Amar Nath

Pandit Amarnath is one the greatest icons of Hindustani Classical Music. He was a composer, musicologist, teacher and author. He was born on 22 March 1924 in Jhang, West Punjab (now in Pakistan). He sought music from his Guru, B. N. Dutta, in Lahore. After the Partition of India, he moved to Delhi with him. Over the years, he developed and demonstrated a music style called Indore Gharana and Khayal Bandish in poetry. Ustad Amir Khan Ustad Amir Khan was a well-known Indian classical >> Read More... founded the Indore Gharana, and Amarnath was a devoted follower of him. He published over 300 original raga compositions under the pen name Miturang. 

In 1942, Amarnath made his debut with the film Nishani, and the audience loved its songs. On 8 August, he released a song, Pagdi sambhal jatta, for the film Gowandhi. His most loved work was in the movie Daasi (1944). Panditji also lent his voice to Punjabi films Koel (1944) and Gul Baloch (1945). In 1945, he made a solo debut with Ragini with the song Uth soye hue husn tujhe ishq jagaye. In 1946, he lent his voice to Jhumke, whose songs Beqaar jiye koi, bemaut mare koi, and Jhoom rahe became sensations. Amarnath’s classical works are in the movie Garam Coat. One of its legendary songs is Jogiya se preet keye duhh hoye. In the 1980s, a Punjabi serial, Choli Daman, featured his voice.

Amarnath was also a composer for All India Radio (AIR) for eight years. He was a director at Triveni Kala Sangam, a cultural centre in New Delhi. He was the first Indian to sing at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. In 2004, Bindu Chawla (his daughter) published a book, Conversations with Pandit Amarnath. In 2008 Pandit Amarnath Memorial Foundation published a book -  Indore ke Masiha/Prophets of Indore, mémoires of my guru, Ustad Amir Khan Saheb.  Amarnath left this world on 9 March 1996.