USTAD REHMAT KHAN: The Legendary Vocalist of Gwalior Gharana

Ustad Rehmat Khan also revered as ‘Bhu Gandharva’ was born in 1852 to Ustad Haddu Khan of Gwalior Gharana. Gifted with a beautiful and musical voice, he started accompanying his father from a very young age. After the demise of Haddu Khan, Rehmat Khan roamed across north India, performing as a street musician. He finally settled in Benaras. In the late nineteenth century, he came in contact with VIshnupant Chhatre. Vishnupant offered Rehmat Khan a position as a musician in his circus company. Under the patronage of Vishupant, Rehmat Khan performed for many princely states. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, he settled in Kurundwad, a small in present Sangli district of Maharashtra state. After the death of Vishnupant, Rehmat Khan completely stopped performing. With some persuasion, he recorded a few records for the Gramophone Company at Bombay (Mumbai).

Rehmat Khan’s voice was full of energy and yet fully under his command. His ‘Akar’ was exceptional and can be experienced in the short recordings that are available. The first recording is a 78 RPM record of his where he is singing a drut composition in Raga Yaman. While listening to the recording, the prominent feature which one notices is the thrust that he puts at the beginning of any Alap or Taan. It is interesting to see how his voice consistently moves across all three octaves without losing the ‘Akar’ In the second clip, he has sung Raga Shuddha Kalyan. Here is another recording of Rehmat Khan, retrieved from a 78 RPM record where he is singing a composition in Raga Malkauns in Madhyalaya Teental. The ease and command with which his voice goes from lower to higher octaves are phenomenal. Interestingly, it carries the same weight and thrust in all the octaves. Contemporary musicians like Abdul Karim Khan, Bhaskar Bua Bakhle, D.V. Paluskar and others were great admirers of his music and his music had influenced the singing of many other contemporary musicians.
Here is a short clipping of his performance in Kolkata containing two Ragas, one of them (the last one) being a very beautiful rendition of Bhairavi. His voice magnetically and with ease touches the Pancham in the Taar octave and comes down, intensifying the emotion. Rehmat Khan passed away in 1922 in Kurundwad.

I do not own the copyright to any of the records used in this video. These music records will be copyrighted by those who have actual rights over them. I express my thanks and gratitude to all the collectors of records and those who made them available to music lovers!

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Some links to his melodious songs:
I. Rag Malkauns:    • ustad rahmat khan malkauns  
II. Khayal in Yaman:    • Ustad Rahmat Khan yaman.wmv  
III. Tappa:    • Ustad Rahmat Khan tappa 'Chaal Pehchani'  
IV. Jamuna Ke Teer:    • Ustad Rahmat Khan Jamuna ki teer  
V. Rag Bhoop:    • Ustad Rahmat Khan, Raga Bhoop