© 2020 Penguin India
Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan is a traditional Hindustani classical vocalist belonging to the illustrious Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, which owes allegiance to the seniya tradition.
Performing since he was eight years old, his career spans over a period of seventy-five years. At the age of twenty-one, he performed at a conference in Rashtrapati Bhavan held by former president Rajendra Prasad in 1952, alongside other great maestros of that time. He was declared ‘Junior Tansen’ in 1969 by Haridas Sangeet Sabha, Mangalore.
He has performed in music festivals all over the globe. He was conferred an honorary citizenship of Baltimore City after he performed at Baltimore University. The governor of Maryland presented him with honorary citizenship for outstanding contribution to the field of Indian classical music in 1986. He performed at Festival de Lille in the presence of Lady Diana in France.
He has also given his voice to more than seventy documentary films; and played the role of ‘Baiju Bawra’ in a German documentary, Rain Maker. He collaborated on a project of ancient Indian music, ‘Jati Gayan’, with Acharya K.C Brahaspati; and has sung compositions derived from the Natyashastra and the Brihat Deshi written by Matang Rishi.
He has always believed in giving back to the society, be it by identifying and nurturing some of the best musicians in India or mesmerizing the nation through music. He is proud guru of renowned artists such as Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Geeta Dutt Roy, A.R. Rahman, Hariharan, Waheeda Rahman, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Sagarika, Kamal Barot, Ranu Mukherjee, Alisha Chinoy, and his sons-Murtuza Mustafa, Qadir Mustafa, Rabbani Mustafa and Hasan Mustafa.
Born and brought up in Mumbai, Namrata Gupta Khan is a commerce graduate from Mumbai University. She started working while still in college and over a period of twelve years built a career in customer service and sales with one of the largest telecom companies of India. Namrata now runs her own event management outfit, NR Talent and Event Management Company, that organizes events in India and abroad. She is passionate about health and fitness and believes one can always work to change one’s physical and mental state for the better.