Amar Nath

Pandit Amarnath (1924 – 1996) was an Indian Classical Vocalist and film music composer. He composed music for the film Garam Coat in 1955. He should not be confused with the very popular composer of the same name, Amarnath, who was very active in Lahore and Mumbai film industry.

He was the first and closest disciple of Amir Khan, who founded the Indore gharana of Indian classical music. While Amir Khan had specially propagated the vilambit or the slow style of singing, Amarnath further enriched the gharana with the mystic poetry he wrote as bandish for khayal singing, under the pen-name of Miturang.

Early life and career Amarnath was born in 1924 in Jhang in Punjab, now in Pakistan. He received his initial training in music from B.N. Datta of Lahore, from 1942 to 1947, and moved to Delhi after the partition of India. It was his first guru, Prof. Datta, who suggested that he go to Khan for further learning. Amarnath also directed the music for a documentary on Mirza Ghalib. This included the first and only ghazal recorded in the voice of Amir Khan; the documentary was made by M. S. Sathyu.

Amarnath died on 9 March 1996.

Legacy The book, Conversations with Pandit Amarnath conducted by Bindu Chawla based on conversations with him, was published by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Delhi, in the year 2004. A book on his mémoires of Amir Khan, titled "Indore ke Masiha/Prophets of Indore, mémoires of my guru, Ustad Amir Khan Saheb", was published in 2008 by the Pandit Amarnath Memorial Foundation. The Pandit Amarnath Vaggeyakar Samman, or Composer's Award, is instituted in his memory every year by the Pandit Amarnath Memorial Foundation, whose Chairperson is his daughter, Bindu Chawla.