Ustad Vilayat Khan: a great sitarist

KOLKATA: Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan, who died in Mumbai late on Saturday night following a prolonged illness, was one of the greatest sitar players of his generation.
Khan belonged to the family of great sitarists including his father Ustad Inayat Hussain Khan and grandfather Imdad Hussain Khan, with the family lineage going back to several generations of musicians.
Both of his sons, Sujat and Hidayat, and brother Imrat and nephew Rais Khan are accomplished sitar players.
Vilayat Khan, who used to spend most of his times in his second home in New Jersey in the US, was born in 1928 in Gouripur, now in Bangladesh, and was initiated to music quite early in life.
Since his father died early, he received most of his training from maternal grandfather Ustad Bande Hussain Khan and maternal uncle Zinda Khan.
He did his first recording at a very tender age of eight and went on to achieve worldwide fame with his brilliant sitar playing.
He was probably the first Indian musician to go out of the country and perform in England after independence in 1951.
He maintained this tradition of performing abroad till his last days as he used to spend eight months a year abroad.
Vilayat Khan, suffering from diabetes and hyper-tension for long, was recently detected with lung cancer and admitted to Mumbai''s Jaslok Hospital on February 26, where the end came at 11.25 pm on Saturday night.
He is survived by two wives, sons Shujaat and Hidayat and daughters Yaman Khan and Zila Khan.