A 62-years-old artist from Agra, Shamma Khan, has been learning music through Braj Lokgeet and Qawwali. At a very young age, he began to learn to play the Naal, which we, in general, call the Dholak. He got inspired by his Guru, Karim Ustad Ji, from Agra. According to him, there can not be any greater inspiration than a Guru. He has been working hard towards achieving mastery in his craft and pursues it with tremendous passion. He belongs to the Agra Gharana and dedicates all his achievements in the field of music to his guru. He is also a very dedicated artist and believes that music from his life will go only after his demise. When he was in his youth, he would take part in village jagrans, Bhagwat paaths, and thus picked up the Naal and never stopped learning. Apart from playing with the Qawwali Groups, he also accompanied several artists for events like Jagrans, folk performances, etc. Shamma Khan has performed in various locations within the state and the country. He has done few studio sessions with Anwar Saheb but considers himself more of a stage performer. He has given some brilliant performances at Nagpur, Bangalore, and many major cities of India and regards his performance in Orissa as the most memorable experience that he possesses. He lives in a family of 6 people with his wife, three daughters, and a son who is married now. Thus, he also has to do shows on a nominal amount of 500-700/- per show to make ends meet. Despite all his struggles, he strives to keep developing his craft. Sorrowfully, he does not wish to pass on his knowledge to the next generation, because, with music as a career, it is quite hard to support a family financially.
- Braj
- Uttar Pradesh