Amjad Ali Khan

Amjad Ali Khan

Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical sarod player and composer from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, born in 1945. He is the sixth generation of a family closely associated with the sarod, and his lineage is rooted in the Senia Bangash school of music. His father, Hafiz Ali Khan, teaches him and performs for the royal family of Gwalior.

Style and instrument

Khan develops a distinctive approach to sarod performance. His playing emphasises vocal-based compositions, intricate high-speed passages known as ekhara taans, and a clear, elegant style. He is known for technical control and for simplifying the instrument by reducing the number of strings used, removing the resonant gourd found in some other sarod traditions, and working with a lower base frequency than other schools.

His playing also reflects the older dhrupad tradition and makes use of the conventional dara diri technique with a coconut-shell plectrum. His instrument is made by Hemen Sen of Kolkata, who also makes sarods for other musicians including Ali Akbar Khan.

Family and musical background

Khan traces his family’s musical history to ancestors who come from Afghanistan and bring the rabab to India, where it develops into the sarod. He describes the sarod as his family instrument, and says that players today learn directly or indirectly from his forefathers. He is presented as the sixth-generation inheritor of this musical lineage.

Career and recognition

He has a career spanning more than 40 years and remains active as one of India’s busiest classical musicians. In 2001, he receives the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.