Ali Khan, Bade Ghulam

(1902–1968), Hindustani vocalist. Bade ("The Great") Ghulam Ali Khan was one of the finest Hindustani vocalists of the twentieth century, one whose style and standing reflect a unique historical setting. Bridging the gap between royal cultivation and public appreciation, his was a generation of musicians whose artistry linked nineteenth century restraint to twentieth century romanticism.

Ghulam Ali was trained by his uncle, Kale Khan, and his father, Ali Baksh Khan, the latter a court musician to the Maharaja of Kashmir. As royal patrons were often musically erudite, Ghulam Ali's years of discipleship were spent in a musical ethos that was unhurried, rigorous, and majestic. Yet, his own career grew in an age of radical social transformation—bringing new patronage (the state), a changed economy (capitalism) and a new sovereign (independent India). Ghulam Ali consequently became the first of a new generation of musicians who was sensitive to a new "public" audience: one that was increasingly large, varied, and anonymous.

Ghulam Ali was born and musically groomed in Kasur, just outside of Lahore, Pakistan. From his debut in Calcutta in 1939, he toured throughout India, becoming widely known. After Partition, he made Pakistan his "home." While the government of India granted him visas for short concert tours, it prohibited radio broadcast of his recitals, even forbidding mention of his name. A decade later he became a citizen of India.

Ghulam Ali's khayal style of singing was so dominant that two generations of musicians continue to emulate it. What endeared him to the masses, however, were his renditions of bhajan-s (devotional songs) and his incorporation of folk tunes. He became, as such, India's first classical celebrity, a musician whose reputation lay in its circulation between the radio broadcast, the commercial recording, and the public concert.

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