Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical vocalist from the Patiala gharana tradition of music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical and ghazal singers of all time. Together with his younger brother, Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan, he formed a famed singing duo that garnered widespread popularity across the Indian subcontinent. For his contributions to classical music, Amanat Ali was honoured with the highest national literary award of Pakistan – the Pride of Performance – by the President of Pakistan in 1969. Khan was especially noted for khayal, thumri, and ghazal styles of singing and has been described as "the maestro of the Patiala gharana." He stands with singing icons like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi, having left behind a legacy of hundreds of classical and semi-classical songs.
Amanat Ali Khan
The Patiala gharana is one of the vocal gharanas of Hindustani classical music, named after the city of Patiala in Punjab, India where it was established. The gharana was founded in the mid to late 19th century by Mian Kallu, a sārangi player of the Jaipur durbar. He received his musical training from the last Mughal king Bahadur Shah Zafar's court musician Qutub Bakhsh 'Tanras' Khan and went on to become the court musician to the Maharaja of Patiala. Eventually, the mantle was passed on to his son, 'General' Ali Baksh Khan and his close friend 'Colonel' Fateh Ali Khan, both of whom became court musicians in the court of Maharaja Rajinder Singh. The titles of 'general' and 'colonel' of music were bestowed upon them by the Victor Alexander Bruce, the 9th Earl of Elgin, after the duo had enthralled him with their performance. Their pairing was popularly referred to as 'Ali-a-Fattu ki Jodi.'
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (1902 – 1968), the most prominent exponent of the Patiala gharana
Renowned ghazal singer Ghulam Ali, an exponent of the Patiala gharana