BIOGRAPHY
Ustad Lalu Khan, a famous folk singer and maker of traditional instruments like Kamaicha, Sindhi Sarangi, Surmandal, and Khartal, hails from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Born and brought up in Ramgarh village in Jaisalmer, his childhood was spent happy but in economically poor circumstances. Originally called as Manglik, which later got corrupted to Manganiar, his family belongs to the Mirasi community, meaning those who earn their living by singing at auspicious events.
Ustad Lalu Khan began early in life when at the age of 12 he started accompanying his father and maternal grandfather to such visits and gradually started singing and playing dholak.
He shares, “There is a famous saying in our clan… when a child of Mirasi cries, even then he will be musical,” (smiles). Music helps dawn the mornings in this community. if there was a wedding to be attended to, the musicians and the whole family would become part of it and that is the reason why children of Manganiar community are introduced from a really early age to music.
His maternal grandfather, Jimmey Khan Sahab was already an internationally popular singer, who received awards from erstwhile President Shri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi. At Jimmey Khan Sahab’s behest, Ustad Lalu Khan’s parents agreed for him to live with his grandfather, where the elderly gentleman taught him the art of singing and playing Sarangi. He reminisces, “I remember he would wake me up at 4 am and teach me the basics of music. He would ask me to say ‘Haaaaa…’ non-stop for as long as I could hold my breath. He would take me to his concerts at the royal palaces, at the residences of local thakurs, I would serve my grandfather with whatever I could do… I would press his feet, wash his clothes…”