| Manji Khan | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Badruddin Ghulam Ahmad Khan |
| Born | December 0, 1888 Uniara, North-Western Provinces, British India |
| Origin | Uniara, India |
| Died | December 0, 1937 (aged 49) Mumbai, Bombay Presidency, British India |
| Genres | Khayal, Bhajans, Thumris |
| Occupations | Hindustani classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1897–1937 |
Ustad Badruddin "Manji" Khan (1888–1937) was a Hindustani Classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana founded by his father, Utd. Alladiya Khan.
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Utd. Manji Khan was the second son of Utd. Alladiya Khan. Because of the health ailments of his other two brothers, elder Utd. Nasiruddin "Badeji" Khan and younger Utd. Shamsuddin "Bhurji" Khan, Utd. Manji Khan was treated and chosen by Utd. Alladiya Khan as the foremost inheritor and disciple of the Jaipur-Atrauli gayaki.
He was called "Manji" because he was his father's Manjhala (middle) son.[1]
Utd. Manji Khan was heavily influenced by Utd. Rahimat Khan, a popular vocalist at the time, of the Gwalior Gharana. The influence of Utd. Rahimat Khan's style in Utd. Bhurji Khan's singing earned him the wrath of his father, and thus gave up singing for a while. He resumed it later, under his father's conditions. but his career was cut short by his early death.
Utd. Manji Khan was noted for his serene face while singing, and earned popularity amongst younger listeners because of his choice to punctuate the more serious classical fare with exquisitely sung lighter pieces.
Manji Khan was something of a rebel, determined to widen the horizons of his gharana without compromising in the least on the fundamentals as exemplified by his great father. He lent it a refreshing quality of romanticism - as Abdul Karim Khan did to his Kirana gharana and Faiyaz Khan did to his Agra gharana. And thereby, he evolved a style which was marked not only by the discipline and purity of Alladiya Khan's music but also the subtlety and fecundity of his own imagination.—Mohan Nadkarni[2]
Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur became Utd. Manji Khan's disciple just before Khan's death. Later, Mansur learned under Bhurji Khan. Utd. Gulubhai Jasdanwalla also learned from Utd. Manji Khan for several years.
It was through the initiative of a friend that Utd. Manji Khan noticed Pt. Mansur. Already trained in the Gwalior style, Pt. Mansur was able to absorb the rich Jaipur-Atrauli style of Utd. Manji Khan. Pt. Mansur is Utd. Manji Khan's sole musical inheritor.[3]
Utd. Manji Khan died an untimely death in 1937.
Like his famous father, Utd. Manji Khan did not leave behind any recordings.