RAAG LALIT BY ARSHAD ALI KHAN

Arshad Ali Khan
Born 29 March 1984
Genres Hindustani classical
Occupation(s) singer
Associated acts
Abdul Karim Khan Abdul Wahid Khan Shakoor Khan Mashkoor Ali Khan Amjad Ali Khan
Website www.arshadali.net
Arshad Ali Khan is an Indian classical singer belonging to the Kirana gharana

Arshad Ali is one of the few prodigies to live up to their initial promise. Arshad, the grandson of the legendary sarangi maestro late Padmashree Ustad Shakoor Khan, was absorbed into the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata, as a scholar at the age of six. Born in the family of the principal Kirana Gharana musicians, he received extensive taleem from his maternal uncles, Ustad Mashkoor Ali Khan and Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan in the true guru-shishya parampara system of training.
Today, Arshad is hailed as a performer par excellence. He is one of the few contemporary singers of the Kirana Gharana to have assimilated the essence of the meer-khand vistar or development, typical to the gharana. His style, while strikingly original in its creative exposition of the Raag, is steeped in a traditional mould. His ability to balance his performances with sensitive alap / vistar, complex sargams and an onslaught of lightening fast taans has set him in a class apart. I will not be incorrect to hail him as among the greatest virtuoso vocalists of the country, given his repertoire and competency in all aspects of Khayal gayaki.
As a child, he became one of the most celebrated “Little Ustad” of our country. In the year 1993, at the age of nine, he was described as “the biggest sensation of Sawai Gandharva Sammelan” following his performance on a special invitation from Bharat-Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi on the occasion of his 75th birthday celebrations. No wonder that Pt. Bhimsen Joshi showered his blessings on the young maestro saying that he sees a consonance between his own musical thoughts and ideation and that of Arshad’s.
Other memorable performances include Bhatkhande Sangeet Sammelan, Lucknow, Harvallabh Sangeet Sammelan, Jalandhar , Sangeet Natak Akademy’s ‘Sangit Pratibha’ at Patna, Gharana Sammelan, Mumbai and Sawai Gandharva, Pune among others. Apart from performing in most prestigious music festivals of India, he has performed at numerous ITC Sangeet Sammelans across the country. His international tours, taking him to countries all over Europe and the Middle East have been received by the audiences and critics with stupendous ovations. Recently, he has performed at the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the Trophen Theatre in Amsterdam, the Indo-Persian Festival of Music at Marseille, the Mawazine Festival in Morocco and many more.
Awards and honours have already been bestowed on the young maestro in acknowledgement of his brilliance. In 2002 he was awarded the JADUBHATTA PURASHKAR. The Bharatiya Sansad Best Vocalist Award followed in 2010 and the ‘Best Young Talent of the Year’ by Rasa and Melting Pot Productions, in 2011.He has several Cds by reputed labels such as HMV Saregama and Orion Entertainment to his credit.