Santu Khan Qawwal

Mushtaq Ahmad, known as Santu Khan Qawwal (1870-1989), belonged to a Rubabi clan and was fully conversant with the music of the Sikhs. Born in Taran Taran, Amritsar, he got his training from Ustad Bhai Lal and was an ardent follower of the Chishti order. Due to this he performed mostly at various shrines across the sub-continent.

Santu Khan was admired internationally. He was inspired by Sufi thought. When he became the disciple of Bhai Lal in Amritsar, he met Pir Nawazish Ali Shah, who was a follower of the Sabri silsila. Santu Khan became a devoted follower of the Sufi order and became the disciple of Pir Nawazish Ali Shah as well. On his advice he went to Bengal and sang a qawwali -- "taen ta mera yar na milaya mein ki jana teri khudae" -- for the film Bhagat Surdaas, which became an instant hit. He also sang with K.L. Saigal.

Santu Khan had in his vocal formation the peculiarities of khayal gayaki, with intricacies and subtle delicacies that set him apart from the qawwals of his time. He had a sweet and melodious voice. Logically, the features of singing observable in different forms such as khayal, thumri, dhrupad, and qawwali have a common root: the mind of the artist. It would not be farfetched to say that had Santu Khan not adopted the genre of qawwali, he would have been a great khayal singer of his time and possibly of all time.