Sultan Khan (English: Sultan Khan, born- 15 April, 1940, Jaipur; died- 27 November, 2011, Mumbai) was a famous Sarangi player and classical singer of India. He belonged to ‘Indore Gharana’. He is credited with reviving Sarangi in the country. Ustad Sultan Khan, a master of Sarangi and the one who gave his voice to heart touching songs like ‘Piya Basanti Re’ and ‘Albela Sajan Ayo Re’, has a special respectable status in the Hindi music world. He was honored with ‘Padma Bhushan’, India’s third highest civilian award, in the year 2012.
Sultan Khan was born on April 15, 1940 in Sikar, Jaipur (Rajasthan). His father’s name was Gulab Khan. Sultan Khan had acquired the initial knowledge of playing Sarangi from his father. He started performing on stage when he was just eleven years old. After taking initial music lessons from his father, Sultan Khan honed his art under the tutelage of classical singer Ustad Aamir Khan of ‘Indore Gharana’. Ustad Sultan Khan is survived by his second wife Bano Khan, son Sabir Khan and two daughters Reshma and Shera. Son Sabir Khan is also a famous Sarangi player. Sultan Khan’s brother Niaz Ahmed Khan is a sitar player.
Ustad Sultan Khan worked with many big names in the field of Indian music. He also influenced Sur Kokila Lata Mangeshkar, Tabla players Alla Rakha Khan and Zakir Hussain, flute player Hariprasad Chaurasia and Santoor player Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma with his art. Ustad Sultan Khan was a member of the fusion music group Tabla Beat Science in India. Apart from him, India’s famous tabla players Ustad Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell were also members of Tabla Beat Science. Along with this, he also participated in international concerts with Pandit Ravi Shankar and the famous band ‘The Beatles’.
Sultan Khan also played Sarangi for the album of world famous pop queen Madonna. Sultan Khan’s Sarangi was also heard in famous filmmaker and Oscar winner Richard Attenborough’s film ‘Gandhi’. Singer Chitra’s ‘Piya’ Ustad Sultan Khan was awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’ as well as ‘Sangeet Natak Akademi Award’ twice and Maharashtra’s ‘Gold Medal Award’. In the year 1998, he was also honored with the ‘American Academy of Artists Award’. Ustad Sultan Khan, who made his special mark in the field of classical music and gave special fame to Sarangi, died on 27 November 2011 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
