Ustad Asad Ali Khan

Isn’t it remarkable that the contemporary tradition is enshrined in the sonorously stringed splendour of Ustad Asad Ali Khan’s Rudra Veena. Ustad Asad Ali Khan is an incomparable wizard of Rudra Veena who represents the much renowned Beenkar Gharana of Jaipur (in Rajasthan). He is sanctified with the musical legacy from his ancestry. His ancestors were royal musicians of the princely state of Jaipur which has always been a great benefactor of Indian classical music. And thus we find a notable account of Ustad Asad Ali Khan’s family in the historical texts of Rajasthan. Ustad Asad Ali Khan is the son of Ustad Sadiq Ali Khan, who was a brilliant exponent of the Rudra Veena and after his father's death, inherited his position in the court of Alwar. Ustad Asad Ali Khan is the last of the great musicians who blend the traditional mastery of Been techniques with a deep insight into the world of the Raga. He is also one of the last virtuosos of the Khandarbani, one of the four ancient styles of Dhrupad. Khandarbani (literally meaning ‘the voice of the khanda’) derives its name from Khanda, an old weapon of Rajasthan famed for its precision, power and sharpness.