KOLKATA: Noted tabla exponent Ustad Sabir Khan passed away at a city nursing home on Thursday. The ‘khalifa’ of the Farukhabad gharana succumbed to a cardiac arrest. He was 66 and is survived by his wife and three sons.Born on Dec 3, 1959, in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur, Khan did more than inherit a tradition; he became its living heartbeat. From his early training under his grandfather, Ustad Masit Khan, and his father, Ustad Karamatulla Khan, he emerged as a titan of the tabla, carrying the rhythmic soul of Rampur to the world’s greatest stages.Khan began his journey accompanying the likes of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Ustad Nisar Hussain Khan, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur, Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Bismillah Khan. That rhythmic dialogue continued throughout his life, as he shared the stage with other luminaries including Ustad Rais Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Vidushi Girija Devi. “Sabir bhai and I played concerts and practised together since the age of seven. Our fathers and our grandfathers played together. So we had this connection for three generations. He was one of the greatest of his generation. He played with such contagious joy. He was loved and admired both by audiences and artists of the craft. We have truly lost a great master and someone unique and irreplaceable,” said London-based sitar player Ustad Nishat Khan.Pt Tarun Bhattacharya described him as a close friend. “Our first LP was published in 1982. We played continuously for a period of five years at all festivals in India and even toured the US and UK multiple times. He was a master in ‘tere kete’ and ‘dhere kete’ syllables of tabla. His fast playing would match with santoor effortlessly. Few know that he was a good ghazal singer and composer. We have also done concerts tours where I played the santoor while he accompanied me on the tabla and also sang ghazals. Losing Pt Subhankar Banerjee and then Ustad Zakir Hussain was a huge blow for us. Sabir bhai’s demise leaves a huge void now in the music fraternity,” Bhattacharya said.Beyond the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Khan’s greatest legacy remains the Ustad Karamatullah Khan Music Society. As a teacher and founder, he ensured that the echoes of his gharana would never fade. “He was family. He knew my father, Ustad Rashid Khan, when Baba was a young boy. His recital had a great mix of elegance and class. He even had a concert scheduled on Saturday,” said vocalist Armaan Khan.Khan was not merely a performer; he was a bridge between the ancient and the contemporary – a master whose rhythm remains an eternal pulse in the heart of Indian music.
