Ustad Asad Amanat Ali Khan inherited the soulful voice of his ancestors but his early death in 2007 meant the proud legacy would be fighting to keep its name alive in the classical music circle. -Whitestar photo

ISLAMABAD Renowned Pakistani classical, semi-classical and ghazal singer Asad Amanat Ali Khan's second death anniversary was being observed on Wednesday, APP reported.

Asad Amanat Ali Khan was born on September 25, 1955 in the renowned Patiala Gharana of musicians, in Lahore. He was engaged with classical music from his earliest years, 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. Amanat Ali Khan passed on the torch to his son, Asad 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, such as Umra lagian, Zara zara, Kal chaudwin ki raat, and Ghar wapas jab.

One of the songs that he performed in almost every concert, arguably his father (Ustad Amanat Ali Khan's) biggest hit, was Insha ji utho.

Asad worked for Pakistan Television for several years. Nisar Bazmi, composer and PTV producer, who passed away in 2007, gave him his first break, introducing the artist to the world on live television.

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

Like his father, Asad was 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, April 8, 2007).