17 Facts About Rais Khan

Rais Khan moved from India to Pakistan in 1986, where he took up Pakistani citizenship.

In 2017, Khan was awarded Pakistan's third highest civilian honour, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award by the Government of Pakistan.

Rais Khan was born on 25 November 1939 in Indore, Indore State, British India, to an Urdu-speaking family.

Rais Khan's training began at a very young age, on a small coconut shell sitar.

Rais Khan had four sons: Sohail Khan, Cezanne Khan, Farhan Khan and Huzoor Hasnain Khan.

Rais Khan belonged to the Mewati gharana, which is connected to Indore gharana and the "beenkar baz gayaki ang" carried out by Rais Khan's father Mohammed Khan, a rudra veena player and a sitarist.

Rais Khan denies there is any friction between them, contrary to the rumours that exist even today.

Rais Khan praises Ravi Shankar, said to be a rival too, as a brilliant musician who has introduced the sitar to the world.

Amongst the khayal and dhrupad doyens, Rais Khan's gharana had the classical music lineage containing the masters Haddu Khan, Hassu Khan, Nathan Khan, Bande Ali Khan, Babu Khan, Wazir Khan, Waheed Khan, Murad Khan, Latif Khan, Majid Khan, Nazeer Khan, Amanat Khan and Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas.

Rais Khan gave his first public concert at Sunderbai Hall in the presence of the then Governor of Bombay Sir Maharaja Singh.

In 1955, Rais Khan was chosen to represent India in the International Youth Festival in Warsaw, where 111 countries took part in the string instrument conference.

Rais Khan was a vocalist and was the first sitar player to record the super-hit song "Ghungroo Toot Gaye" for BBC London in 1978 as an instrumental song with the sitar.

Rais and Bismillah Khan used to collaborate and perform together in live concerts as a duo, like the one at India Gate in New Delhi on 23 November 2001.

For sometime, Rais Khan stopped performing, but returned in the 1980s and was invited by Ali Akbar Khan to perform in California.

Rais Khan sometimes performed with his son Farhan, as he did in a 2009 performance for Pakistan Television produced TV show Virsa- Heritage Revived, accompanied by Tari Khan on tabla.

Rais Khan taught many disciples including his sons, Farhan and Suheil, his cousin, Siraj Rais Khan, and others.

Rais Khan is regarded as one of the most influential sitarists of the post-Independence era of the Indian subcontinent.