Dateline: Afghanistan, August 1677...Diser Khan replaces Bahadur Khan as the chief of moguls...Not to assume a family relationship between the subject of this biography, a classical Indian sarod player, and the previously described historical figure, but it is an example of how legendary a name this man was given. In the history of classical Indian music itself, the name Bahadur Khan has also been carved in stone at least a few dozen times. In the later part of the 18th century, famous dhrupad singer Bahadur Khan came to Vishnupur, at that time one of the main cultural centers of India, and made his gharana, or collection, of compositions popular. A different gharana, known as the Senia, was then in full bloom and its reputation was spreading throughout India. Its influence on the music of Vishnupur was grand, but the next Maharaja of Vishnupur, Raghunath Singh Deo II, decided that popularizing Bahadur Khan would be one of his main goals. The performer in question liked this idea, and expressed his desire to settle down in Vishnupur. The Maharaja made all arrangements and he was presented with the position as his court singer. The Maharaja also announced that anyone who had a good voice and was seriously interested in music could learn from Bahadur Khan without any fees. He soon had many disciples. This Bahadur Khan was not only a vocalist but could also wail on such instruments as the veena, rabab, and sursringar. He is also credited with helping create the historic foundation for the sitar's acceptance and popularity as an instrument in this genre. The career of the 20th century may seem a bit pale in comparison, with hardly a Maharaja around to toss a poor boy a house gig. The nephew of Indian music genius Allaudin Khan, Bahadur was a disciple of reclusive sarod performer and instructor Annapurna Devi. He in turn spent much of his career teaching, including an 18-year relationship with sarod player Tejendra Narayan Majumdar. His recording career included releases in India on labels such as Atlantis, on the company's Classic Collection, but he did not have the discography of internationally released recordings that the much better known Ali Akbhr Khan established. Bahadur was also involved in Indian film music, creating the soundtracks for films such as Suvarnarekha and Titas Ekti Nadir Naam. From basically the same generation of musicians comes another Bahadur Khan, this one a sarangi player from Northern India, who is the father of classical vocalist Atta Hussain. ~ Eugene Chadbourne