Sakar Khan

Sakar Khan
Born August 9, 1938 (age 76)
Hamira, Rajasthan, India
Died 10 August 2013
Hamira, Rajasthan, India
Resting place
 Hamira
27°00′N 71°04′E / 27.000°N 71.067°E
Occupation Classical musician
Spouse(s) Bubba Devi
Children Ghewar Khan
Firoze Khan
Darra Khan
Parent(s) Chunar Khan
Awards Padma Shri
Tulsi Samman
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Website
Official web site

Sakar Khan, (aka Sakar Khan Manganiar) (1938-2013) was an Indian musician, considered by many as the greatest exponent of the Kamancha (or Kamaicha), a Rajasthani version of the Persian musical instrument of the same name, popular among the Manganiar community of the Indian desert state. [1][2][3][4] The Government of India honored Khan in 2012, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.

Biography

He was a folk artiste who reached world stage purely by way of his merit. He did not even know what publicity meant. But give him his kamyancha and the man was a rockstar, though an unknown one, says Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Grammy award winner

1969 Painting from Hasht-Behesht palace, Isfahan, Iran showing a Kamancha player

Sakar Khan was born on 9 August 1938 at Hamira, a small village in the Jaisalmer district of the Indian state of Rajasthan,[4] in the Manganiar community, known for their traditional music.[1] His father, Chunar Singh, was a renowned kamancha musician[2] and the young Sakar started learning kamancha from an early age under the tutelage of his father[5] to earn a name for himself later.[1]

Khan has performed in many parts of the world, notably in Brussels, at a concert at the Cirque Royal Auditorium, organized by the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, titled, From the Sitar to the Guitar where he played alongside such musicians as Yehudi Menuhin and Pandit Ravi Shankar.[6][5] His concerts have taken place in countries such as US, France, Japan and USSR[2][5] and has performed with George Harrison, the Beatle, and Sultan Khan in London.[4]

Sakar Khan, who is credited with getting the Rajasthani kamancha noticed at the world stage,[6][4] is reported to have made innovations to the instrument, originally a Rabab look alike[5] stringed instrument composed of a goat skin covered body and three or four main and fourteen sympathetic strings[5][2] by adding to the number of sympathetic strings to enhance the emotional appeal of the instrument.[3] His renditions of Bhairavi raga and Kalyani raga have been stored in the ethnomusicology archives of Smithsonian Folkways, the record label of the Smithsonian Institution.[5] His last performance, The Manganiyar Seduction,[7] was at the Purana Qila in Delhi[5] where the organisers, Amarass Records, made analogue recording of the concert[6] and released the same as At Home: Sakar Khan in September 2012.[5][2] That remains the only album released by Sakar Khan.[6]

Sakar Khan died on 10 August 2013[1] due to respiratory illnesses[5] and is survived by his wife, Bubba Devi, their four sons and two daughters.[6] Three of his sons, Ghewar Khan, Feroze Khan and Darra Khan[8] are known kamancha musicians and accompany their father on concerts.[4][1][2][5]

Awards and recognitions

The Government of Madhya Pradesh awarded Sakar Khan the Tulsi Samman in 1990.[5][1][2][4] The next year, in 1991, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award[5][1][2][4] from the Government of India who, eleven years later, followed it up with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri, in 2012.[5][2][6][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Amarass". Amarass. 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Amazon". Amazon. 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nicolas Magriel (2013). "Growing into Music". Growing into Music. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Mumbai Mirror". Mumbai Mirror. August 11, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 "The Hindu". The Hindu. August 12, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Indian Express". Indian Express. August 11, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ Aakar Patel (February 1, 2013). "Manganiar Seduction". Live Mint. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Darra Khan". Wishberry. 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

Further reading

External links