Follow Us
Shailaja Khanna
A fascinating new book on Ustad Vilayat Khan by Namita Devidayal traces his stay in Shimla from the mid 1960s to 1972. Ustad Vilayat Khan has been variously described as Aftaab-e-Sitar, Yug Purush of music and much else. At present, 80 per cent of the sitars played are made in the form he fashioned; also most sitar players today play in his style.
Chapter 7 of the book entitled “Life in the hills” describes how Ustad Vilayat Khan made Shimla his home, travelling from there for his concerts all over the world. The 1960s-1970s were when he was at his peak, rumoured to be the most-expensive classical musician; he had a rock star type aura and had made music for Bollywood films, but disdained the credit. The book describes how he rented Pari Mahal beyond Kasumpti from the Himachal Government for Rs 1 a month, promising to make it a seat of music. He lived there with his “extended family that comprised a random assortment of students, a maulvi sahib (when he was not praying or teaching the children the Koran, Khan sahib turned him into a card partner) a great cook, visiting musicians and doting women — often young Caucasian women”.
Sadly, today his presence in Pari Mahal is totally forgotten – the author describes how, when she asked an official if she knew anything about the time when Vilayat Khan lived there – “She stared at me blankly. An old retainer walked past her room just then and she called out to him ‘Arre Ayodhyaji, did some sarod or sitar player once live here?’ The reply was — yes, some 40-50 years ago, before my time. There is a plaque outside the gate with some information.
An interesting anecdote is when an income tax officer visited the musician in Pari Mahal, wondering why such a famous musician did not file an income tax return. Khan sahib invited him to a grand lunch of “chicken curry, mutton korma, three different vegetables and the most delicious creamy kheer for dessert”. When the officer enquired about his income, the Ustad disarmingly replied: “Which income? Even this house in which we are living is haunted. But we have nowhere else to go”. He then played a beautiful piece he had composed for Satyajit Ray’s film “Jalsaghar”, and the officer listened quietly and left never to return!
There are some anomalies though – his friend in Shimla, in whose cottage he stayed in the Strawberry Hill estate, is wrongly described as Paramjit Singh instead of Padamjit Singh. This was before the Housing Board colony named Strawberry Hill came up in the same area. Earlier, the Ustad had rented a cottage in Aira Holme, the home of Shimla artist Billy Malhans.
Describing how Raja Padamjit Singh was a musician, the book wrongly writes his Guru was Mir “Ahmet” Ali of Tansen’s lineage, whereas actually the name was Mir Rehmet Ali.
Another inaccuracy is describing the colonial style “Green Club where they indulged their old passion for ballroom dancing”, referring to the “Green Room” or ADC Club on the Mall, which has never had ballroom dancing.
The then DSP Ratiram Varma is mentioned as one of the Ustad’s friends — “a genial handsome man with the impressive nose of a Rajput warrior. Ratiram and Vilayat often drank late into the night and ate well, with Khan Sahib doing most of the drinking and talking, telling stories. ..with his usual flair”.
Describing his larger than life persona, the author writes “A rumour went around that there were only three people whose cars were allowed to enter the pedestrian-only Mall Road – the Chief Minister, the Governor and Khan sahib.”
Written in an interesting anecdotal style, “The Sixth String of Ustad Vilayat Khan” is gripping, and hard to put down. The book is slated to have a Shimla and Delhi launch in 2019; it was launched in Mumbai on November 28.