb.
Ustad Raees Khan used to claim that he invented ‘gaeki ang’ in his sitar playing. This particular style of music could not be played without ‘gamak’, and he used to practically demonstrate this art. His departure therefore is a huge loss. He was a thinker when it came to sitar playing. He introduced more aspects to this art form. He was at par with Ravi Shankar. I saw him last playing Raag Hans Dhun in ‘Coke Studio’. He also performed with singer Abida Parveen. His outstanding performance along with his sons Farhan Raees Khan and Huzoor Hasnain accompanied by Ustad Bashir Khan in PTV’s programme Mehfil-e-Shab’, Karachi Centre is one of his memorable performances. Seen in the audience are singers Mahnaz, Salamat Ali, Ghulam Abbas, Bilquis Khanum and music composer Niaz Hussain. One of his memorable singings is seen in Qaiser’s penned ghazal “Deewaron Se Chup Kar Rona Acha Lagta Hai.” He looks very young when he sang it. Ahmad Faraz’s Ghazal “Yaad Ata Hai Tau Kyun Uss Se Gila Hota Hai, Woh Jo Ik Shaks Hamay Bhool Chuka Hota Hai’ is among Ustad Raees Khan’s rare songs. In 1978 he sang Afghani song “Anar Anar” on one of his Afghanistan tour. Raag Nand Kalyan’s performance with Ustad Zakir Khan on tabla is one of Ustad Raees Khan’s memorable performances.