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"Audience is my motivation"
From his first recital
at the age of six to being one of the world's greatest sarod
players, Amjad Ali Khan's career graph has never made a downward
turn. In his first interview after a spat with shehnai maestro
Bismillah Khan in Kolkata last December, the Ustad speaks
to TWF correspondent
Rashmi Kushwaha about Indian classical music today
Today, the trend is more towards
fusion and pop. Even some classical performers are going that
way. How do you foresee the future of Indian classical music
in such a scenario?
To me, music is passion. It's a way of life and not a profession.
There is no essential difference between classical and popular
music. Music is music. But those who believe in using it for
making money must not join this field. People must come to
serve the cause of music by preserving, propagating and popularising
it. As for the quantity, we have many youngsters learning
classical music and I feel it's in safe hands for another
500 years. However, quality is at a premium and those opting
for this field must be prepared for a long journey through
a dark tunnel. You enter this tunnel in the hope of a sunray
some day. Every individual can be a classical musician, but
not a successful performer.
Do you think the gharana system
is declining?
The rituals of gharana system, its commitments and sincerity
of disciples is definitely declining. Today, there is a mad
rush for money and fame and only the fittest survives. A keyboard
(of a synthesiser) is the shortcut to the world of music.
The decline of gharana is part of this general degradation.
However, it will survive as it has for centuries and the musical
identity of gharanas will remain forever.
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Your jugalbandi fiasco with Ustad
Bismillah Khan in Kolkata made headlines for many days. The
rare concert ended abruptly on a discordant note with Bismillah
Khan refusing to play, blaming poor acoustics and you hit
back at him. This left a bad taste in the mouth of music lovers.
In this context, what do you think is the responsibility of
an artiste towards his audience who pay to listen for good
music?
It was a shameful incident. I urged Bismillah Saheb to continue
but he refused. It was a showdown before music enthusiasts.
However, after he left, I played for an hour. I later wished
him on the New Year, burying the past. He's a very senior
artiste and I respect him. To me, my audience is my motivation.
When I perform before them, it is my life's most sacred moment.
I am almost communicating with God when I play before them
and whatever comes out of the sarod is received by me from
a cosmic power.
I respect my audience so much that I pray to God to make me
stop five minutes before the listeners want me to end. Every
concert is like my first performance. I am as sincere, tense
and prepared -- mentally, physically, emotionally and technically
-- as I was when I first performed. My relationship with my
audience is that of total love and sincerity.
There have been demands for creating
a corpus fund for artistes. Why has it not become functional,
considering that some of the artistes are earning very well
and can easily contribute to such a fund? Do you expect any
government support?
Cohesiveness and unity are no more a part of our character.
That applies especially to the artiste community. The moment
the artistes get together, they begin to think of ways to
compete among themselves and emerge superior. No one wants
to work as a group. As a
result, it is difficult that such a fund will ever by set
up by artistes themselves. The government has set up organisations
to help and promote artistes and more than this should not
be expected from it. Moreover, the government's priority is
politics. It is not giving much emphasis to art and culture.
Last year, the French Government conferred me with the "Commander
of the order of Arts and Letters". While I received congratulatory
messages from the whole world, not even the Indian Cultural
Secretary bothered to wish me. With this apathy, it would
be impractical to think of government support for artistes.
Have you ever performed in Pakistan?
How was the response and what role do you think music can
play in strengthening Indo-Pak ties?
I performed in Pakistan in 1981, breaking 25 years of cultural
silence between the neighbours. I was part of an Indian Government
delegation to Pakistan. The response was overwhelming. People
loved us. Music is a great binder - it brings together hearts
and souls. In the early 80s, famous Pakistani singer Farida
Khanam invited me and I received a lot of love from the people.
Now I am waiting to go to Pakistan once again. This time I
would love to go with my wife Subhalakshmi and sons Amaan
and Ayaan. The warmth in India-Pakistan relations is welcome
and I hope it extends from politics and sports to business
and music.
Your wife Subhalakshmi Khan has
been a great exponent of Bharatnatyam, which she sacrificed
for the family. She is a Hindu. How important do you think
religion is in any relationship?
I am a strong believer in destiny. Everything is destined,
and so was this relationship. The Mughals conquered India
up till Kolkata, but left Assam for me. I won Subhalakshmi
there! Born in the Borooah family of Assam, she has been a
strong support throughout. She takes care of the professional
aspects of my career and that of Amaan and Ayaan. All four
of us believe in the common religion of 'Humanity'. We respect
all religions and through music, we feel connected with everyone.
I pray for world peace. Today's human is an epitome of hatred
and arrogance. Gujarat, Iraq, Israel and so many parts of
the world are bearing the brunt of fundamentalism. May the
realisation dawn on them that there is one God and various
religions are only the different paths to reach him.
What are your plans for your sons
Amaan and Ayaan?
They draw their own plans. Amaan and Ayaan have performed
worldwide. They have recorded for many music companies like
Virgin Records, Sony Music, Music Today, BMG Crescendo, Deuche
ville Radio and others. They co-authored a book titled Abba-God's
Greatest Gift To Us. They are also giving music for Bobby
Bedi's film American Daylight, which revolves around life
in call centers.
Do you watch movies? Who are your
favourite stars?
I see movies whenever I get time. Recently, I saw Maqbool.
It is a well-made film with good performance from the stars.
The most memorable film, however, remains Sparsh, with Naseeruddin
Shah playing the role of blind man and Shabana Azmi a teacher
Braille. She brings him to my concert in the movie. It is
a tender film, which moves the heart. I like Johnny Lever
very much as he makes me laugh, much like Mehmoodji of yesteryear.
I have grown up watching Dilip Kumar and he remains a special
actor till date. Amitabh and Dharmendra were class apart.
As for the actresses, I admire Nargis, Madhubala, Waheeda
Rehman and Rekha a lot. Among the comparatively newer ones,
Madhuri Dixit is good.
What do you think should be done
to popularise sarod?
All the sarod and sitar players in the world today belong
to the Tansen tradition. Yet, the government has not set up
either any academy or any institution after the maestro. The
Madhya Pradesh government gives the Tansen Samman award annually,
but it's not sufficient. I feel there should be annual Tansen
festivals across Madhya Pradesh, and a national festival as
well. I have converted my ancestral home in Gwalior into a
museum called Sarod Ghar. It is my humble effort at trying
to preserve and propagate sarod and
the memory of Tansen.
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