Arshad Ali Khan Biography 
Arshad Ali Khan is an Indian vocalist who practises Hindustani music in Kirana tradition. He belongs to a family with strong musical tradition, with several generations associated with music. He is a descendent of Abdul Wahid Khan and Abdul Karim Khan, who were the founders of the Kirana Gharana. He also follows the same tradition of music. His paternal uncle is Akhtar Nawaz Khan, a vocalist, and his maternal uncles Mashkoor Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan are some of the leading names of Kirana tradition of Hindustani music. Arshad Ali Khan, along with his cousin Amjad Ali Khan is the torch bearer of this tradition in the present generation.
Arshad Ali Khan was born into a musical family on 29 March 1984. He got training from his maternal uncles Mashkoor Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan. He was admitted into the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, at the age of six. A child prodigy, Amjad started off as a solo performer before he reached 10 and has performed in many prestigious music festivals and concerts. At the age of 9, he performed at Sawai Gandharva Samelan in 1993, and became a sensation overnight. He was described as “the biggest sensation of Sawai Gandharva Sammelan”. After this outstanding performance he was invited by none other than the legend Bhimsen Joshi on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
His unique ability to balance his performances with sensitive alap, delineation of swaras, complex sargams and lightning fast multifarious taans make him one of the distinguished vocalists of present-day generation. He is a regular performer at music festivals across India and also currently serves as musician teacher at ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata. He is a recipient of numerous honours including Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2013 by Sangeet Natak Akademi.
Published: September 26, 2018
Updated: September 26, 2018
