azmat hussain khan-the forgotten maestro

Late Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan The Emperor of Music On the 18th death anniversary Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan, Batuk Dewanji writes a tribute. Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan was a multi-faceted personality and each facet had a charm of its own. He was a unique amalgamation of a singer, poet, sportsman and a master of culinary art. The influences that shaped his life and career both in music and poetry, came from his family. His maternal grand father Ustad Zahur Khan, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian and was a Sanskrit scholar. He was a great vocalist and a composer par excellence. He composed many superb Bandishes under the nom de plume 'Ramdas'. He composed several Ragas like Pat Bihag and many Prakars of Raga Gauri. Ustad Zahur Khan had about a dozen daughters but no son. Muslim artistes usually did not teach music to females in the family and Zahur Khan, in utter desperation, sat afire seven trunks full of manuscripts and books on music, all of them heirlooms. Thereafter his wife gave birth to a son named Altaf Hussain. He was 13 when his father died but by that time Zahur Khan had taught him hundred of Ragas and Bandishes. He later conferred on his sister's son Azmat Hussain, this great heritage of music. Thus Azmat Hussain had a rich repertoire of Bandishes of Khurja Gharana to which Altaf Hussain belonged. Being a close relative of Ustad Alladiya Khan of Jaipur of the Atrauli Gharana, Azmat Hussain learnt many rare Ragas and Bandishes of this Gharana from Alladiya Khan. He also learnt numerous Bandishes from his brother-in-law, Ustad Vilayat Hussain, and from Ustad Faiyaz Khan of the Agra Gharana. Thus Azmat Hussain's music was a coming together of the Khurja and Jaipur Gharana. Azmat Hussain had composed nearly 50 excellent Bandishes and some Ragas, the most noteworthy being Devta Bhairav. His nom de plume was 'Dilrang'. Azmat Hussain was a Shahgird of well-known Urdu poet Simab and composed a large numbers of Ghazals under the nom-de-plume 'Maikash'. He was fond of Shikar and would often go on shooting expeditions. He knew many recipes that would delight a gourmet but derived greater pleasure from serving rather than eating. Of all his performances Azmat hussain recall the one with particular nostalgia. It was the one at Kolhapur in the year 1954 at Deyal Club. Despite his young age he gave such a sterling performance that Aftab-E-Mausiqui Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Who was to sit next, did not sing by way of tribute to the young artist. Azmat Hussain was invited by King Zahir Shah of Afghanistan who heard him twice and was greatly impressed by his music. He sang at three public concerts there, which were largely attended and appreciated. Azmat Hussain was surprised by the Afghans' keen interest and understanding of Indian music. In a concert at the residence of Neelambai in Bombay, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan gave a superb recital of Raga Marwa. It was Azmat Hussain's turn to sing next and he, too, sang same Raga so beautifully that Bade Ghulam Ali Khan embraced him and complimented him. At a concert organized by Prof. B. R. Deodhar, Azmat Hussain gave a memorable recital after Bade Ghulam Ali Khan had regaled listeners with delectable Thumries and classical songs. Azmat Hussain has left behind a rich legacy of music in the form of such illustrious disciples as Ustad Aslam Khan, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, Ustad Yunus Hussain Khan, Manik Verma and others. The Bombay Municipal Corporation has honored Ustad Azmat Hussain by naming a road near the Income Tax office as Gayan Samrat Ustad Azmat Hussain Khan Marg. The great maestro breathed his last on July 26th, 1975. Every year his death anniversary is observed by his disciples and admirers with a feast of music. -Batuk Dewanji The Independent, 26-7-93