Ustad Allah Lok is the one of the very few remaining Pakhawaj players in Pakistan. He is also ranked amongst the frontline tabla players of the Punjab gharana and is currently employed as a music arranger at the Rehmat Gramophone House in Faisalabad. In this interview, the maestro talks about his career and how he was initiated into the art of pakhawaj playing.

Ustad Allah Lok (AL): I was born in 1950 in the industrial city of Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur.

AL: I was probably seven or eight years old when I became interested in music. I used to find pots and pans in the kitchen and bang on them as a substitute for the tabla. My father, Hussain Bukhsh was a harmonium player and a disciple of Ustad Taati Shah, the brother of the distinguished pakhawaj player Ustad Malang Khan Bohnwale, noticed my inclination towards the tabla and placed me under the guidance of pakhawaj maestro Ustad Inayat Khan.

Can you tell us about your ustad and what type of material he taught you?

AL:  Ustad Inayat Khan was one of the leading disciples of Ustad Malang Khan and had performed in many prestigious musical gatherings prior to partition. He would also occasionally perform in place of his teacher when Malang Khansaheb was busy in other engagements.  Following partition, Inayat Khansaheb settled in a village near Faisalabad and concentrated on teaching.

Did your training continue under Ustad Faiyyaz Khan?

AL: Yes, only after he heard me and then agreed upon teaching me. I spent five years in Hyderabad, Sindh learning from Ustad Faiyyaz Khan. He had tremendous amounts of knowledge and taught me many beautiful and rare compositions of various gharanas. I consider Ustad Faiyyaz Khan to be a doctor in his field, a highly learned individual. Apart from learning the tabla, I also accompanied the leading classical musicians of Sindh, such as Ustad Manzoor Ali Khan and the duo of Ustad Fateh Ali Khan- Ustad Hameed Ali Khan in various concerts.  

Ustad Faiyyaz Khan

My mother became very sad due to my absence and decided to call me back home to Faisalabad. My ustad was very sad at my departure but understood that I had to comply with the wishes of my mother. On my return, I started to perform with musicians such as Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ejaz Qaiser, Mansoor Malangi, Ataullah Khan Niazi and Allahditta Lunaywala and also found employment with Rehmat Gramophone House.

AL: This was due to the tragic death of Ustad Talib Hussain Khan Pakhawaji who was murdered in a mosque in Lahore in 1993. I was totally shocked and devastated at the huge loss to the cause of classical music in Pakistan, as Ustad Talib Hussain Khan was the last recognised pakhawaj player of the Punjab gharana. Whilst attending his funeral, I kept on thinking that pakhawaj playing had now ended in Pakistan. From that moment, I decided to learn and revive this instrument.  

How did your training in pakhawaj then commence?

AL: Fortunately, my first teacher, Ustad Inayat Khan was still alive. I arranged for him to live with me at home so that he could teach me. My family looked after Ustad ji very well and treated him like a member of the family.

For the first ten to fifteen days I was very busy in rehearsals and recording sessions and could not devote much time to him.  Then one evening, he called me over for a chat. During the course of the discussion, I politely asked him, “Ustad ji, you have over a hundred students all of whom are tabla players, why didn’t you teach a single one the pakhawaj? Don’t you want the future generation to remember you as a pakhawaj player? My teacher was slightly annoyed at the bluntness of the question and replied “Nobody bothered to learn, if you are so interested, why don’t you learn?” I told him that I was willing to learn on the condition that he permitted me to write down all the compositions he could remember and then teach me them practically.

The main reason why I was so adamant on writing down all the compositions was that my ustad was over a hundred years old and very weak. So I felt that time was short in trying to memorise each composition before learning how to play it. Inayat Khansaheb had always been against notation and stressed upon memorising compositions in the same manner as he had learnt from his teacher, regardless of how long it would take. After some persuasion and careful deliberation, my ustad agreed with my request and decided to teach me

Initially, I wrote each composition, but as I was busy in studio work I showed my children the method of notation I had devised. Whenever ustad ji remembered a composition he would call my children and they would then write it down. I would then check the composition upon my arrival at home. This method of teaching went on daily for about two months and I managed to receive lots of material. When my ustad was satisfied that he had now recited all the pakhawaj compositions he knew, he asked me to learn the compositions practically. Thereafter, I used to take him to the studio each day where he would teach each composition by playing it slowly and demonstrating the technique involved.  

AL: I have listened to Khansaheb Talib Hussain Khan since childhood and consider him as my idol. He was a great musician and proficient at both the tabla and pakhawaj.

What is the main difference in the tabla and pakhawaj?

AL: The main reason is that it is part of our heritage and also an integral part of my gharana. There is also one benefit for me for playing this rare instrument, in that I do occasionally get people contacting me if they need a pakhawaj player for a concert or recording session.

What have been your memorable performances?

AL: I present a pakhawaj solo annually at the All Pakistan Music Conference in Lahore and always get a tremendous response from both the audiences and fellow musicians. During one particular performance, the late Khalifa Akhtar Hussain Khan of the Punjab gharana appreciated my solo and gave me words of encouragement.

Solo at the All Pakistan Music Conference

AL: I would very much like to teach four or five students, but due to the modern musical environment, youngsters are more interested in performing light music as they know they can make a living out of it. I have taught some pakhawaj to my son, Zafar, but he is presently concentrating on becoming a classical vocalist.

Zafar Allah Lok

Is there a particular message you would like to give our readers?

AL: Audiences should try to appreciate classical music as much as possible in order for musicians to receive encouragement. If I don’t get a warm response from an audience, what example does it set my fellow peers and the younger generation in pursuing classical music? I would also like to see more youngsters learn classical music, as it forms the basis of our music.