Ustad Vilayat Khan... Khamaj

It is known of Ustad Vilayat Khan, that he did not particularly care either about adopting new ragas crated by others, or about creating ragas of his own. He spent most of his life performing a select number of mature ragas, attempting to achieve progressively greater levels of depth in their exploration. But, being the creative genius that he was, he did occasionally give an idiosyncratic twist to some mature ragas. Most of these were flirtations which did not last beyond a performance or two.

In two cases, however, his individualistic interpretations went far enough beyond the recognizable boundaries of the mature ragas, and acquired a life of their own. Once this had happened, the Ustad devoted considerable musical energy to them over several years, and pushed them towards an independent raga-ness. One was his interpretation of Darbari Kanada, finally named Enayet Khani Kanada; and the other was his interpretation of Yaman Kalyan, which he named Sanjh Saravali. Of the two, Sanjh Saravali is the more significant because he developed its raga-ness with much greater persistence over a much longer period of time.

From available concert archives of the Ustad, it appears that the idea of Sanjh Saravali was born in the late 1970s. Since then, he has performed it frequently at concerts in India and abroad. The Ustad first recorded it for commercial release in the mid- 1980's (EMI: STCS 048 7764). The melodic character of the raga remained constant between then, and the late 1990s, when he recorded it for the last time, for India Archive Music, New York.
In 2002, I asked him to explain Sanjh Saravali (Sanjh= evening + Saravali=melody) to me. The Ustad described it as a beautiful "Cheez (a piece) which had composed itself." Because the word "Cheez" is used for describing compositions, and ragas are "created" rather than "composed", the remark appeared to refer to the composition, rather than to the raga. By this indication, and also by the evidence of the music itself, it appears that the composition "composed itself" first, and Vilayat Khan built the raga around it.
Sanjh Saravali is, essentially, a song (capital S) complete in itself, requiring no reference point or validation beyond its own direct appeal to the heart of the listener. If it does not qualify as a raga, the Ustad, in all probability, did not intend it to do so.

Reproduced from
Hindustani Music a tradition in transition
Author: Deepak S. Raja
Foreword: Pandit Shivkumar Sharma
Introduction: Lyle Wachovsky
DK Printworld (P) Ltd. New Delhi. 2005

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• Ustad
• Vilayat
• Khan
• Khamaj
• Sitar

[MirzaJee747]

mirza sahib . this is great uploading . thanks a lot . wonderful taste of your music collections . Bravoooooooooooooooooo

[MirzaJee747]

mirza sahib . this is great uploading . thanks a lot . wonderful taste of your music collections . Bravoooooooooooooooooooo

[daggi777]

Magical music - THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting it! Thanks also for your very interesting explanation!

[AapKiFarmaish]

Thanks for uploading this wonderful recording of the great Vilayat Khan; I have been longing to hear it for a long time; it is incredibly good; he was a geinus sitar player; he introduced the "gaykee" style in his playing; can anyone tell me when was this recorded and who is accompanying on the tabla - arooj

[JFeinberg08]

Actually, this is Manj Khammaj. Wonderful! Amazing to hear Ustadji play this.

[KhalidAsgharRadioPak]

*IMIRZA777*, a YouTube up loaded a performance in audio, of Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan. This is a wonderful up load of Classsical Instrumental Music. Thanks. Khalid Asghar, former Controller/Station Director, Radio Pakistan, Lahore & Music Analyst. (12-10-2009)

[shyras1]

Thank you Mirzaji for this superb upload!

Shyam

[chamogaa]

Joy all the way from A to Z. This could well become one of the most captivating short introductions to the magic of the sitar for any beginner. Thanks, Mirzaji.