Shujaat Khan

Ustad Shujaat Khan today leads the Imdadkhani gharana as its foremost sitar exponent, heading a distinguished lineage of musicians that stretches back through seven generations. The thread includes great-great-grandfather Ustad Sahabdad Khan, great-grandfather Imdad Khan, grandfather Inayat Khan, and father Vilayat Khan. Ustad Sahabdad Khan introduced the tarab, or sympathetic strings, to the sitar, while Vilayat Khan shaped the gayaki ang, or vocal playing style, and fused technical precision with melodic invention, compositional depth, improvisational fluency, and rhythmic command.

Following the khandan tradition that transfers a father’s standing to the eldest son, Vilayat Khan trained his heir from the start. At three, Ustad Shujaat Khan received a specially crafted mini-sitar and began lessons under his father and guru. By six, the young prodigy was already delivering acclaimed public recitals. Since then he has appeared at leading international stages, among them Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall. Rooted in the Imdadkhani Gharana established by his great-grandfather and the gayaki ang advanced by his father, his playing is noted for its refined meend, or glissando, its song-like phrasing, technical command, and resonant tone. He has also served as visiting professor in the Ethnomusicology Department at UCLA.