Ustad Faiyaz Khan, the great vocalist

Dr. K.Rohiniprasad

In the Hindi film Buzdil released around 1951, Lata Mangeshkar sang 'Jhan jhan jhan payal baaje under the baton of S.D.Burman. Around 1960 the maestro made Manna Dey sing Banao batiyan kahe ko jhooti in Manzil. The original classical numbers on which these two songs were based were rendered by Ustad Faiyaz Khan. Saigal learnt Wajid Ali Shah's immortal Bhairavi thumri Babul Mora from him and later sang it in Street Singer.

Born in 1880 near Agra, Faiyaz Khan's musical lineage goes back to Tansen himself. A posthumous child, Faiyaz was trained initially by his maternal grandfather Ghulam Abbas Khan. Originally, the Agra gharana followed the Dhrupad and Dhamar style. Faiyaz Khan added khayal singing to this tradition. The integration turned out to be excellent. Today Agra gharana includes nom-tom alap, dhamar, vilambit khayal with emphasis on bol and layakari bol-taans, inimitable grace in the pronunciation of words of the bandish, moving on to the drut khayal with gusto and fast taans.

Faiyaz Khan’s performances in darbars, conferences, private gatherings and music festivals were authentic and entertaining too. He was frequently invited to perform and received honours and titles like Sangeet Bhaskar, Sangeet Chudamani and Sangeet Saroj from the princes of Indore, Hyderabad and Mahishadal apart from valuable gifts and awards. From 1912 onwards he remained the court musician of Baroda until his much-lamented demise in 1950. He also taught in the music school, which eventually became the Faculty of Performing Arts in the M.S. University. It was a shock to the civilized world that his grave was desecrated during the recent communal riots in Baroda.

Faiyaz Khan was awarded the title "Aftab-e-Mousiqui" by the Maharaja of Mysore. He lent authenticity, dignity and grace to any bandish he presented. He became a living legend is his time, yet remained a profoundly humble human being till the end. In spite of his royal personality he was extremely humane in personal relationships. With great humility he used to remark “I know a little in this field”.

Faiyaz Khan’s style of singing may not appeal to those who enjoy soft and plaintive vocalism. He had a booming voice and a no-nonsense robust style. But he was rooted in classicism. As the sitar maestro Vilayat Khan demonstrated in one of his concerts, Faiyaz Khan’s notes sound very pure and authentic in ragas like Darbari. Such notes do not fit into the chromatic scale of a harmonium. His tone and approach varied with the nature and mood of the raga. Miya ki Todi would sound melancholy and sombre while Sughrai will be rendered in sprightly style. In thumris he was very melodious and could express the coquettishness of a maiden. His singing was very virile and loud, with a lot of power behind his taans. His tuneful voice had a rich timbre. In his time he was called a Chaumukhi Gavaiya - with great command over several genres such as Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra and Ghazal. He composed several compositions under the penname of Prem Piya including Baje mori payaliya in Barwa, Chalo hato jao in Sohini, Nainanso dekhi in Suha-Sughrai, Unsang in Ramkali and Sajan more ghar in Jog.

In Bombay he sang at several places including the Suburban Music Circle, Santa Cruz and inaugurated the Vallabh Ashram at Sion. Great scholars and musicians like Bhatkhande, Ratanjankar, Allauddin Khan (sarod), Nissar Hussain Khana and Thirakwa (tabla) held him in great esteem. His disciples and followers include Vilayat Hussain, Khadim Hussain, Latafat Hussain, Sharafat Hussain, Dinkar Kaikini, Jyotsna Bhole, K.G.Ginde, S C R Bhat, Dinkar Kaikini, Lalith Rao, M R Gautam and others.