Last year, when I was putting together the series on roads and other public spaces named after Hindustani musicians, I had not come across any public sites named after the Agra gharana luminary Vilayat Hussain Khan, a key figure in the propagation of Hindustani music in Mumbai. But a few days ago, I learnt that a junction in the northern suburb of Andheri (East) in Mumbai had been named after him in 2011.

This is as a welcome gesture, even though it would perhaps have been more appropriate to have chosen a road in the southern part of the city, closer to Khan’s home, for this purpose.

Earlier, this column has briefly included information about the life and contribution of Vilayat Hussain Khan and his music. Not only had Vilayat Hussain Khan inherited a wealth of traditional repertoire from 42 musicians, he was also a prolific composer and used the pseudonym Pran piya in the song-text of his compositions.

As a guru, Vilayat Hussain Khan had trained several disciples, many of whom went on to become celebrated performers and composers. The name Pranpiya Gayanacharya Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan Chowk given to the junction is indicative of both these roles.

Khansahib Vilayat Hussain Khan (1895-1962), legendary vocalist of Agra Gharana.
Img src: Premrang…

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