Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Full Biography & Life History
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was a Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala Gharana. They are computed in India’s greatest singers and musicians. His family was a family of musicians. Famous ghazal singer Ghulam Ali was his disciple.
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was born in Kasur, a small town near Lahore, Pakistan then Punjab province in British India. After partition of India in 1947, Kasur became a part of Pakistan. His father Ali Baksh Khan was a singer in a West Punjabi family of musical heritage. He belonged to the Kasur Patiala Gharana of Punjab.
At the age of five, Bade Ghulam started learning vocal music from his paternal uncle Kale Khan, and later from his father Ali Baksh Khan. He had three younger brothers namely Barkat Ali Khan, Mubarak Ali Khan and Amanat Ali Khan.
Singing career
Though he started his career by singing a few compositions of his late father Ali Baksh Khan and uncle Kale Khan, Bade Ghulam amalgamated the best of three traditions into his own Patiala-Kasur style:
After the partition of India in 1947, Bade Ghulam went to his hometown Kasur in Pakistan, but returned to India later to reside permanently there in 1957. With the help of Bombay Chief Minister Morarji Desai he acquired Indian citizenship and moved to a bungalow at Malabar Hill in Mumbai. He lived at various times in Lahore, Bombay, Calcutta, and Hyderabad.
For a long time, he stayed away from singing in films despite requests and persuasions from well-known producers and music directors. However he was coaxed and convinced by film producer K Asif to sing two songs based on ragas Sohni and Rageshree for the 1960 film Mughal-e-Azam with the music directed by Naushad. He demanded and received an extremely high price, reportedly to the tune of Rupees 10,000 per song, when the rate for popular and star playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi was below Rupees 500 per song at that time.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award and in 1962 the Padma Bhushan Award.
Khan died in Hyderabad at Basheerbagh Palace in 1968, after a prolonged illness which left him partially paralysed in his last years. He continued to sing and perform in public with the support of his son Munawar Ali Khan (1930–1989) until his death.
The legacy:
Khan was married to Ali Jiwai, who died in 1932. His son Munawar was a classical singer. His grandson, Raza Ali Khan, is also a classical singer.
Many years after the death of his first wife Allah Jiwai, he married an issueless widow, Allah Rakhi, who survived him and died on 11 August 1996.
Personal Information
- Name : Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
- Date of Birth: 2 April, 1902
- Place of Birth: Kasur, Punjab, British India (Now Pakistan)
- Date of Death: 25 April, 1968
- Place of Death: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Profession: Classical singer
- Spouse: Ali Jiwai
- Son: Munawar Ali Khan
- Father: Ustad Ali Baksh Khan
- Siblings: Mubarak Ali Khan, Barkat Ali Khan and Amaan Ali Khan
- Awards: Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
