Biography of Ustad Amir Khan

Born: 15 August 1912, Indore
Died: 13 February 1974, Kolkata

Ustad Amir Khan was a staunch supporter of Hindustani musical tradition and therefore, did not give much importance to the music of the Gharanas.

Ustad Amir Khan was born in 1912 in Akola. His father Ustad Shahmeer Khan was a Sarangi player. Amir Khan started learning music from his father at the young age of ten. Later he came to Mumbai and began singing for radio. He also remained associated with the Darbar of Rajgarh. But being of independent nature he left the job. Then he spent most of his time in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. In 1967, he was given the Sangeet Natak Academy award, and in 1977 the Indian government awarded him the title of Padma Bhushan. He did notable work to popularise classical music in films. He used Khayaal and Tarane as means to express his feelings. He had done a lot of research on Tarane. He died on February 13, 1974, in a car accident at New Alipur in Kolkata. He had also worked as a visiting professor at the New Panaj School of Music in America.