Though the invention is generally attributed to Ustad Sahebdad Khan, recent research shows that Lucknow-based sitarist Ustad Ghulam Mohammed may have been the inventor.
surbahar |
Bharat Gupt, A retired Associate Professor in English, who taught at the College of Vocational Studies of the University of Delhi, is an Indian classicist, theatre theorist, sitar and surbahar player, musicologist, cultural analyst, and newspaper columnist.
In 1995, he started recording on the surbahar (bass sitar), first as a two-part series (Brilliance of Sound) for Beethoven Records in Kolkata (ragas Yaman and Marwa), then raga Komal re Asavari for RPG/HMV on Tribute to My Father, My Guru (STCS 850362).
Imrat has five sons, Nishat, Irshad, Wajahat and Shafaatullah,and Azmat Khan, now only eight; the first four sons are all classical musicians: Nishat plays the sitar, Wajahat concentrates on the sarod and Shafaatullah is accomplished on sitar, tabla, and surbahar.
As one of the foremost representatives of the Imdadkhani Etawa Gharana, Irshad Khan is internationally recognized as one a leading sitar players and as the leading surbahar (bass sitar) exponent of his generation.
Ustad Wahid Khan also appeared in legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s international award winning film Jalsaghar (The Music Room, 1958) where he performs on the surbahar in one of the scenes.
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Ustad Wahid Khan is the paternal uncle of noted sitar player Ustad Vilayat Khan and the famous surbahar player Ustad Imrat Khan.