Vilayat Hussain Khan

Vilayat Hussain Khan [born in 1895/96 in Mysore] was a singer from Agra Gharana. He was raised by his father, the Late Ustad Natthan Khan (the famous singer and musician of his time). The father died in 1901, and the whole family, including his children and wife, went to Mumbai and settled there. Vilayat Hussain Khan received his music training from Karamat Khan (who has now died). After getting trained by Karamat Khan, Vilayat Hussain Khan started receiving further training from his elder brother, Muhammad Baksh. He received training from his elder brother in Dhrupad Dhamar, the oldest form of Hindustani classical music. Besides these personalities, Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan also received his music training from Kallam Khan, Abdul Khan, and Ghulam Abbas Khan.

Besides being an exemplary singer, he was a teacher also. He used to teach songs and instruments to many students of his time. Such students were named Mogubai Kurdikar, Menaka Shirodkar (mother of Shobha Gurtu Shobha Gurtu was a renowned singer known for her p >> Read More... ), Ratnakant Ramnathkar, Yashpaul, Jagannathbuwa Purohit, Gajananrao Joshi, Ram Marathe, and Girija Kelekar. He was one of the proud personalities who used to be proud of what he grasped during his lifespan.

Vilayat Hussain Khan began his professional career while visiting the meetings and groups organized for music. He used to visit these organizations with Faiyaz Khan. From 1935 to 1940, he worked as a singer at Mysore Darbaar. Vilayat Hussain Khan also went to Kashmir, where the Ustad used to give teachings related to singing to the kings of those times. He returned to Mumbai, India, and received the "Sangeet Ratnagar Award" at Sangeet Parishad Varanasi. Ustad worked for Radio Akashwani as a "Music Consultant." Vilayat Hussain Khan had his last program at Akashwani on 12th May 1962. He had his last breath on 18th May 1962.