Aashish Khan Debsharma (born 5 December 1939) is an

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

ian, a player of the

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the swe ...

. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode". He is also a recipient of the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recognit ...

. Besides being a performer, composer, and conductor, he is also an adjunct professor of

at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

, and the

University of California at Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located on Monterey Bay, on the edge of ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Family and life

Ustad Alauddin Khan tradition

Aashish Khan was born in 1939 at

Maihar Maihar is a tehsil in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India. Maihar is known for the temple of the revered mother goddess Sharda situated on Trikuta hill. Origin of the name It is said that when lord Shiva was carrying the body of the dead mother g ...

, a small state of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, where his grandfather

Alauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation ...

, founder of the "Senia

Maihar Gharana The Maihar Gharana or Maihar-Senia Gharana is a gharana or school of Hindustani classical music, a style of Indian classical music originating in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The school was formed by Allaudin Khan in the princ ...

" or "Senia Maihar School" of Indian classical music, was a royal court musician. His mother the late Zubeida Begum was

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

's first wife. He was initiated into

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

at the age of five by his grandfather. His training later continued under the guidance of his father

, and his aunt, Annapurna Devi. The "Senia Maihar Gharana" follows the traditional "Beenkar" and "Rababiya" pattern of the "Dhrupad" style. He has two children Faraz and Nusrat Khan from a previous marriage.

Career

Aashish Khan grew up in

and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

performing

. He gave his debut public performance at the age of 13, with his grandfather, on the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

"National Program", New Delhi, and in the same year, performed with his father and his grandfather at the "Tansen Music Conference",

. Since then he has performed at major venues of classical music and world music both in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

and abroad. Aashish Khan is also a founder of the Indo-American musical group

Shanti Shanti may refer to: In Sanskrit * Inner peace, a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress * Kshanti, one of the paramitas of Buddhism * Sh ...

with

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

player

Ustad Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian, , Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi ...

Zakir Hussain in 1969, and later, of the fusion group, "The Third Eye". In "Shanti", Aashish Khan is featured playing the acoustic Sarode sometimes through a fender guitar amplifier with vibrato effect. Under

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

, he has worked as a background artist on musical products for both film and stage, including

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

Winner

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs o ...

's ''

Apur Sansar ''Apur Sansar'' ( bn, অপুর সংসার), also known as ''The World of Apu'', is a 1959 Indian Bengali-language drama film produced, written and directed by Satyajit Ray. It is based on the second half of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's ...

'', '' Parash Pathar'', ''

Jalsaghar ''Jalsaghar'' ( bn, জলসাঘর ''Jalsāghar'', "The Music Room") is a 1958 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray, based on a popular short story by Bengali writer Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay, and starring Chhabi Bi ...

'', and

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...

's film ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

''. He has also worked as a background artist with

Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's film ''

The Man Who Would be King "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888) is a story by Rudyard Kipling about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan. The story was first published in ''The Phantom Rickshaw and other Eer ...

'',

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...

's ''

A Passage to India ''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English liter ...

'', and composed the music for

Tapan Sinha Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked bot ...

's films, ''Joturgriha'' (for which he received Best Film Score Award) and ''Aadmi Aurat''. During 1989–1990, Aashish Khan served as the Composer and Conductor for the National Orchestra of

, New Delhi, India.

Collaborations

Aashish Khan has collaborated with such diverse western musicians as John Barham, George Harrison,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

, Eric Clapton, Charles Lloyd,

John Handy John Richard Handy III (born February 3, 1933) is an American jazz musician most commonly associated with the alto saxophone. He also sings and plays the tenor and baritone saxophone, saxello, clarinet, and oboe. Biography Handy was born in Da ...

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few h ...

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartf ...

Dallas Smith Dallas Hendry Smith (born December 4, 1977) is a Canadian singer and songwriter, who performs both as a solo country music artist and as lead singer for the hard rock band Default. He is currently signed to Big Loud Records. Smith is the curr ...

, Don Pope,

Jorge Strunz Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius' ...

Ardeshir Farah Ardeshir Farah ( fa, اردشیر فرح) is an Iranian musician and guitarist. Early life He was born in Tehran. Farah is half of the guitar duo Strunz & Farah. Career Farah's work in Strunz & Farah earned him a Grammy Award in 1991. His work ...

, and the Philadelphia String Quartet. Ustad Aashish Khan has co-lead "Shringar" with Andrew McLean featuring notable

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Jason Marsalis Jason Marsalis (born March 4, 1977) is an American jazz drummer, vibraphone player, composer, producer, band leader, and member of the Marsalis family of musicians. He is the youngest son of Dolores Ferdinand Marsalis and the late Ellis Marsali ...

. Shringar is the first foray of any classical Indian musician into the

music culture of New Orleans The music of New Orleans assumes various styles of music which have often borrowed from earlier traditions. New Orleans, Louisiana, is especially known for its strong association with jazz music, universally considered to be the birthplace of ...

, widely considered the Mecca of Jazz. His recordings include '' Wonderwall Music'', ''Young Master of the Sarode'', ''California Concert'', ''Sarode and Piano Jugalbandi'', ''Shanti'', ''Live at the Royal Festival Hall London'', ''Homage, Inner Voyage'', ''Monsoon Ragas'', ''The Sound of Mughal Court'', and the latest, ''Jugalbandi Sarode &

Sarangi The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It ...

Duet'', with

Ustad Sultan Khan Ustad Sultan Khan (15 April 1940 – 27 November 2011) was an Indian ''sarangi'' player and classical vocalist belonging to ''Sikar Gharana''. He was one of the founding members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hus ...

Teaching

Aashish Khan is a music teacher, currently serving as adjunct professor of Indian Classical Music at the

, Los Angeles, US, and as an adjunct professor of Music at the

, United States. He has formerly taught at the faculties of the

Ali Akbar College of Music The Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM) is the name of three schools founded by Indian musician Ali Akbar Khan to teach Indian classical music. The first was founded in 1956 in Calcutta, India. The second was founded in 1967 in Berkeley, Californi ...

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

in Canada and the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. While pursuing a busy career as a concert artist and composer, he teaches students throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Africa, as well as India. Many of his students have established themselves as stage performers in India and abroad. He presently divides his time principally between

, and California, where most of his students and disciples are located.

Recognition

He has been awarded the Fellowship of the

Illinois Arts Council The Illinois Arts Council is a government agency of the state of Illinois formed to encourage development of the arts throughout Illinois. Founded in 1965 by the Illinois General Assembly, the Illinois Arts Council provides financial and technica ...

, US, in 2002, and India's highest award for performing arts, i.e., the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and ...

award in 2005. In 2006, he was nominated for a

in the 'Best World Music' category. On 24 May 2007 Ustad Aashish Khan became the first ever Indian classical musician to become a Fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

, the UK's highest society in Asian arts and culture.

Religious conversion

Aashish Khan is Hindu. In September 2006, he announced at a press conference in

that since his forefathers were Hindu

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...

s of the

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = Eas ...

, and held the surname "Debsharma", he wished to use his forefathers' surname to help people understand the root of his musical lineage. He also stated that his family were never officially converted into Islam and the surname "Khan" did not necessarily imply he was a Muslim. He based this assertion on the fact that his grandfather the late Ustad

Allauddin Khan Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation m ...

wrote in his biography (''Aamar Katha, (

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

), published by Ananda Publishers,

'') that his forefathers were indeed Hindus with the surname "Debsharma". He also said that his name (Aashish) and his brothers' names (Dhyanesh, Pranesh, Amaresh) were all given by their grandfather Allauddin; and these are essentially Hindi names. However, his father

rejected Aashish's claims as fallacies. Ali Akbar Khan told the

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

newspaper in an e-mail: "I do not support his (Aashish's) choice. Unfortunately, many statements made by my son in the newspaper regarding the history of my family are incorrect." He stated that their family has been Muslim for many generations, and will remain Muslims.

Discography

*Aashish Khan: ''Inner Voyage''; Raga

Bhimpalasi Bhimpalasi or Bheempalasi (also known as Bhimpalas or Bheempalas) is a Hindustani classical raga. Raga Bhimpalasi belongs to the Kafi Thaat. Theory * Aarohana: * Avaroha: The raag has komal Ni and Ga. It is an Audava-Sampoorna jati raga, imp ...

(Pilgrimage), Raga Jog (Two Dimensions), Raga Mishra

Kafi Kafi ( pa, ਕਾਫ਼ੀ (Gurmukhi), (Shahmukhi), Hindi: काफ़ी, Urdu: کافی, Sindhi:ڪافي) is a classical form of Sufi music mostly in the Siraiki, Punjabi and Sindhi languages and originating from the Punjab, and Sindh r ...

(Inner Voyage), Raga Mishra Gara (Remembering You), Raga Mishra

Abhogi Abhogi () is a raga in Carnatic music and has been adapted to Hindustani music. It is a pentatonic scale, an ''audava'' raga. It is a derived scale ('' janya'' raga), as it does not have all the seven '' swaras'' (musical notes). ''Ābhōgi'' h ...

(Love Within), Raga Mishra

(Under The Stars); Keyboards and Producer: Alan Scott Bachman; and Percussion: George Grant. (DDD) *Aashish Khan: Raga

Desh Malhar Desh may refer to: Arts * Desh (raga), an Indian classical music scale (raga in both Hindustani music and Carnatic music) Media * ''Desh'' (magazine), a Bengali magazine * Desh TV, a Bangladeshi TV channel * ''Desh'' (film), a 2002 Bengali fi ...

, Raga Mishra Sivaranjani, Raga Mishra Khamaj. Accompanists: Pranesh Khan in Tabla and Amie Maciszewski in Tanpura. Bihaan Music, Calcutta, India. (DDD) *Aashish Khan: ''Peace & Joy: Music For Relaxation''; Raga

Darbari Kanada Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-c ...

, Raga Kaushi. Accompanist: Swapan Chaudhuri in Tabla. Ninaad Records, India (NC 0035). (DDD) *Aashish Khan & Sultan Khan: ''Jugalbandi – Sarode & Sarangi Duet''; Live in Stuttgart 1995; Raga

Shri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

, Raga

Maru Behag Maru may refer to: People * Maru (given name), a Spanish given name, a shortened form of Maria Eugenia * Maru (surname), a surname of Indic origin * Maru (mythology), a Māori war god * Ngāti Maru (disambiguation), several Māori tribes of New ...

, Raga Maand; Tabla: Zakir Hussain, Tanpura: Shefali Nag & Madhuri Chattopadhyay. Chhanda Dhara, Germany (SNCD 70197).(DDD) *Aashish Khan: ''Rainy Season Ragas''; Raga

– Alap, Jod, Jhala, Raga

Mian Ki Malhar Mian may refer to: People and languages * Mian (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Mian (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Mian family of Baghbanpura, a noble Arain family of Lahore, Pakistan * M ...

– Gat in Tintal, Ragamalika – Gat in Tintal; Tabla: Zakir Hussain, Tanpura: Karuna Eff & Daniela Birschel. Chhanda Dhara, Germany (SNCD 70394).(DDD) *Aashish Khan & Indranil Bhattacharya: ''Homage to Our Guru – Jugalbandi''; Raga

Darbari Kanara Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th- ...

– Alap & Jod, Raga Kirwani – Gats in Teental, Raga Khamaj in Thumri Style – Taal in Chanchar; Tabla: Anindo Chatterjee. Chhanda Dhara, Germany (SNCD 70994) & Navras Records, UK. (DDD) *Aashish Khan: ''Golden Strings of the Sarode''; Raga Bhimpalashi, Raga

Bhairavi Bhairavi ( sa, भैरवी) is a Hindu goddess, described as one of the Mahāvidyas, the ten avatars of the mother goddess. She is the consort of Bhairava. Etymology The name ''Bhairavi'' means "terror" or "awe-inspiring". She is th ...

, Raga Lalitagouri; Tabla: Zakir Hussain. Moment Records, USA (MRCD 1022) & Music Today, India. (DDD) With George Harrison: *'' Wonderwall Music'' (1968) *''Young Master of the Sarod'' (1967); Raga

Lalit (raga) Lalit is a prominent raga in Hindustani classical music. It is commonly described as serene and devotional and is performed at dawn time of the day. The swara (notes of the Indian musical scale) of Lalit put emphasis on the minor second (Re) a ...

, Raga

Yaman (raga) Yaman (also known as kalyaan, Iman, Aiman,'Eman', 'Kalyani' in Carnatic classical music) is a heptatonic ( Sampurna) Indian classical raga of Kalyan Thaat. Its signature phrase (Pakad) is ni-Re-Ga-/Re-Ga/ni-Re-Sa/Pa-Ma#-Ga-Re/ni-Re-Sa' (Ma ...

References

External links

Biography
at

Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is the record label operated by Sony in Chennai, India. The company began operation in 1997, and it was the first record company in India to be 100% foreign-owned, with Sony being a Japanese corporatio ...

Biography
at Simlahouse
UCSC FacultyThe Times of IndiaIndia DailyChennai OnlineInterview on The World Music Foundation Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Aashish 1939 births Indian Hindus Converts to Hinduism from Islam Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Hindustani instrumentalists Indian film score composers Indian former Muslims Living people Sarod players People from Satna Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian composers Converts to Hinduism Indian male film score composers 20th-century male musicians Indian classical musicians of Bengal