While there is no dearth of names in Hindustani Classical Music that have dominated the annals of musical history, there were some extraordinary virtuosos who made waves in their time, but whose names today have slipped from public memory. This new feature is an attempt to revive that kind of vintage music.

Shakoor Khan

Sarangi-nawaz Ustad Shakoor Khan was certainly one of the greatest virtuosos of the sarangi of all times. Born in 1905 in a family of musicians, his father, Ustad Abdul Zafar Khan was among the best-known sarangi players of his time and had accompanied the great Zohra Bai in her published recordings. Shakoor Khan Sahab had his first taleem in singing and sarangi from his maternal grandfather, Ustad Mehboob Bux Khan. Right from his childhood, he excelled in both vocal music and sarangi. After the demise of his grandfather, he continued his taleem in vocal music and sarangi from his uncle, Sartaj-e-Mausiqui, and stalwart of the Kirana gharana, Ustad Abdul Waheed Khan who was also Ustad Amir Khan`s mentor.

Shakoor Khan had accompanied the greatest of musicians on his sarangi like Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Among his contemporaries, he frequently accompanied Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Pandit Dinanath Mangeskar, Pandit D V Paluskar, Pandit Omkarnath Thakur, Vidushi Hirabai Barodekar, Mohatarma Roshanara Begum, Pandit Nivruttibua Sarnaik, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan (Agra), Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Vidushi Kesarbai Kerkar etc.

He had performed extensively in all major music conferences all over the country. He was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1966 and was the first sarangi nawaz to be honoured with the Padmashree in 1973. Today, his sons Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan and Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan who received extensive talim from their father, still carry on the Kirana tradition by imparting rigorous talim to promising youngsters. Mashkoor Ali is a guru of ITC Sangeet Research Academy.

Ustad Shakoor Khan died on 6th October 1975.