Ustad Lalu Khan travelled with his grandfather all over the country. I have had the privilege of playing music with the great musicians like Jimmey Khan ji, Padma Shri award winner Sakar Khan ji. Ustad Lalu Khan’s father, Dhinay Khan Sahab, also a singer, taught him ragas and told him about different thaats. He shares, “Once he told me that always remember that music is something which should have truthfulness in them. Suron ki sachchayi honi chahiye, saath main taal ki shudhdhata honi chahiye.”

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Times have changed now. Earlier, he, his father and grandfather, when invited, would be presented with clothes, money and gold jewellery. “In those days we were dependent only on those families to run our day-to-day life. Today we are invited to concerts and programs. We never had enough resources then and that is why I could not learn much about music. But I decided that I would never let go of our folk music- whether singing or making musical instruments. I want to take this art further so that our traditional musical instruments do not disappear. I am doing all that I can by investing my own little money. I earn very little but still I have a dream to teach children about our folk heritage,” he shares.

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Now aged 54, Ustad has been singing for more than 30 years now. He was always busy trying to sing the songs from the films that he would watch in theatres as a youngster. Then his passion turned his direction towards making dholaks, harmoniums and it was about 10-12 years ago that he finally opened a workshop where he started making all traditional instruments that he grew up playing and handling. His workshop employs a few youngsters from his village who train under him and make instruments like Kamaicha, Khartal, Sindhi Sarangi, Shehnai, Srimandal, Mordhaj, Surinda among others.

His desire to do something good for the community materialized when one District Collector of Jaisalmer invited him to prepare a song spreading awareness among youngsters about literacy. “I was given a couple of weeks to write and compose the literacy song and I based it in Raag Pahadi, “he shares. Soon, this was followed by an offer to compose music and a song on nomads in a feature length film.

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Ustad received an award for his song on literacy from the former President Shri APJ Abdul Kalam and the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. He feels blessed that he has been able to achieve so much with limited resources and owes it all to his elders.

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Ustad has also been part of former Desert Symphony of Rajasthan comprising of 100 artistes who played all the traditional instruments. Later the Symphony disintegrated because artistes from other states were being included and the flavor of Rajasthan in the music diminished. Ustad wishes to revive the Symphony, “I dream of creating a symphony of only folk instruments and singers and I want them to be trained children. I am working towards training 20 children for this purpose so that they can play all these instruments because I cannot do this alone. I pray to God that someday this dream will be fulfilled.”