Born - 1902
Died - 1968
Achievements - Belonging from the illustrious Patiala Gharana,
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was considered the king of Hindustani
classical music genre. Infact, the people were so much in love with his
voice that many called him the Tansen of the 20th century.
Belonging from the illustrious Patiala Gharana, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan was a great vocalist of the Hindustani classical music tradition
during the 20th century India. Having a very tumultuous life full of
good and bad experiences, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan put all his
physical, mental and spiritual powers into the learning of music. By the
year 1944 while he was still young, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan came to be
considered as the king of Hindustani classical music genre.
Read on this biography to know more about Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. People
were so much in love with his voice that many called him the Tansen of
the 20th century. There's hardly a doubt that he is the most adept of
all singers of his time. At different points of time, he lived at
different places like Lahore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Even in the
present times, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan remains the motivation behind en
entire generation of top-ranking vocalists in India and Pakistan.
When India was divided in the year 1947, Khan went back to his homeland
in Pakistan. But he returned after sometime to live in India again and
even acquired an Indian citizenship in the year 1957. Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan always turned down the offer to sing for films throughout the
course of his life history. But at the end, he finally agreed to lend
his voice to two songs in the 1960 movie Mughal-e-Azam. In this film
made by director Naushad, his voice was made to represent that of
Tansen's.
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan died at Hyderabad in the year 1968 after a
prolonged illness, which had left him partially paralyzed during his
concluding years. But still he continued to sing in public performances
with the help of his son, Munawar Ali Khan. In the present times, the
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Yaadgar Sabha set up by his disciple Malti Gilani
is playing pivotal role in keeping the memory of the Ustad alive.
