Ustaad Asad Amanat Ali’s 11th death anniversary being observed today

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ISLAMABAD: Renowned Pakistani classical, semi-classical and ghazal singer Asad Amanat Ali Khan’s eleventh death anniversary is being observed today on April 8, Radio Pakistan reported. To honour the maestro, a ceremony will be held in Lahore on Sunday, where renowned singers of the Patiala music family will have a chance to pay their respects.

Born on September 25, 1955, in the renowned Patiala Gharana of musicians in Lahore, Ustaad Amanat Ali was engaged with classical music from an early age, recording his first song at the age of ten.

His great grandfather Ali Buksh Khan, the founder of the Patiala Gharana, passed on his legacy to Akhter Hussain, who then transferred the gift and training to his sons Fateh Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan and Hamid Ali Khan. Asad Amanat Ali Khan then received his training from his father, Amanat Ali Khan.

Asad was never really interested in academics, and therefore joined a private institution and began singing professionally after completing his FA.

He started his musical career by performing ‘Thumri‘ and then went on to record some of his most popular Punjabi numbers and ghazals including Umra lagian, Zara zara, Kal chaudwin ki raat, and Ghar wapas jab.

One of the songs that he performed in almost every concert was his father (Ustad Amanat Ali Khan’s) biggest hit: Insha Ji Utho.

Asad worked for Pakistan Television for several years where Nisar Bazmi, composer and PTV producer gave him his first break, introducing the artist to the world on live television.

Asad retained his affiliation with television through the years, recording over 1,000 songs. He also contributed to the Pakistani film industry, featuring on a number of soundtracks. Moreover, he also caught the attention of Bollywood and contributed soundtracks there too.

Asad Amanat Ali was also famous for his ‘soz-o-salam’ recitations in Urdu describing the events of Karbala during Ashura in Muharram and appeared on many radio and television specials about Karbala over the years before his death.

Following the footsteps of his father, Asad was also given the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. The government of Pakistan acknowledged Asad Amanat Ali Khan’s immense contribution to Pakistani music by awarding him the Pride of Performance on March 23, 2007, two weeks before his death on April 8, 2007.