In every age some extraordinary, great and brilliant man is born and becomes the image of his time. Abdul Karim Khan was one such man who possessed all the above qualities.
Singer of Hindustani classical music, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was an invaluable gift of this age. He was born in 1872 at a small village of Kairana in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. His initial education in music was imparted by his father Ustad Kala Khan and his uncles, Ustad Abdullah Khan and Nanhe Khan. He recited his first song when he was only six. AT the age of fifteen he was appointed as a court singer of Baroda but left it after three years an went to Kolhapur.
In 1913, he founded Arya Sangeet Vidyalaya in Pune. The credit for ‘Mir’ and ‘Kam’ singing in Maharashtra goes to Karim Khan. He was the only musician of Hindustani classical music who was well appreciated in South India .His singing had the rare blend of Carnatic music as well as Hindustani classical music. He died on October 27, 1937.