Faiyaz Khan 'Prem Piya'

Ustad Faiyaz Khan was doyen of Rangile Gharana (a branch of Agra Gharana). He was born at Sikandara near Agra in 1886. He was the son of Safdar Hussain Khan, who died three months before his birth. He was brought up by his maternal grandfather, Ghulam Abbas Khan (1825-1934), who taught him music up to the age of 25. He was also a student of Ustad Mehboob Khan "Daraspiya", his father-in-law. Faiyaz Khan's specialties were Dhrupad and Khyal, but he was also capable of singing Thumri and Ghazal. According to well known musicologist Dr. Ashok Ranade who was a former Director of Music Centre, University of Bombay, "There was no chink in his armour". He was a frequent performer in the musical conferences and circles of Lucknow, Allahabad, Calcutta, Gwalior, Bombay and Mysore and in concerts organised by provincial princes. Faiyaz Khan served for a long time as the court musician of Sir Sayaji Rao Gaikwad, the Maharaja of Baroda, where he was awarded the "Gyan Ratna" (Gem of Knowledge). The Maharaja of Mysore awarded him the title "Aftab-e-Mousiqui" (the Sun of Music). Some of his best-known students are Dilip Chandra Vedi, Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar 'Sujaan', Sohan Singh, Asad Ali Khan and apart from in-house disciples such as Khadim Hussain Khan, Vilayat Hussain Khan, Latafat Hussain Khan, Ata Hussain Khan and Sharafat Hussain Khan. Failing health due to a bout of typhoid in 1945 followed by tuberculosis restricted him to lower his pitch to "B" and "B Flat" though in his prime, he always sang in "C Sharp" and "C". The available recordings of the Ustad are almost entirely from his later years. By the time he died at Baroda, he had earned the reputation of being one of the greatest and most influential vocalists of the century. He was a great composer who composed several Bandishes with pen-name 'Prema Piya'.