Indian musician Suhel Rais Khan pays tribute to legendary singers of Pakistan and India

By Our Correspondent
January 24, 2025
Indian sitarist and vocalist Suhel Rais Khan, son of famed sitarist Ustad Rais Khan seen in this image. — Facebooksuhel.khan.5855/File

Indian sitarist and vocalist Suhel Rais Khan, son of famed sitarist Ustad Rais Khan, performed on Thursday evening at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) at an event titled ‘A Tribute to Old Masters’ that was organised in collaboration with the Tehzeeb Foundation.

Advertisement

After his marriage to Pakistani singer Bilqees Khanum, Rais Khan shifted to Pakistan, but his earlier family continued residing in India. In Pakistan, Rais trained his sons Farhan Khan and Hasnain Khan in sitar playing, while in India, Suhel has been upholding the legacy of his father.

Like his father, Suhel is both a sitar player and a vocalist. He showed both his talents at the Napa event. The performer was introduced by the Tehzeeb Foundation’s Sharif Awan, who informed the audience that Suhel was also trained by his father.

A reel was shown before the performance featuring various artistes praising Ustad Rais and Suhel. It also included clips of Suhel performing with notable musicians including sarangi player Ustad Sultan Khan and film singers Anuradha Paudwal and Sadhana Sargam.

Several instrumentalists accompanied Suhel on the stage on the keyboard, sarangi, tabla, dhol, violin and other instruments. However, the Indian performer clarified that he had brought some tracks from India that would be played in the background and improvised upon by him and the accompanying musicians.

As the title ‘A Tribute to Old Masters’ suggests, Suhel sang various songs of yesteryears, mostly film songs that had sitar pieces. However, he also included Sufi music, ghazal and thumri in the performance.

First, he sang Bilqees Khanum’s song penned by Parveen Shakir Gori Karat Singhar. It was followed by several Indian songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar with sitar interludes. They included Amrapali’s Tumhen Yaad Karte composed by Shankar Jaikishan and Ganga Jamna’s Dhoondo Re Sajna composed by Naushad.

A delightful shift in the mood took place when he announced singing Sonu Nigam’s Piyu Bole from Parineeta. Then he reverted to the golden era of the Indian film music and rendered Rafi’s Madhuban Mein Radhika.

The songs that came next were Noor Jahan’s Chithi Zara Saiyan Jee Ke and Begum Akhtar’s thumri Hamri Atariya Pe. The thumri was remixed and presented in a modern flavor. Before presenting it, Suhel jokingly remarked that it may anger Begum Akhtar in her grave.

He also chose to sang a few songs composed by his father. They included Ghunghroo Toot Gaye and a song sung by Jani Banu Qawwal.

He also paid tribute to Iqbal Bano and Mehdi Hassan recalling meeting them. Bano’s song that was performed was Payal Mein Geet Hain while Mehdi was commemorated with his signature ghazal Ranjish Hi Sahi.

Reaching the end of the evening, Suhel sang Sehgal’s Mein Kya Jaanu Kya Jaadu Hai. Surprisingly, it was well received even by some young members of the audience. After all, Sehgal’s style has somewhat archaic touch and youths often have to develop their taste to appreciate his songs of 30s and 40s. The Indian musician closed the performance with Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo.

Advertisement