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Ustad Latafat
Hussain Khan |
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Ustad Latafat Hussain khan belonged to the tradition
of Khandani musicians, who held aloft and carried
forward the torch of musical learning and excellence.
Both as a performer and as teacher he had the
unmistakable mark of a gharanadar musician. Deeply
religious, self effacing and unassuming by nature, he
was always willing to give – qualities that were very
clearly reflected in his music and in his approach to
the performance and teaching of music.
Born on December 12, 1920, Latafat Hussain Khan was
the youngest son of Altaf Hussain Khan of the Agra
gharana. |
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He was initiated into the rigours of music by Tasadduq
Hussain Khan. Then followed an extended training
period under his eldest brother Ustad Khadim Hussain
Khan in Bombay. Sometime in the early forties, he went
to Baroda to stay with his uncle, Ustad Faiyyaz Khan
and receive rigorous taleem. He also took advanced
taleem from his gharana elder, Vilayet Hussain Khan. |
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Latafat was musically a successor to Ustad Faiyyaz
Khan. He was particularly known for his powerful voice, his
crisp nom-tom alaps, and his effervescent delivery. With his
masculine voice, dhrupad based alap, he was in the
mainstream of the Agra gharana. In voice production, he was
close to Ustad Faiyyaz Khan – a deep penetrating voice with
tremendous control on swar and shrutis, a voice that
delibera" tely created broken nuances while singing the
"rangila phrases made famous by his ustad. His alap was
rich and his raga portrayal was sublime. Latafat Khan
composed hundreds of bandishes under the pen name of "Premdas". |
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Like most exponents of the Agra style, Latafat Khan
was a scholar musician, ever true to the ancient tenets of
classicism and very concerned with what was "correct" and
"pure" and very disdainful of compromises made all too often
by younger musicians who sometimes sacrificed authenticity
for easy popularity. At the same time, like many others of
his famed gharana, he gave great importance to the
entertainment value of classical music. This was achieved by
the judicious use of "layakari", the choice of colourful
bandishes and the clever utilization of tans. |
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Latafat Khan was honoured by Sur Singar Samsad in
Bombay and was also the recipient of a host of other awards.
In 1978, Latafat Khan joined the Sangeet Research Academy of
the I. T. C. at Calcutta as a Guru and trained several
pupils. Even though his health was giving him trouble and
his voice was losing its grit and quality possibly due to
his asthmatic trouble, he was a greatly revered and
respected musician. Those who came into contact with him
will never forget the warmth of his nature. ITC Sangeet
Research Academy raised Latafat Hussain to the national
level again through concert appearances in all parts of
India. |
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Latafat Hussain died in Kolkata on December 11, 1986. |
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