Salamat Ali Khan
Ustad Salamat Ali Khan was a Pakistani vocalist and touring artist known for his contribution to the Hindustani classical music.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest classical singers of the Indian subcontinent, he was active in the music industry, particularly in classical music after the partition of the Indian subcontinent; however, he earned his recognition before he migrated to Pakistan. In 1969, he appeared in Edinburgh Festival, earning him international recognition. He visited several countries, including India after partition, where he participated in music concerts and the All India Music Conference in Calcutta. During unstable India–Pakistan relations, he visited India along with his brother Nazakat Ali Khan around 1953, where his music concert was also attended by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India.
Biography
Born in Hoshiarpur, British India in Sham Chaurasi gharana, he belonged to a family of musicians and was influenced by khyal, a style of Hindustani classical music. After he appeared in music concerts, Sham Chaurasia gharana earned recognition in the Indian subcontinent.He married Razia Begum, with whom he had eight children, four daughters and four sons. He trained two of his two sons, Sharafat Ali Khan and Shafqat Ali Khan, in classical music, leading the Sham Chaurasi gharana to retain its position in traditional music.
He, along with his brother was introduced to singing at the age of twelve by his father, Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan, later studying further with Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. After learning music, he went to Calcutta where he appeared in a music conference. His family later migrated to Lahore in 1947 following the partition of India.
Prior to migrating to Multan, he appeared in Harballabh Sangeet Sammelan in 1941. In 1955, he returned from Multan and went to his then hometown, Lahore. He was assigned music conferences by the All India Radio and worked for the station for over ten years. He later quit the job following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and subsequently went to Pakistan. As a solo singer, he participated in several music concerts in England, America, Holland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Afghanistan, Nepal and Singapore, as well as Pakistan. In 1973, he and his brother, Nazakat parted their duo over uncertain personal issues, however Salamat later continued playing his role as a solo singer.