Rafique Khan

Rafique Khan is an Indian musician and composer who plays the sitar. He belongs to the sixth generation of musicians of the Dharwad gharana. His father, the late Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, was a distinguished sitar player. His grandfather, Rahimat Khan, who was awarded the title Sitar Ratna, is credited with adding the bass octave to the sitar and developing the three-string instrument into the seven-string form commonly used today. Rafique Khan is the younger brother of Ustad Bale Khan and Chhote Rahimat Khan and the twin brother of Ustad Shafique Khan, also a sitar player.

Born in Dharwad, he began playing the sitar at nine. He studied with his father and his elder brothers Ustad Usman Khan and Ustad Bale Khan, and received training in gayaki ang from his uncle Ustad Dastagir Khan. He passed the music examinations of Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Mumbai and graduated in philosophy from the University of Goa. At twenty-three he received the prestigious Sur Mani Award from Sur Singar Samsad in Mumbai. He is also an empanelled artist of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

His concert career has taken him throughout India and abroad, with appearances at music festivals in Europe, the Middle East and South-East Asia and collaborations with musicians from around the world. All India Radio has recognised him as a top-grade artist and broadcast four of his recitals in its national programmes.

A distinctive feature of his playing is the preservation of the raga’s character while balancing gayaki ang, the vocal style, with tantakari ang, the instrumental style. His disciplined approach and devotion to music are reflected in his mastery of gamak taans, among the sitar’s most demanding techniques. His command of the fingerboard is exemplary. The music he produces is pure melody, and audiences are captivated by the movement of his nimble fingers with every note he plays.