Groomed under the tutelage of his late uncle Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan and father Ustad Rahmat Ali Khan of Gwalior gharana, Roshan can be termed as an exciting prospect for Pakistani classical music. Based in Karachi, Roshan Abbas Khan is quickly gaining a following amongst the art music listeners of Pakistan. During his recent tour of the UK, he was approached by Saqib Razaq, he kindly obliged to spare some time for an interview and record short classical pieces exclusively for the site. Here are excerpts of the interview with sadarang.com.

Roshan Abbas (RA): Gwalior gharana is considered to be one of the pioneering schools of khayal singing alongside Kirana, Qawwal Bacchay, Talwandi and Agra. The gharana is said to have been founded by Ustad Nathan Peer Bukhsh who was associated with the Gwalior court. His art was passed on to his grandsons, the legendary Ustads Haddu and Hassu Khan. I hail from a family of musicians who have been vocalists for almost 500 years. However the first recognised name of my family is that of Baba Bannay Khan who became a student of Khansahabs Haddu-Hassu Khan of Gwalior. 

Roshan Abbas Khan.  Young vocalist hailing from the Gwalior Gharana

As far as the classical music of Pakistan is concerned, Mian Bannay Khan and his family members have played an important role primarily role in popularising khayal gayaki in the regions of present day Pakistan. Bannay Khansahab worked as a servant at Haddu Khansahab’s house for 12 years before being accepted by Khansahab Haddu Khan as a student. It is said that Mian Bannay Khan used to secretly listen to Haddu Khansahab teach his students and in the evenings, he used to practise the same lesson in the forests. One day thinking that nobody was at home Bannay Khansahab started practicing, Haddu Khansahab’s wife was in the house and was stunned to hear that Bannay Khansahab singing compositions in almost identical manner to those of her husband and immediately informed Haddu Khansahab. Having seen Bannay Khansahab’s devotion and sincerity Haddu Khansahab decided to teach him. It is also said that Haddu Khansahab was going to adopt Bannay Khansahab before he had a son of his own. 

Other renowned members of my family are Khansahab Meeran Bukhsh Khan, Ustad Pyare Khan, Ustad  Jamal Khan, Khansahab Sainday Khan, Khansahab Misri Khan, Khansahab Ghulam Rasool Khan, Ustad Umeed Ali Khan, Mohammad Din Khan and my late uncle Ustad Ahmed Ali and father Ustad Rehmat Ali Khan.  

RA: The first essential feature of Gwalior is “Aakar ka Gana”. We don’t rely on a vocal technique known as “raggee”. Aaakaar ka gana is highly valued and uses singing in a full throated manner. The second feature of Gwalior is the possession of authentic asthayi antaras, we have many bandishes which can be traced back to Ustad Nayamat Khan Sadarang. The bandish or composition is central to the performance in khayal, and the raag is presented through the bandish. Thirdly layakari or rhythmic interplay features strongly in our gharana, there are many compositions which are composed in difficult time cycles such as Dhamar, Ikwaai and Talwara. We also use the 4^th laya concept which involves taans at four times the speed of the tempo. Fourth feature is that we have many taans like teen saptak ki taan and spaat taan.

Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan.

Would you agree on the fact that your family has been responsible for introducing khayal gayaki into Sindh?

RA: Baba Bannay Khan introduced khayal gayaki not only in Sindh but in the region of Punjab as  well. The dominance of khayal in Punjab is due to my family’s contribution towards khayal gayaki, before that dhrupad was the most popular form of classical music in Punjab. In a way, one can term all khayal vocalists of Punjab and Sindh to be shagirds of my family regardless of whether they admit to it or not. 

RA: My musical training commenced when I was four years old. In our training emphasis is given on recognition of each note. To begin with, my teachers Ustads Ahmed Ali- Rahmat Ali used to tell me to sustain the note Sa whilst they practised. This helped me to strengthen and recognise the base note. As a source of encouragement they used to offer me money to practice with them.

How did your musical training progress after your initial introduction with classical music?

RA: The next stage was voice control. My ustad placed great emphasis on voice culture and maintained that having full command over sur attracts listeners to the performance. He said there it is no use if a person has tayyari in the shape of dazzling taans and sargams and is continuously out of tune. Following this, Khansahab taught me the structure of different raags and how to develop them. I also learnt compositions of the raags known as bandishes or asthayi-antara.

Roshan's Ustads: Ustad Ahmed Ali and Ustad Rahmat Ali Khan. Click to hear Kafi Kanada

RA: At times yes, I have had to struggle for recognition as we professional musicians encounter more criticism for our performances than an amateur normally would. A listener will subconsciously judge my ability in comparison to my family elders before passing a judgment on my skill. Although I feel honored to have born into such an illustrious family, it has been a difficult task to live up to the high expectations of the audience. There were times when I thought of quitting music altogether, however due to the blessings and encouragement of Ahmed Ali Khansahab I have managed to succeed in pursuing music as a profession.

RA: Daily practice is essential for a vocalist, however I have never timed myself on the exact number of hours I do. When you are passionate about something time limits simply vanish. There was a time during my youth that I practiced so much that my mother used to say that even when you are not practicing we feel that you are. 

Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan.

RA: The major source of inspiration has been my teacher Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan. I am also inspired by my uncle the late Ustad Umeed Ali Khan and Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan of the Patiala Gharana. All three had individual qualities. Ustad Ahmed Ali Khan and Ustad Umeed Ali Khan used to execute Aakaar taans and used the fourth laya concept in taans which is a speciality of our family. Ustad Ashiq Ali Khan was a great layakar and made very good usage of bol taans. Many artistes have been inspired by Ustads Umeed Ali Khan and Ashiq Ali Khan.

RA: A listener who is new to classical music should focus on the composition being sung.  Classical music is not as difficult as people perceive it to be. Raags are based on combination of notes. If I say that I am going to sing a raag containing five notes, I will be displaying all the different permutations of using the five notes within the performance, that is a challenge for a vocalist on how he will attract the audience with the combinations.

Renowned musicologist. Professor B.R. Deodhar. Spent a number of years learning from Ustad Sindhay Khan.

RA: Yes, our gharana has many such bandishes. There are a few individuals who are scared of singing rare compositions in fear that they might get stolen. However due to the lack of popularity of classical music in our country I feel that we gharanaydaar musicians have a duty to perform such compositions in public so that more people could be attracted towards classical music.

My ustad used to say that there are many ustads who have a wealth of knowledge and training but lack authentic traditional compositions. Even a great vocalist of the calibre of Khansahab Bade Ghulam Ali Khan had to get compositions from different sources which included my grandfather Ustad Sindhay Khan who was also the teacher of the renowned musicologist B.R. Deodhar.

RA: Yes, I have heard this before and feel that this is a very silly thing to say. It’s like asking a PhD in English if he knows the English alphabet. The ghazal singers must remember that a classical vocalist doesn’t just execute taans and sargam. We have vilambit in khayal and an asatayi antara which is a composition in itself, so why can’t we sing a ghazal? Ghazals themselves are wholly based on classical bandishes so there aren’t any hurdles for a classical artiste to overcome. A classical vocalist should have mastery over all fields. Training in classical music gives you a solid base and singing ghazal, thumri or even pop should present no problems. The reason why classical vocalists of yesteryears didn’t sing ghazal was that most of them lacked formal education and didn’t understand the delicate nuances which ghazal gayaki demands. Another reason was that ghazal gayaki has always had a lower status compared with khayal gayaki due to its association with the courtesan tradition.

RA: In my view the decline is only a temporary phase and we should see improvements in the future. There will be a time when classical music will regain its popularity. The main reason for the blame goes to the hereditary musicians who didn’t concentrate on teaching the masses, they just taught their family members. If the masses were trained they would have recognised the difference between Shyam Kalyan and Darbari and not listen to the likes of Abrar-ul-Haque or Mohammad Ali Shaheki. We classical musicians should firstly analyse ourselves before pointing fingers at others for the demise of classical music. Classical music has always had a select following and the traditional musicians have made it too select. I try to teach as many people as I can so that appreciation of classical music can be raised in Pakistan.

Another major reason for the demise is that classical music has lacked media attention. We are living in an age where media is ruling all facets of life and this should be used actively to promote classical music. Currently, we only have a 15 minute daily programme on radio devoted to classical and a 25 minute weekly programme on PTV called Raag Rang which is broadcasted so late that even we go to sleep rather than watch the programme. We should get prime time airing on TV, Radio and satellite. Classical music broadcasted on TV should  also incorporate audio visuals so that the mood of the raag could be fully expressed.

RA: Of course, we don’t have the concept of conferences in Pakistan in comparison with our neighbours India, conferences are extremely important in promoting classical music. There should be a set up where there are regular music conferences so that the masses can start identifying with classical music. At present I think there is only one annual conference which takes place in Lahore. Presentation is also vital for promotion in the modern age of mass marketing.

RA: The purpose of the challenge was to give classical music of Pakistan a shot in the arm so that enthusiasm could be raised. I put out a challenge to all other vocalists to sing with me so that other talented artistes of Pakistan could participate on a single platform. Purpose of the challenge was to create interest in Pakistani classical music and not to stamp my authority over others. This way musicians from different gharanas could compete against each other and also the audience could benefit by listening to different styles.

RA: I am not against pop singers. I am a great fan of pop singers such as Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. The pop singers of Pakistan cannot be classified as “pop singers” they are not doing “pop” but “paap”. They are taking traditional folk melodies and incorporating them into pop by utilising western orchestration.

I would like to make a request to all the fake pop stars. If they are blessed with fame and fortune, despite their lack of talent, then they should recognise this within themselves and approach an ustad to gain knowledge in return for some “khidmat”. This will benefit both ustad and the pop star. The ustad would get a source of maintenance whilst the pop star will benefit from improved technique and knowledge on raag daari. This relationship can make use of the ustad’s knowledge which in these times is being wasted.

Roshan Abbas in discussion with Saqib Razaq. Click to hear Raag Darbari sound clip.

RA: As a gharanaydaar musician, I feel it is my duty to uphold my tradition and art. There have been suggestions by many people to put aside the tanpura and take up the guitar, however I don’t need cheap publicity. The media has only been here for a short time, but my forefathers made a name for themselves before the advent of the media. I am sometimes astonished when thinking of how much they would have had to travel and perform in order to receive popularity and recognition. If I want to earn a quick buck, there are other types of work which I could do rather than pop in which I could earn more money.

RA: Yes there are. My cousin Karam Abbas, who is the son of Ahmed Ali Khansahab is a talented vocalist based in Karachi. He regularly performs in jugalbandi with his brother Rahmat Abbas in concerts and on television. I usually sing in conjunction with my elder brother Ghulam Abbas. My youngest brother Imran Abbas is showing great promise as a vocalist and I have full hopes that he will become a great artiste in the near future. 

RA: First of all I am thankful to Saqib Razaq of Sadarang.com for starting a venture for the promotion  of  classical music in Pakistan. Inshallah this will be an initial step in preserving our culture. In the CD I have tried to present classical music in its purest form so that it can be preserved for future generations.

RA: I am thankful to you for inviting me for an interview and I pray that your passion and hard work for the promotion of classical music can reap rewards.