Sufi Inayat Khan
Many years ago, Mrs H. van Tuyll van Serooskerken, an ardent Dutch lover of Indian classical music wrote to me from the Hague, requesting me to give her all the information I could gather about the great Sufi-mystic-musician-Pir Inayat Khan who had earned great popularity and fame in the West during his travels (from 1910 to 1926) in the U.S.A., U.K. and Europe. She wrote:- "I am a pupil of the late musician and philosopher Professor Inayat Khan of Baroda, the grandson and pupil of Professor Moula Baksh of Baroda ... We people of the west are getting more and more interested in the grandeur and beauty of Indian music... During the first World War, Prof Inayat Khan (known in the west as Pir-O-Murshid) lost his whole set of 22 gramophone records which were made in Calcutta by the firm VICTOR between 1908-1910..."
I felt quite ashamed of myself because when I received this
letter from Holland I knew next to nothing about this Sufi musician of India. However, her
letter whetted my appetite to learn more about this great savant who had earned a high
reputation and many followers abroad, and is yet, so little-known in his own country.
Subsequently, I have been able to gather the following information about the
Pir-O-Murshid, thanks to the curiosity aroused by the letters from this music-lover living
in Holland! She had also been generous enough to send me a couple of good photographs of
her guru and thoughtfully added:- "Please keep these photos; it might occur that some
day people may ask you about this musician, and you will be glad to have these
photos". The photo in this book is one of the two sent by H. van Tuyll van
Serooskerken yearsago. Many thanks to her.
Inayat Khan Rahmatkhan Pathan was the grandson of Prof. Moula Bux, the eminent founder of
the Academy of Indian Music established in Baroda under the patronage of Maharaja
Sayajirao Gaekwad of Baroda. It is said that Moula Bux's wife was a grand-daughter of
Tippu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore. However, it was not the
martial qualities of the Tippu blood, but the rich musical and spiritual heritage of Prof.
Moula Bux that Inayat Khan had inherited. He was born in Baroda on 5th July, 1882. The
most important influence on him during his early formative years was that of his
grandfather. Even as a school- boy, he showed great liking for poetry, music, and
religion. Once he pleased the Maharaja Scindia so much with his singing of a classical
song (in Sanskrit) that the royal patron rewarded him with a valuable necklace and a
scholarship. Very early in life Inayat Khan shaped into a versatile linguist with a
remarkable, mastery over several languages such as Sanskrit, Gujarati, Marathi, Urdu,
Hindi, Persian, Arabic, and English! He did not seem to be interested in any of the games
that boys are usually fond of. A very thoughtful boy with a serious bent of mind, he
preferred the company of elders, intellectuals and artistes who surrounded his revered
grandfather. At eleven he managed a small organisation "Bala Sabha" where he
astounded his listeners by his fluent speeches in his attractive sonorous voice. Right
from an early age, he was very broad-minded, kindhearted towards all-irrespective of
caste, creed, colour, and status. While his academic and musical training was going
on successfully under the loving and close supervision of Prof. Moula Bux, it was
Inayat Khan's father Rahmat Khan (Pathan) who moulded his religious temperament and
his noble character with simple teachings such as:- "Tell only the Truth; Truth is
God; lead a pure and simple life. Forget all the good you do, but remember your faults and
mistakes". "Neki kar paani me daal (Do good and forget about it); Baadi kar
pallu me baandh (Remember all your
misdeeds)".
Alongside his academic studies, the young Inayat did
excellently in the five years music course of the Baroda Music Academy under the expert
guidance of his grandfather who was himself a great musician, Veena player and composer.
Moula Bux is also remembered as one of the pioneers in introducing
notation into Indian music. In the final
examinations of the Academy, Inayat Khan topped in both vocal and instrumental music. What
was even more remarkable was the fact that he was equally good in Karnatak as well as
Hindustani music. Gifted with a sweet and sonorous voice, he could keep his listeners in a
spell. What set apart his music from that of the others was the fact that he considered
music as a sacred and divine art. He composed beautiful songs with religious word contents
and he poured his soul into them as he rendered them.
Inayat Khan was the author of many books on music such as:- "Minqar Mousiquar,"
"Stee Sayaji Garbavali", "Inayat Fiddle Shikshak", and "Inayat
Harmonium Shikshak."
Recently I was delighted to come across his book Inayat Geet-Ratnavali which was published
by the Baroda Vatsal Printing Press and Bombay Equator Printing Press in the year 1903. At
that time, the book was priced at an incredibly low sum of Rupee One ! Today, 77 years
later, the owner of this yellowing and dilapidated book will not think of parting with it
for any tempting sum! The book is dedicated to the royal patron:- "H.H. Gaekwad
Sayajirao Maharaja Saheb", and the author's name is given in full as "Professor
Inayat Khan Rahmatkhan Pathan, Musical Educationist and Gold Medallist." The book
contains a mixed assortment of 75 songs - Thumris, Dadras, Ghazals, Bhajans, Khayals,
Lavanis, Horis, and even a few English songs - all given in the notation system initiated
by Prof Moula Bux. The songs are couched in Karnatak as well as Hindustani ragas such as
Kharaharapriya, Shankaraabharanam, Keerwani, Mand, Manji, Sindhura, Badhams, Zila,
Hussaini, Barwa, Sorat, Malhar and so on --- all of which goes to prove Inayat Khan's
knowledge of both the Karnatak and Hindustani systems of music. There are songs in praise
of Lord Ganesha, and Lord Gopal (Krishna). His compositions can be identified by the name
"Inayat" woven into the last line. Grateful references are made to Prof. Moula
Bux, founder of the system of notation followed in the book. A major part of the
Introduction is a paean of praise to him. Inayat Khan writes:- "Taking pity on the
degraded state of our classical music, God has specially created a great man like my
grandfather who established music-schools, introduced notation-system, composed many
songs, and popularised our music widely--".
The long introductory chapter by Inayat Khan is in a very strange dialect of Hindustani
and spelt unusually. There is a Testimonial (dated 16th June, 1902) written by Sri
Sreenivasa Raghava Iyengar (Ex-Dewan of Baroda State) whose children had been students of
Ustad Inayat Khan. Sri Iyengar says in the Testimonial:- "... Prof Inayat Khan
comes of a distinguished family of musicians, his grandfather being the famous Prof. Moula
Bux, a distinguished professor of Hindu music, author of a series of graduated text-books
in music. He is the nephew of Dr. A.M. Pathan, L.R.A.M who was educated in
England and in the European system of music and passed his
examinations with high distinction. Inayat Khan has studied both the Hindu and European
system scientifically and has already acquired great proficiency in the former. He has
winning manners..."
From 1900 to 191O, Inayat Khan made an extensive tour of the length and breadth of India.
He and his maternal uncle Murtuza Khan visited Nepal, Gwalior (to pay his obeissance near
Tansen's tomb), Banares, and the Punjab. During these tours, he came into contact with
many musicians, Sufi mystics, Swamis and saints who initiated him into the mysteries of
sound and into the mystic beauties of the Art of Music. The death of his dear grandfather
Moula Bux in 1896 at the age of 63 was the first blow in young Inayat Khan's life. When he
lost his gentle, pious mother in 1902, he decided to spend his time wandering all over
this vast sub-continent. At first he visited all the important places in South India and
made warm contacts with a number of cultured and important people. Wherever he sang or
gave lecture-demonstrations everyone was charmed and Inayat was presented with medals and
"addresses." One such address, presented by the music loving public of Madras is
published in the Inayat Geet Ratnarali. It
says:-
To Prof. Inayat Khan Rahmat Khan Pathan, Musician of Baroda.
Dear Sir,
We, on behalf of the public of Madras, have assembled
here to express our deep-felt joy at having had you in our midst The public entertainment
given by you on 12-7-1902 has led us to form a very high opinion of your attainments in
the history and practice of Music. It is no wonder that young as you are, you have
acquired such pre-eminence in your Art and displayed a wonderful insight into its
intricacies for which a right explanation is to be found in the fact that you are
descended from that great and famous musician Prof. Moula Bux who is renowned throughout
India . . . . You have not only given us exquisite pleasure by your sweet melody and
scientific harmony of your songs, but you have created in us an instantaneous appetite for
the symphonies of the celestial art of music. It is gratifying to us that you have made it
your life-work to improve the Music of India, to introduce a uniform system of notation,
and also establish some sort of friendly understanding between the Hindustani and gentle
Karnatic systems and musicians. We sincerely wish you all success in your noble
undertaking. Your skill, talents, and manners have endeared you to us. May you win the
affection of all those whom you come in contact with. Please accept this gold medal as a
slight token of our sincere gratitude and high esteem for your talents and attainments
.......
The above is only a sample of the many addresses be received,from his appreciative
audiences. It was also the age of Gold Medals.
From South India, Inayat Khan went to Colombo, and then to Calcutta, where Babu Lahiri, a
Sufi in spirit, arranged for his lecture-demonstrations in the University Hall in the
presence of Gurudev Tagore, Sir Gurudas Benerji and other celebrities. In deep
appreciation, the people honoured him with the title of the "Morning Star of Indian
Music Revival." He made numerous friends and admirers in Calcutta through his
sweet music. It was during this trip that the Victor Gramophone Company cut several discs
of his. Alas, none of them are available any longer in India, except perhaps in the
precious collection of some music connoisseurs. Many have been already taken away by his
numerous followers in Holland. Mrs. H. van Tuyll van S. had also mentioned this in her
letters to me - "The Firm VICTOR does not exist any more in Calcutta and the records
are long since sold out. I am now making every effort possible to retrace the whereabouts
of those old records of Prof. Inayat Khan of India. A few months ago I was at last so
fortunate to find one of those records in a private collection in Dacca. May I ask you if
you have ever come across any of his records in India? As Prof. Inayat Khan who sang and
played on the Vina was for years travelling in the south of India where his singing was
highly admired, also stayed for a year in Calcutta. I suppose that the greatest chance of
finding his records would be in those parts of the country. There is a difficulty in the
fact that there existed more musicians with the name of Inayat Khan. However, only those
records on which is printed the word 'Baroda' together with the name of Prof. Inayat Khan
are genuinely his. . . ".
In a very informative article on Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sri Vibhu Kumar S. Desai explains how
the true secret of Inayat Khan's "divine music" lay in its "soul
quality" which captivated easterners and westerners alike. Quoting Inayat Khan's
musical credo, Sri Desai writes:- "The true use of music is to be musical in one's
thoughts, words and actions. True harmony of music comes from the harmony of the soul, its
true source, and when it comes from there, it must appeal to all souls".
Once when the Nizarn asked Inayat Khan to explain why listeners found his music "so
divine and magical", the latter is said to have replied:- "Your Highness, as
sound is the highest sources of manifestation, it is mysterious within itself and
whosoever has the knowledge of sound, he indeed knoweth the secret of the Universe. My
music is my thought, and my thought is my emotion. The deeper I dive into the ocean of
feeling, the more beautiful are the pearls I bring forth in the form of melodies. 'My
Music is my Religion'. Therefore, worldly success can never be a proper price for it and
my sole object in music is to achieve perfection".
Truly these are the words of a Sufi mystic, and these words fully reveal the man and his
art. The reply impressed the Nizam so deeply that he named him as "the modern
Tansen"! He also presented him with an emerald ring and a purse full of gold coins.
Inayat Khan began to have an increasing number of friends and admirers among sages,
Fakirs, and Sufi mystics like Maulana Hashmi, Sirdar Dastur Hoshang, Maulana Khair,
Maulana Khair-ul Mubin - all of whom detected in Inayat's eyes "the sparkling genius
of a mystic". Later on, he met his Murshid Maulana Sayed Mohammad Aby Hashim Madani
at whose behest, Inayat proceeded to the West for the twin purpose of spreading Sufism and
popularising Indi an classical music in the West. Before going abroad, he had acquired
considerable proficiency in Western music from his maternal uncle Prof.
Alauddin Khan Pathan of Baroda, a highly
qualified musician with many covetable degrees in Western music. With his proficiency in 3
systems of music - Western, Hindustani, and Karnatak - with his command over so many
languages, and his noble and charming ways, Inayat Khan was excellently equipped for his
chosen mission. In September 1910 he reached U.S.A. accompained by his brother Mahboob
Khan and cousin Aly Khan.
It was while he was giving a Veena recital at the Ramakrishna Ashrarn in San Francisco
that he met, and fell in love with, Miss Ora Ray Baker - "a sensitive, fragile,
feylike American girl" who was the niece of Mrs. Mary Eddy Baker, the founder of the
Christian Science Movement. They got married in Paris, and Inayat Khan
rechristened her as "Sharada Ameena Begum". In one of the later photographs,
Inayat Khan in a long loose robe, and with a flowing white beard, looks a bit like Poet
Tagore. His wife, clad in a sari in the Parsi style looks serene, gentle, and charming.
Her head is covered with the "Pallu" in true Indian style. Their elder son
Vilayat Khan married an English lady, the second son Hidayat Khan married a Dutch
lady, and Inayat Khan's brother and cousin also married Dutch girls, and all of them have
become citizens of Holland. The greatest tragedy in the family was the brutal political
assassination of Inayat Khan's beloved daughter Noor, a highly sensitive, talented, and
clairvoyant girl, who had later become a secret
agent working for the French Resistance Movement against the Nazis. She was captured by
the Gestapo, tortured and brutally killed in the Dachau Concentration Camp on 13-9-1944.
One of the witnesses of this sadistic torture chamber wrote later:- "What happened
was terrible. The girl was a bloody mass. The only word she uttered before
they shot her through her head was- "Liberte"-". Thus tragically ended the
young life of the vivacious Noor Inayat Khan (1914 to 1943) at the age of 29. In the words
of Ravibala Shenoy, "Noor was the only woman to win a posthumous George Cross and the
CROIX de Guerre". Inayat Khan was lucky that he died many years before this terrible
tragedy.
From 1910 to 1926, Inayat Khan's life was a saga of constant touring all-over Europe, UK
and repeated trips to U.S.A. Everywhere he gave an incredibly large number of lectures on
Indian philosophy, mysticism, and sufism, and lecture-demonstrations on Indian music. His
impressive personality, speeches and music won for him a vast circle of friends and
throngs of admirers. In 1912 he met Poet Tagore and Fox Strangways (author of a well-known
book on Indian Music) in England. In Russia he made friends with Count Serge Tolstoy (son
of the great Tolstoy who later became a representative of the Sufl Order). Regarding the
reception he got in Russia, Inayat Khan wrote:- "The warmth that came from the heart
of the people kept us warm in that cold country". In many places, his lectures on
Sufism were published as books like "The Inner Life". In 1920 he established his
Sufi Headquarters in Geneva. In his very first visit to Holland in 1921 Inayat was
completely won over by the people of Holland about whom he said:- "Though the Dutch
are proud and self willed, I saw in them love of the Spiritual. They are straightforward,
most inclined towards religion, lovers of justice, and seekers after Truth".
In 1923 he met Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy who was in charge of the Boston Art Museum, and he
met also many other famous personalities. His music and his lectures were so greatly
admired that "people thronged around him acclaiming him as their Hazrat, and calling
themselves as his Mureeds". In 1925 Mr Ford expressed his admiration by saying:-
"if you had been a businessman, you certainly would have been a success. But I
am glad that you are as you are". When the Sufi societies started by him in
England, Holland, Germany, and U.S.A. were thriving in all these places, Sufi Inayat Khan
felt a deep urge to revisit his Motherland where he hoped he would have some respite
from this constant round of engagements and perpetual throngs of admirers around him.
Looking forward to some weeks of rest and relaxation in India, he arrived in Delhi on the
first of November, 1926. But his fame had preceded him into his country. Therefore,
he was once again crowded with admirers and pressing invitations to give lectures and
recitals. By 1927 he was tired and exhausted with overwork. He contracted pneumonia
and died in Delhi in 1927 in the Tilak Lodge on the banks of the river Yamuna.
Thus ended the busy life of Sufi Inayat Khan who did pioneering work in the West in his
mission of propagating Indian music and Sufism all over the West. Through his lectures and
demonstrations, he revealed to the Westerners a rich hidden Indian world of endless
treasures, spiritual and artistic. With his varied accomplishments, his rare qualities of
head and heart, and his noble manners, Inayat Khan was one of the best "Cultural
Ambassadors" that India has had. But since he spent the best part of his life from
the age of 28 till the last year of his life abroad, very little is known about him in his
own. What he achieved in the West in the short span of 45 years is really amazing. His
devoted wife Sharada Ameena Begum died in Paris in 1949.
Newsgroups: rec.music.indian.classical
Subject: Great Masters 27: Inayat Khan, the Sufi-Musician
Date: 5 Jul 1998 23:34:51 GMT
Organization: University of Colorado at Boulder
From: Great Masters of Hindustani Music by Susheela Mishra
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