Shafqat Salamat Ali Khan

by

Ally Adnan

Photographs by Ammar Shareef

The youngest son of one of the greatest vocalists of the twentieth century, Shafqat

Salamat Ali Khan is the foremost singer of his generation in Pakistan today. Shafqat

made his debut public performance at the age of seven in 1979. He has performed

all over the world – Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Spain,

Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many other countries –

ever since and become one of Pakistan’s busiest musicians internationally. His

performance at the Smithsonian Institute in the 1988 and 1996 established him as

an important performer of classical South Asian music. The New York Times

described one of his performances by writing, "exuberant complications, in which

melodic gestures join hand-waving and synchronized finger-pointing to form an

eloquent symbiosis." Shafqat is known for his mastery of rhythm, a very large

repertoire, a magnetic stage presence and his ability to connect with audiences. In

an exclusive interview for the Friday Times, Shafqat talks to Ally Adnan about his

father, the Shaam Chaurasi gharana (school) of music and his life as a musician.

1. You are the foremost representative of the Shaam Chaurasi gharana of

music. What is the history of this gharana and what are its unique qualities and

characteristics?

The Shaam Chaurasi gharana of music was founded by two brothers, Sudhakar and

Diwakar, in the sixteenth century. The brothers were Suriya Vanshi Rajputs and

worked as farmers in a small village that was originally ruled by Raja Shyam. The

brothers were disciples of a holy saint named Syed Feel Ali Sarmast who counted

Emperor Akbar amongst his followers. The brothers used to sing while ploughing

their lands. Syed Sarmast Shah was very fond of their singing and asked them to

give up farming in favor of music when they were in their teens. The saint provided

initial training in music to the two brothers who later studied with Swami Haridas.

Once Syed Sarmast Shah was satisfied with the singing of the brothers, he sent

them to the Delhi with a letter to Emperor Akbar requesting him to give the duo a

chance to perform in his court. This resulted in a twenty-four hour performance in

which the brothers are said to have performed all the raags known at the time.

Akbar was very pleased with the performance and asked the duo to join his court

as musicians. As a reward, the brothers requested Akbar to return eighty-four

villages that the emperor had captured from Raja Shyam. The emperor agreed to

the musicians’ request. The brothers converted to Islam in Akbar’s court and came

to be known by their Muslim names, Miyan Sooraj Khan and Miyan Chand Khan.

Their style of music laid the foundation for the gharana which was named Shaam

Chaurasi; Shaam because of Raja Shyam and Chaurasi (Eighty-Four) because the

duo’s singing resulted in the return of eighty-four villages to the Raja.

Shaam Chaurasi was originally a gharana of Dhurpad (oldest style of music in

practice in India and Pakistan) singers. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Ustad Nazakat

Ali Khan added khayal (modern genre of classical singing), thumri (popular romatic

genre of semi-classical music), dadra (genre of semi-classical music sung usually in

cycles of six and eight beats) and kafi (songs using Sufi poetry as lyrics) to the

repertoire of Shaam Chaurasi.

Musicians of Shaam Chaurasi employ all three octaves in their musical renditions

and are known for elaborate and leisurely alaaps (introductory passages in a

musical performance). They place a great emphasis on the systematic and

progressive development of a raag (musical scale) and add complexity to their

performance in a gradual and steady manner. They rarely repeat a taan (musical

passages rendered at speed) in the performance of a raag. They have mastery over

various types of taan. The sapaat taan in which notes are employed in order is a

specialty of Shaam Chaurasi. Musicians of the gharana sing in a large number of

taals (rhythmic cycles), both ancient and modern, and are known to be masters of

rhythm and tempo.

2. In your opinion, what was your father, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan’s contribution

to the Shaam Chaurasi gharana?

I do not consider Ustad Salamat Ali Khan to be a representative of the Shaam

Chaurasi gharana. His music encompassed much more than the qualities of a single

gharana. He had an unparalleled command over sur (musicality) and lai (tempo),

an incomparable understanding of raag and taal, and an unmatched mastery over

roohdari (spiritual component of music) and roodari (aesthetic beauty in music).

His music had universal appeal. He was as popular in France and Canada as he was

in Gujrat and Jalal Pur Jattan. He was able to connect with listeners of all origins,

knowledge levels and backgrounds. His music moved everyone. Classifying it as the

music of a single gharana would be grossly unfair and unjust.

3. There is some debate about the teachers of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. He is

known to have learnt from his father, Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, and his uncle, Ustad

Niaz Hussain Shami, but some people claim that he studied with Ustad Bade

Ghulam Ali Khan, as well. Did he indeed tie the ganda (thread tied around a

student’s wrist by his teacher) with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan?

I have heard stories to the effect and am aware of the debate. The truth is that my

father had immense respect for Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and his music. He

used to say that he learned something new each time he heard Ustad Bade Ghulam

Ali Khan sing. He considered the maestro to be one of the greatest musicians of all

times and revered him like his own Ustad (teacher). He, however, did not tie the

ganda with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and never became his disciple. I have great

respect and admiration for Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and his family but I do not

want to perpetuate a falsehood. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was not a student of Ustad

Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was in love with music and had an inexhaustible desire to

learn as much as he possible could. He retained the enthusiasm and eagerness of a

young student of music till the day he died. Always willing and keen to learn, my

father credited many musicians as having influenced his singing. He used to say that

he learnt music by participating in music conferences and festivals, both by

listening to and performing alongside great musicians. He respected a number of

great musicians like his own teachers but did not tie the ganda with anyone. His

singing was not like the music of any other musician. His style was unique, one he

couldn’t possibly have learnt from any one Ustad. He did not sing like Ustad Bade

Ghulam Ali Khan or in the style of anyone else; but he was a respectful person and

understood the importance of showing respect to senior musicians and

acknowledging their influence on his music.

4. What are your favorite memories of your father?

Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was not just a great musician but also a great human being

and a great father. He would often say that in order to become a great musician

one had to first become a great human being. He was living proof of the statement.

He was kind, gentle and loving. He enjoyed the company of his family. He paid

attention to those around him. He was generous. He had a sense of humor. He liked

to entertain. And he had a humility one rarely sees in musicians of his caliber.

I was the youngest and his favorite child. The two of us were inseparable. A part of

me died when he passed away in 2001. What is left behind, is a sad musician trying

to carry forward the legacy of his father.

My favorite memories are those of learning from him while on tour. He would

devise games and puzzles to help me learn music. On long flights, he would explain

the intricacies of raags and taals to me. He would give me assignments to help me

develop skills as a musician. I remember a flight from San Francisco to London

where he asked me to compose a bandish (musical composition) in raag Adana

describing the Battle of Khyber. He sang an ancient Hindi bandish that described

the war waged on the island city of Lanka by Raavan (primary antagonist in the

Hindu epic Ramayan) for me and instructed me to use it as a reference while

composing my own bandish. Once the assignment was given, he went to sleep

leaving me to compose on my own. I spent the next ten hours composing my

bandish which was set to a cycle of five beats. The words were:

Ali Maula, Maula Ali Maula, Mushkil Kusha

Hyder Karrar Tum Ho Ali Maula

Khyber Ko Kiya Sar Ali Maula Tu Ne

Ali Ne Pukara Jab Allahu Akbar

Ali Maula, Maula Ali Maula, Mushkil Kusha

شا

ومال، لکشم ک یلع ومال، ومال یلع

وہ

ر ت یلع ومالدیحر رکا

و ےن

ومال ت ربیخ وک ایک رسیلع

أربك اهلل یلع ےن بج اکپرا

شا

ومال، لکشم ک یلع ومال، ومال یلع

He woke up just before we landed at Heathrow and immediately asked me to sing

what I had composed. He loved the bandish that I had put together and teared up

while I sang it for him. He gave me duas (supplications) and blessing and prayed

that God shower me with Maula Ali’s blessings. Those are the kind of memories I

have of my father. What better memories can a son have? I remember the duas

and lessons, his innocent sense of humor, his soft touch and unassuming persona.

There is so much that I remember about Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, not just his music.

Not many people know this but Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was very fond of cinema

and a fan of Hollywood. Marlon Brando was his favorite actor. He used to watch all

of his films, often more than once. I used to accompany him to movie theaters. He

used to enjoy films with themes of honor, morality and righteousness, and loved to

discuss movies we had seen together.

I do not have a single bad memory of my father. Not one.

5. Your mother, Razia Begum, was a woman of remarkable strength and

character. How do you think she helped the career of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan?

Ustad Salamat Ali Khan would not have had a career in music without my mother.

Any and every thing he accomplished in his life was because of his wife. She was

intelligent, wise, tolerant, understanding and sincere. Sharafat, Latafat, Sakhawat

and I would not have become singers without her support, guidance and blessings.

My mother protected and shielded my father from a lot of what would have hurt

and distracted him. She helped him maintain singular focus on music and took care

of all other matters herself. She made sure that nothing distracted her husband and

cons from music.

My mother believed that, in order to grow, a musician needed peace and harmony.

She made sure that my father had both in his life. Let me tell you a story which will

explain what she did for my father. When my maternal grandmother passed away,

my mother was informed of the death, late at night. She did not share the news

with anyone at that time. In the morning, she prepared food for the whole day and,

once the riyaz (practice of music) and breakfast were over, she told my father about

the death of her mother. My father asked her why she had not told him and gone

to her mother’s home earlier. “I did not want to disturb your sleep,” she replied.

“And I wanted to make sure your riyaz was peaceful.” This is who my mother was.

6. Your grandmother was known all over India for the quality of food she

prepared and trained her daughters-in-law in the art of cooking. Did your mother

teach your wife how to prepare food?

My mother learnt the art of cooking from my grandmother. She was known all over

India and Pakistan for the food she made. If my father was one of the greatest

singers of the twentieth century, she was certainly one of the greatest chefs of her

time. Musicians who used to visit Lahore from India were as interested in eating at

our home as they were in listening to my father sing.

As far as my wife’s cooking goes, I am going to be smart and say that she does very

well. I need peace at home.

7. How did your father train you?

My training was done more on stage than at home. Saleem Gilani, who was the

Director General of Radio Pakistan, took an interest in my career right from the

start. He advised my father to let me accompany him on stage and get my

education during performances. My father took his advice and I started

accompanying him as a young child. In the beginning I used to do very little singing

but, as I gained more knowledge and confidence, I started participating in my

father’s performances. I learnt by listening to my father and by singing with him.I

believe that I had a great education, more effective and interesting than the

traditional style of instruction.

8. You perform regularly in both India and Pakistan. What are the differences

between the practice, study and performance of Hindustani sangeet in the two

countries?

The music of the two countries is identical. The theory is exactly the same. There

are some differences in presentation between different towns in each country. The

audience of each city has its own character. Some are more knowledgeable while

others enjoy more interaction. Some enjoy emotionally charged performance

whereas some focus on grammar and technique. Musicians, therefore, have to

adjust their presentation accordingly but the base remains the same. One sings

differently in Agra and Calcutta due to the nature of the audience in each city even

though both are in India. The India-Pakistan divide does not carry over to music.

There are no major differences in the practice, study and performance of music

between India and Pakistan.

9. How do you prepare for a performance?

It is not possible to prepare for a single performance. It takes years and years of

hard work for a musician to get ready to perform on stage but, once he is ready, he

does not need to prepare for individual performances. He can perform any time.

10. What are the factors – audience, mood, accompanists and others – that

contribute to a great performance?

A lot of things need to be right for a musician to give his best. First and foremost,

the musician should be in a good mood. He should be comfortable with his

accompanying musicians. The audience should be loving and interested in music. It

is great if the audience is knowledgeable but it is more important that it is warm

and loving. There should not be a great physical distance between performers and

listeners. The sound set up should be good. And finally, the stage should be well-

decorated. I enjoy performing on beautifully decorated stages.

11. Shaam Chaurasi is known for singing in rare and complex rhythmic cycles,

such as Sul Fakhta, Faraudast and Ikwai. Why is it that musicians of other gharanas,

unlike those from Shaam Chaurasi, stick to popular taals such as Teentaal, Ektala

and Jhaptal?

Sul Fakhta, Nusrak, Faraudast, Dhammar, Talwara, and Ikwai are very complex and

rare taals. We sing in these taals all the time. These rhythmic cycles present

challenges to musicians because of their peculiar structures. Very few bandishes

have been composed in the rare cycles. The taals are also difficult for audiences to

comprehend. It is not easy to maintain tempo and identify sam (first beat of

rhythmic cycle), taali (beat with stress) and khaali (beat with negation of stress),

while listening to songs in these taals. My father used to enjoy challenges and,

therefore, sang in a number of complex and rarely used taals. He was also very

good at engaging the audience and ended up teaching the structure and divisions

of rhythmic cycles on stage.

I am sure that competent singers of other gharanas know and understand these

taals. They may not use them because of personal choice or because they want to

make things easier for listeners.

12. Shaam Chaurasi musicians enjoy engaging percussionists in a competitive

dialog during performances and are known to pose a challenge for even the best of

tabla players. Who are your favorite tabla players?

A musician needs to have mastery of rhythm to be able to engage a tabla player.

Vocalists tend to focus more on raagdari (knowledge of raag) than on laikari

(rhythmic virtuosity) and are, therefore, unable to get into a competitive dialog

with the percussionist. My father considered laikari to be as important as raagdari

and was a master of both. He forced tabla players to participate in his

performances. His on-stage battles, if you will, with tabla players resulted in

legendary performances. My father’s favorite tabla players were Ustad Miyan

Shaukat Hussain Khan and Ustad Ahmed Jan Thirakwa. Incidentally, they are also

my favorite tabla players. Currently, India has many great tabla players. Zakir

Hussain, Swapan Chaudhury, Anindo Chakrabarty are master percussionists. I think

Ghulam Abbas plays very well. Rashid Mustafa is very good. Tafu and his son Ballu

Khan have their own inimitable style. Haroon Samuel, Kashif Ali Dani, and Shabbir

Hussain are all capable young tabla players. The art of playing tabla continues to

flourish in both India and Pakistan.

13. Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was a regular performer at the death anniversaries

of famous musicians. His performance used to be highlight of the barsi (death

anniversary) of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan in Lyallpur each year. What were those barsis

like?

The barsis were grand musical events. Musicians from all over the country used to

travel to participate in the events. They would to prepare all year for performances

at the barsis. The death anniversary of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan in Lyallpur and of Ustad

Bhai Lal Muhammad in Vyam Shala were two of the most competitive platforms

for musicians. A number of other barsis were held throughout the year as well. In

my opinion, the best performances of our music have been on barsis. Musicians

used to sing their hearts out at these events. Listeners flocked to attend the barsis.

Sadly, the tradition has died during the last few decades. It needs to be revived.

Musicians need platforms to prove their mettle and listeners deserve to hear

musicians at their best.

14. Your father did not believe in teaching music to females. How come your

sister, Riffat Sultana, sings?

It was not just my father but all Muslim musicians who were against teaching music

to their female relatives. Unfortunately, singing is not considered a respectable

profession for females in our country. That is the reason musicians are reluctant to

teach their daughters. Riffat was given permission to sing because she lives in the

United States and not in Pakistan. She never sang publicly while in Pakistan. I have

thought about this quite a bit and want to change this tradition. Females who have

the potential of singing like Roshanara Begum and Noor Jehan should be trained

and encouraged to perform.

15. What did you like about Noor Jehan’s singing?

There is a lot that I like about her singing. She was the best in her field. She had

perfect pitch. Her delivery of lyrics was excellent. She projected her voice very well.

And she sang with feeling. Her singing used to move my father to tears.

16. Who do you think are the greatest practitioners of Hindustani sangeet

today?

There are a great number of talented musicians in both India and Pakistan today.

Ustad Rashid Khan, Pandit Ajoy Chakravarty and Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan are very

good. I love their music. Bade Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and Hamid Ali

Khan are great musicians. Pakistan is home to some very promising classical

vocalists today. Chand Khan and Suraj Khan, Inaam Ali and Nayab Ali Khan, Shujaat

Ali Khan, and Muslim Shaggan show great promise. I believe that both India and

Pakistan will continue to produce good musicians. Our musicians are committed to

teaching and transferring their knowledge to younger generations of musicians.

17. Who do you listen to yourself?

I listen to a lot of singers, both senior and junior but my favorites are Ustads Amanat

and Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Amir Khan, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, D V Paluskar, Ustad

Ghulam Hassan Shaggan, Pandit Jasraj, Roshanara Begum, and Ustads Salamat and

Nazakat Ali Khan.

18. Do you believe that you have added to the music of Shaam Chaurasi?

No, I have not.

It is not possible to add to Shaam Chaurasi’s music after Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.

He wrote the last chapter of the book.

19. What will be Shafqat Salamat Ali Khan’s legacy in the world of music?

I think that my contribution has been in the field of education. I teach in institutions

all over the world. I think I am a dedicated, gracious and sincere teacher. I believe

in sharing all that I know with deserving students. Some of my students belong to

families of musicians but most do not. I hold workshops in art galleries, in

residences and in schools to teach music. I use both modern and traditional

methods of instruction. I work very hard to engage with students. I love my talented

students. I think my legacy will be a number of well-trained musicians spread all

over the globe.

Ally Adnan lives in Dallas where he works in the field of telecommunications. He can

be reached at allyadnan@outlook.com.