18 Facts About Imrat Khan

Imrat Khan was an Indian sitar and surbahar player and composer.

Imrat Khan was the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan.

Imrat Khan was born in Calcutta on 17 November 1935 into a family of musicians tracing its roots back for several generations, to the court musicians of the Mughal rulers.

Imrat Khan belonged to Etawah gharana known as Imdadkhani gharana of classical musicians.

Imrat Khan's father was Enayat Khan, recognised as a leading sitar and surbahar player of his time, as had been his grandfather, Imdad Khan, before him.

Imrat Khan's father died when Imrat was a child, so he was raised by his mother, Bashiran Begum and her father, singer Bande Hassan Khan.

In 1952, Vilayat and Imrat moved in together in Calcutta.

From 1961 onwards, Imrat Khan performed and recorded solo, playing both sitar and surbahar.

For decades, Imrat Khan recorded extensively on both his instruments.

Imrat Khan performed in Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China and Southeast Asia.

Imrat Khan performed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970.

Imrat Khan spent a portion of each year teaching classical Indian music and instructing sitar students at Washington University in St Louis.

Imrat Khan's music has been featured in films made by noted filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and James Ivory.

Imrat Khan was the senior performer of the Imdadkhani gharana, the school of sitar and surbahar performance named after his grandfather Imdad Khan.

Imrat Khan died on 22 November 2018 at age 83 due to a stroke in St Louis, Missouri, United States where he had been residing for over two decades prior to his death.

Imrat Khan had been ill for some time before his death.

Imrat Khan had five sons, Nishat Khan, Irshad Khan, Wajahat Khan and Shafaatullah Khan, and Azmat Ali Khan, who were all trained by him, and are all talented musicians themselves.

In 1988, Imrat Khan received a Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from the President of India.