A report by M.A.Sheikh

A thrilling concert of classical music hosted by Sadarang Archives was held in London on 5^th June 2004. The evening was adorned by the performances of Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan Guloo and his two talented sons Chand Khan & Suraj Khan. The hall was packed to capacity and included veteran listeners of classical music.

Hailing from the Patiala gharana, Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan was trained by his father late Ustad Nathoo Khan who was a close disciple of the great Ustad (Colonel) Fateh Ali Khan of Taan Kaptaan fame. Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan furthered his musical knowledge under the guidance of late Ustad Salamat Ali Khan of the Shamchaurasi gharana. Having been an eminent performer in both Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television for the past thirty years, Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan is well versed in the intricacies involved in the major genres of vocal performance including khayal, thumri, kafi and the lighter ghazal. He is widely considered to be a musician’s musician and shows brilliance and true professionalism in every musical recital. During his career, he has toured United Kingdom, USA, the Middle East, & India and has won laurels from the audiences. In India he received special accolades when he was invited by the great Indian artist Lata Mangeshkar to give a performance at her residence which lasted a marathon nine hours.   

On this current tour, Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan had the main intention of introducing his two talented sons Chand Khan & Suraj Khan and they did not disappoint. The two youngsters opened the concert with a brilliant rendition of raag Bageshri. The vilambit khayal was set to taal Talwara whilst the madhlaya and drut khayals were set to Jhaptaal and Teen Taal.  Showing great obedience and respect to senior musicians present in the audience, the youngsters introduced themselves as students and gave assurances that their performances would improve further with age. During the course of the performance, the audience caught glimpses of the great pair of Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. The performance was charged with fast flurry of notational passages and notable rhythmic control. Following raag Bageshri, the duo presented a couple of rare bandishes in raag Adana and concluded the first half with the rendering of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan’s famous thumri “Yaad Piya Ki Aaye”.

The second half of the concert was devoted to Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan who gave a scintillating performance of raag Marwa. The vilambit khayal was set to taal Jhumra and he concluded the performance with a tarana in Teen Taal. During the course of the performance, the maestro demonstrated the various characteristic features of the Patiala and Shamchaurasi gharanas and presented the styles of Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. The ustad continued with a ghazal by poet Sohan Rahi and concluded the concert with a kafi by Khawaja Ghulam Fareed in raag Sindhi Bhairvin. Tabla accompaniment was provided by Saqib Razaq who displayed considerable skill and measured discipline.

At the end of the concert, one could not help but feel proud of such a great asset to the sub-continent in the form of Ustad Hussain Bukhsh Khan. Furthermore, it was reassuring to see, that the hardwork which the maestro had put into training his two young sons had finally begun reaping rewards.

Click to view the night in pictures