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History
of Rafaqat Ali Khan!
Salamat Ali Khan
and Nazakat Ali Khan were the most
famous classical singers of Pakistan in
the post independence time. Renowned as
Ali brothers when they were singing
together and later Salamat as a solo
singer reached great heights. Rafaqat is
the youngest in a long line of Khayal
Gayaki musicians. We caught up with the
Ustad that wants to appeal to a whole
new generation with his 'classical-pop'
style.
Click here for Photo
Album
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 Ali brothers were
born in Sham Chaurasi in Hoshiarpur District
of Punjab. They received rigorous classical
training from their father Ustad Wilayat Ali
Khan, the doyen of Sham Chaurasi gharana,
and began giving concert at a very young
age. They even gave a radio concert from
Lahore in 1942. Impressed by their singing,
ruler of Champanagar state in Bihar made
them is court musicians. Soon they lost
their father and then the partition
happened. They decided to migrate to
Pakistan. In 1974 Nazakat Ali Khan, the
elder brother separated because of a family
feud and Salamat had to adopt to solo
singing. Nazakat nearly quit singing. Sham
Chaurasi gharana is a very old dhrupad
gharana going back nearly 500 years. Credit
for bringing khayal singing to this gharana
goes to Ali brothers. Deeply influenced by
dhrupad, the khayal style they evolved had
long alaap and great layakari. In that sense
their khayal is very different from other
long established khayal gharana-s.
Rafqat in the recipient of a number of
awards, in 1986 in Lahore he received the
Amir Khusro Award as the best young
classical singer. In 1987, He has appeared
on recordings from Nimbus(UK), EMI(India),
HMV(UK), WaterLily Acoustics(USA),
Westron(India), MegaSound(India), Keytune
Productiona(Holland), Plus Music(India)
(forthcoming), and Folk Heritage Pakistan).
Growing up with an illustrious family
Rafaqat seems in no way affected by the fame
and recognition that comes with this - you
don't get the airs and graces you'd expect
from someone who has been influenced by so
many great people. In fact Rafaqat actually
comes across as someone quite humble
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