DyanLeMessurier: fix content and corrected details for accuracy

2025-08-12T16:30:42Z

fix content and corrected details for accuracy

>SdkbBot: General fixes, removed erroneous space

2021-06-27T00:25:07Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian Hindustani classical vocalist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Abdul Karim Khan
| image = Abdul Karim Khan.jpg
| caption =
| image_size =
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_place =
| birth_date = 11 November 1872
| death_place =
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1937|10|27|1872|11|11}}
| origin = [[Kairana]], Uttar Pradesh
| genre = [[Indian classical music]]
| occupation = Singer of [[hindustani classical music]]
| years_active = 1893–1937
| label =
| website =
| module = {{Listen |embed= yes |filename= Ustad Abdul Karim Khan - Raag Jhinjhoti.ogg |title= Abdul Karim Khan's singing a bandish in Raag Jhinjhoti |type= singing |description= Bandish in Raag Jhinjhoti – "Piya bin nahi aawat chain, kaa se kahoon jee ke bain" }}
}}
'''[[Ustad]] Abdul Karim Khan''' ([[Devanagari]]: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, [[Persian language|Persian]]: {{nq|اُستاد عبدُالکریم خان}}) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)<ref name=ITC>{{cite web|url=http://www.itcsra.org/tribute.asp?tribute=1 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220175609/http://www.itcsra.org/tribute.asp?tribute=1 |title=Tribute to a Maestro – Abdul Karim Khan| date=4 May 2007|archivedate=20 December 2008|accessdate=29 April 2019}} ''[[ITC Sangeet Research Academy]]'' website. Retrieved 29 April 2019</ref><ref name=veethi>[http://www.veethi.com/india-people/abdul_karim_khan-profile-3249-24.htm Profile of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan on veethi.com website] Updated 19 February 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2019</ref> was an [[Hindustani classical music|Indian classical]] singer and, along with his cousin [[Abdul Wahid Khan]], the founder of the [[Kirana gharana]].

==Early life and background==
Abdul Karim Khan was born on 11 November 1872 in [[Kairana]] town in Saharanpur, [[Uttar Pradesh]] into a family with music tradition which traced its roots to musician brothers Ghulam Ali and Ghulam Maula. His father, Kale Khan, was the grandson of Ghulam Ali. Abdul Karim Khan received training from his uncle Abdullah Khan and father Kale Khan. He also received guidance from another uncle, Nanhe Khan. Abdul Karim Khan was musically influenced by Ustad Rahmat Khan of [[Gwalior gharana]]. Apart from vocals and [[sarangi]], he also learned the [[Rudra veena|veena (been)]], [[sitar]] and [[tabla]].<ref name=calarts/><ref name=ITC/>

According to a story, he was initially a [[sarangi]] player, but decided to switch to vocals because of low status of sarangi players. In his early years, he used to sing with his brother Abdul Haq. They appeared before Murtaza Khan of the "Maula Bakhsh Khandan" to appear before the Maharaja (king) and were influenced by Murtaza's style. The king of [[Baroda State]] was impressed by this singing duo and made them the court musicians.

This is where he met Tarabai Mane, who was the daughter of Sardar Maruti Rao Mane, a member of the royal family. When they decided to get married, they were ousted from Baroda. The couple settled in [[Bombay]]. In 1922, Tarabai Mane left Abdul Karim Khan, which apparently had a major impact on his music – making it [[pensive]] and [[meditative]].

Karim Khan's first wife, Gafooran, was the sister of another Kirana master [[Abdul Wahid Khan]], who was also his cousin.<ref name=veethi/>

==Career==
[[File:UstadKarimKhan1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Abdul Karim and [[Apprenticeship|disciple]] [[Sawai Gandharva]]]]

"One of the most melodious classical musicians we have had, Abdul Karim Khan's music always created a sublime atmosphere. The soothing quality of his specially cultivated voice, and his repose style of singing were such that the singer as well as his listeners forgot themselves in a sort of 'trance'."<ref name=calarts/>

Abdul Karim Khan was invited to the [[Mysore]] court where he met famous [[Carnatic music]] masters who also influenced his music. In particular the singing of his [[sargam (music)|sargam]] was a direct influence of Carnatic practice. He became a frequent visitor to [[Mysore Palace]] which conferred on him the title ''Sangeet Ratna''. On the way to Mysore he used to stay with his brother in Dharwad where he taught his most famous disciple [[Sawai Gandharva]]. In 1900, for eight months he taught [[Kesarbai Kerkar]], who would go on to be one of the 20th century's most renowned vocalists. In 1913, he founded the Arya Sangeet Vidyalaya in [[Poona]] to teach music students.<ref name=calarts>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080513060851/http://music.calarts.edu/~bansuri/pages/abdulkarim.html Profile of Abdul Karim Khan on calarts.edu website], Archived 13 May 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2019</ref> He finally settled down in [[Miraj]] till his death in 1937 when returning from a concert tour of the South. Every year in August commemorative music concerts are held in Miraj in his honour.

==His style==
The innovations he brought to his vocal style distinguishes Kirana style from others. The slow melodic development of the raga in [[Vilambit]] laya (slow tempo) was the most characteristic aspect of his music. He worked hard to maintain his voice to be sweet and melodious which shaped his music. The [[thumri]] style he developed is also quite different from the 'Poorab ang' or 'Punjabi ang'. His thumri progresses in a leisurely slow pace with ample abandonment. He was also the first Hindustani musician to seriously study the Carnatic system and probably the first to be invited to sing all over the South.<ref name=weebly>[http://maestroesclassicalsingers.weebly.com/ustad-abdul-karim-khan.html Profile of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan on weebly.com website]. Retrieved 25 April 2017</ref> He has even recorded a [[Thyagaraja]] [[Krithi]]. He was also influenced by Rehmat Khan of the [[Gwalior gharana]] and adopted the direct style of presentation.
<ref>R.C. Mehta [http://omenad.net/articles/rcmeminent.htm ''Eminent Musicians of YesterYears''. Baroda, 2007. p. 3]</ref><ref name=ITC/> "The ustad was an expert on many musical instruments, especially the [[veena]] and the [[sarangi]]. An expert in repairing musical instruments, he carried with him his set of tools for repairs everywhere..."<ref name=calarts/>

He was also known for having mysteriously taught a dog to sing while he stayed in [[Mumbai]]. Even today there are people who had heard the dog sing at Amroli House, Mumbai.<ref name="scroll.in">[https://scroll.in/magazine/854819/the-immeasurable-impact-of-abdul-karim-khan-on-kirana-gharana The immeasurable impact of Abdul Karim Khan to the Kirana gharana - The Scroll]. Retrieved 28 February 2021</ref>

"Although frail-looking, Khan Saheb maintained excellent health through regular exercises, disciplined habits, and frugal living. His photographs show him as a tall, slim person dressed immaculately in a black 'achkan', a cane in hand, a typical moustache and a red gold-bordered turban, and most striking of all, his dreamy eyes."<ref name=calarts/>

==Disciples==
Abdul Karim's disciples include Ganapat Rao Gurav, [[Roshan Ara Begum]], [[Sureshbabu Mane]], [[Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav]] and [[Sawai Gandharva]]<ref>[https://thewire.in/38602/the-musical-legacy-of-abdul-karim-khan/ The Musical Legacy of Abdul Karim Khan] The Wire website, Published 27 May 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017</ref> was the [[Guru]] of [[Bhimsen Joshi]].

==Death==

He was on his way to Pondicherry when he experienced severe pain in the chest at Chingleput. On October 27, 1937, he died peacefully on the platform at Singaperumalkoil railway station. He spent the last few hours of his life remembering God, offering [[Namaz]] and reciting Kalma in the [[Darbari Kanada|Raga Darbari]].<ref name="scroll.in"/>

==Further reading==
* ''Great Masters of Hindustani Music'', by Susheela Misra, Hem Publishers, 1981. ''page 78''.
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080513060851/http://music.calarts.edu/~bansuri/pages/abdulkarim.html

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellpatke/Miscellany/abdul%20karim%20khan.htm 78 rpm recordings of Ustad's music]
*[http://sarangi.info/akk Abdul Karim Khan recordings available on www.sarangi.info]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Abdul Karim}}
[[Category:1872 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindustani singers]]
[[Category:People from Vadodara]]
[[Category:Thumri]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian male classical singers]]
[[Category:Indian music educators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian singers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian singers]]
[[Category:Singers from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Kirana gharana]]
[[Category:20th-century male singers]]
[[Category:19th-century male singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Khyal singers]]

Abdul Karim Khan - Revision history

DyanLeMessurier: fix content and corrected details for accuracy

>SdkbBot: General fixes, removed erroneous space