02 How was childhood with Ustad Salamat Ali Khan - USTAD LATAFAT ALI KHAN Q&A

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I’ve been surrounded by music since I opened my eyes. My ears heard the sounds of Riaz (”practice”). My Father singing alongside my Uncle. Sometimes there was the sound of Raag Gujari Todi coming from somewhere. Then the sound of Raag Bhairo. I experienced this since childhood and when we reached a more mature age our Father started to pass on his knowledge to us. I started with Raag Bhairo and learnt about the Sthaayi (”Rondo”) and a few Antaras (”verses”). We also received formal education. I studied at Cambridge School Lahore till class 6. Then I studied at the Government’s Suliemani Highschool (Samanabad) till Grade 10. Then I finished the rest of my studies at Government College Lahore. Throughout my childhood and youth though, Father spent a lot of time touring. Due to these time constraints there was a lot we could not learn from him. But whatever he was able to teach us about Classical music, we practiced a lot. Sometimes we would find Classical music quite intimidating, thinking, “man, what is this?!”. It is the basis of music, but feels very hard initially. But once you can deal with that you can sing anything. So, whenever Father would return from a tour, he would teach us as much as he could. My older brother, Late Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan, and I were the oldest. Our younger brothers were too young at that time. So, me and my older brother were made singing partners. We made our debut on PTV (Pakistan Television) Lahore and sang Raag Malkauns together. We sang in a lot of Pakistani fairs together, still children. It was a great time and I feel it important to mention my Uncles Ustad Zakir Ali Khan and Ustad Akhtar Ali Khan here. They brought much fame to our Gharana and were amazing singers. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for them, and they were largely underappreciated which happens to artists a lot in the Subcontinent. But that is a different topic by itself. So, we used to travel and perform at a lot of fairs such as the Biri Shah Rahman fair where we performed with Jora Chapper who was a amazing Tabla player. Then in Chiniot there is a Shah Darbar (”court”) where we performed with Jheelo Waaliya. He was a great Tabla player. My brother asked him to play Taal Ikwai. We were small so he said, “that is such a complicated Taal, how will you sing with it?”. But then he proceeded to play. But when we started singing, he literally stopped after the first rhythmic pattern, got up and said, “these children are born singers”. I was just 7 at the time and my brother was 9. Then we performed in countless fairs in Multan. But then came a time that we had some family issues, causing us to split and perform separately. My Father famously split from my Uncle. Eventually my accompanied my Father. From the beginning, our Gharana (“musical tradition”) was about partnered singing. And we ourselves had only ever observed partnered singing in our family. My Father and Uncle, me and my older brother, my two younger brothers, were all partnered singers. But time brought us to a place where this was to change. I guess my Father was feeling hesitant because of his split. I mean to find someone that musically syncs with you is a blessing, but a partnership also requires personal sacrifice. My father said, “I sang with my older brother for 40 years, but never sang a Raag I wanted to sing, I always had to sing what I was told to. I never wore what he told me to wear, I ate what he told me to eat, and when we got paid, I accepted whatever part of it he gave me”. So, Father said, “if you are fine with living like this then feel free to continue partnered singing”. It is very easy to break a partnership. Some partnerships even break over food you know, like “how come you gave me scraps only?”. I prefer to talk truth, even if it tastes bitter. My father, seeing how we as children would argue and fight over trivial matters and small possessions. He thought, “we never fought like this as children and only then did we reach the heights we did. But how will these children be sacrificial in a partnership”. So, he was not keen on the idea of partnered singing anymore. He told us to aim to become solo artists, but of course accompany each other when appropriate. So, when Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan would visit London, I would accompany him and vice-versa in Pakistan. I would accompany him in the U.S. I also had a great tour with Ustad Sakawat Ali Khan, around New York, Texas, California, Washington. We performed together there. But we still mostly performed solo, contrary to our Gharana’s history. So, we basically followed Father’s advice. But that does not stop us from performing together whenever we can. But of course, keep our Gharana in your prayers, and our journey will continue.