Kirit Khan (29 October 1955 – 2006 ) was a Bengali-Indian

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player.

Early life

Khan was born in Brahmanbaria in erstwhile

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

and later settled in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

, India. He is the second son of

Ustad Bahadur Khan Ustad Bahadur Khan (born Bahadur Hossain Khan; 19 January 1931 – 3 October 1989) was an Indian sarod player and film score composer. Early life and family Ustad Bahadur Khan, a Bengali, was born on 19 January 1931 in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, ...

, a

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 sweet ...

artiste. Musician

Ayet Ali Khan Ayet Ali Khan was a Bengali classical musician. Early life Khan was born in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, Bengal Presidency, British Raj in 1884. He trained under his brothers Fakir Aftabuddin Khan and Ustad Alauddin Khan. He trained in Rampur under Ust ...

was his grandfather. His elder brother was Bidyut Khan. At the age of seven, Khan started learning music. First he took his lessons on

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and later on

from his father. He learned from him until his father passed away in 1989. In 1976, he appeared in front of audience with a duet concert (Sitar and Sarod) with his father. From then on he played Sitar at home and abroad consistently.

Performance in major concerts in India

Among his memorable concerts is a duet performance with his father at the 'Sur Singer Music Conference' in Mumbai in 1986. In 1987, he received high praise for his solo Sitar recitals in Mumbai, organized by the 'Ustad Abdul Halim Zafar Khan Academy'. He also participated in a duet concert with his father at the 'Tansen Music Conference' in the same year (1987). In 1991, he received great appreciation at the 'Surdas Music Conference' in Kolkata. In 1999, he was highly acclaimed by the audience at the 'Dover Lane Music Conference' in Kolkata.

Tours

He had toured different countries in the world performing with his Sitar since 1978. The first countries he toured are Russia, and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Then in 1988 he rendered his recitals in Germany, and England. In 1989 he played sitar in Middle East. In 1999 he performed in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

(

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

), and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

). In 2003 he performed in South America (Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru), and Sweden.

Awards and recognition

In 1984, he obtained the title ''Suramani'' from the 'Haridas Music Conference', and later ''Surjhankar'' in Mumbai. In 1985 he was given a reception in Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh, as the soil's bright son, with a golden key as a token of their sincere appreciation.

Music direction in films

Besides playing sitar he also engaged himself as a music director in different films. He worked with his father as an assistant music director in Hindi Films ''Garam Hawa'', ''Amabashya Ki Chand''. He also worked as assistant Music director in Bangla films ''Natun Pata'', ''Jukti Takko Goppo'', ''Je Jekhane Dariye''. He was the solo music director of the film ''Nilkanya''. He started a documentary film called ''‘Gharana and Parampara’'' which has been sponsored by Government of India. The theme of the film was to make the younger generation aware of ''Parampara'' (Teacher-student interactive learning) and concept of ''Gharana'' (Schools of music).

Teaching sitar

Though a busy artiste he also engaged himself as a music teacher In Ustad Bahadur Khan Music Academy in Kolkata and thus played a role to spread Indian classical instrumental music. He was a visiting teacher on sitar in Indian Music Academy in Frankfurt, Germany. Cosmic Orient, 28 July 2007

References

External links

Pracheen Kala Kendra (Copyright © 2005), Baithak Programme
*
‘Music fest at Ravindra Bharati’
''The Times of India'', 28 October 2003

''The Tribune, Chandigarh'', 28 October 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Kirit 1955 births 2006 deaths Bangladeshi sitar players Indian sitar players 20th-century Indian singers People from Brahmanbaria district Singers from Kolkata 20th-century Indian male singers