The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan - Namita Devidayal

An intimate, deeply researched, and compulsively readable biography of one of the greatest icons of Hindustani classical music—the legendary maestro who made the sitar sing.

Everyone knows the name Vilayat Khan, yet very few truly knew the man behind the music. Meditative yet playful, incredibly generous yet ruthlessly exacting, Ustad Vilayat Khan was a complex enigma to those who crossed his path. He broke hearts, shattered rigid rules, and lived life entirely on his own terms. He was a man who tinkered as furiously with the engines of his beloved cars as he did with the anatomy of his instrument—ultimately modifying the sitar technically to introduce the Gayaki Ang (vocal style), setting a revolutionary new standard for all future generations.

Yet, amidst the chaos of his larger-than-life personality, the music remained pristine at the very center of his being, protected and uncorrupted. It was a divine music that listeners described as containing the vivid sounds of "fairies dancing and elephants walking." Vilayat Khan didn't just play melodies; he saw music visually.

In The Sixth String of Vilayat Khan, Namita Devidayal—author of the acclaimed bestseller The Music Room—brilliantly recreates the extraordinary life of this uncommon genius who fundamentally and forever altered the landscape of Indian instrumental music. The book serves as a mesmerizing travelogue of his soul, following his footsteps from the musical baithaks of Calcutta, through Delhi, Bombay, Shimla, and Dehradun, all the way to Princeton, USA, where he spent his final years. Packed with previously untold personal anecdotes, historical milestones, and rare insights, this book is an absolute triumph of structural research and soulful storytelling.