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Amjad Ali Khan, the master of the sarod, is India’s foremost
exponent of classical music. A Descendant of a family of musician,
his devotion to the art from is remarkable. Expressing his
creativity through new styles he has revolutionized the art of sarod
playing.
An amazingly youthful,
good looking face, framed by startling salt and pepper hair. A
flamboyant green silk kurta. An old world, soft spoken charm. And a
towering talent distilled over six generations of dedicated
musicians. Amjar Ali Khan. One of India’s foremost classical
music exponents, master of the sarod, passionate proponent of peace
and national-indeed, international integration.
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
learnt the sarod from his legendary father, Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, who
himself belonged to an illustrious line of sarod players of the court
of Gwalior. As he says today with a smile, “My learning the
sarod started in a behoshi ka alam (unconsciously).
Jab hosh aya to sarod ko paaya” (When, as a child,
I became conscious of my surroundings I found the sarod in my hands).
In a musician’s family you become aware of music when you are
just an infant-one year old or two years old. It has been the same
with my children.” Khan Saheb (as he is known with affection
and respect) has two sons, Amaan and Ayaan, who are being trained to
carry forward the musical tradition, as the seventh generation of
this formidably talented family. Indeed, this is the family which
can be credited with virtually introducing the sarod to India and
adapting it to classical music.
It was Amjad Ali Khan’s
ancestor, a horse trader called Mohammad Hashmi Khan Bangas, who
frequently traveled from his native Afghanistan to India, and finally
settled in Rewa, Central India, who brought the instrument to this
country. He had great dexterity over the rabab, a folk
instrument of Afghanistan. It was this talent, coupled with his love
for Indian classical music, that led him to encourage his son. Ghulam
Bandegi Khan Bangash, to devote his time and attention to Indian
classical music in Rewa and its neighbourhood. What Ghulam Bandegi
Khan Bangash finally achieved-the transformation of the rabab into
the sarod (which means melody in Persian), of the folk into the
classical-was nothing short of stupendous. The rest, as they say, is
history. Future generations of the Bangash clan further perfected
their mastery over the instrument-the sarod-and the music-Indian
classical music. The family was generously patronized by the
Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior as also by other royal lovers of the arts
like Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Lucknow. Amjad Ali Khan’s
father, Hafiz Ali Khan brought another great strain into the family’s
music tradition. He became a disciple of Ustad Mohammad Wazir Khan,
a direct descendant of the legendary Mian Tansen, the jewel of the
great Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court. The sarod gharana
(literally, house, implying a particular style and tradition of
music) now became the Senia Beenkar Gharana. The sixth generation,
represented by Amjad Ali Khan, kept the family flag flying; and this
serenely handsome musician introduced yet another style-the khayal
and thumri gayaki style on the sarod, almost
revolutionizing the art of the sarod playing.
With such an awe
inspiring legacy, it is not surprising that Amjad Ali Khan has music
in his blood. But what is truly surprising is his warm understanding
and appreciation of all kinds of music, his commitment to the idea
that al music is universal. For example, he has recently made a
record for HMV titled ‘Music is Music’ with a fellow South
Indian musician, T.N. Krishnan. Earlier too, he had made a cassette
blending North Indian, with South Indian music-he played the sarod
along with violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaram. The title of the record
was suggested by him-to bring home the suggested by him-to bring home
the fact that there are no barriers in music. He says, “India is
the only country which has two traditions of classical music-the
North and the South. I don’t like the classification of
Hindustani and Carnatic. Does South Indian music not belong to
Hindustan? Yes, there is a basic difference between these two
traditions of music. In South India, it is song oriented music.
There are kritis which everyone knows. In the North if
we want to, we can play a song, but we don’t have to. We have a
big repertoire. Our lyrics are mostly in praise of God and are in
Sanskrit or the Avadhi tongue. But finally music is music. Nor does
Khan Saheb despite being a classical musician of such repute-look
down on folk music. As he points out, “Folk music is probably
the oldest music. After folk music came classical music with its
entire complete system of rules ragas, raaginins etc.” He also
agrees that there are differences between Western classical music and
Indian classical music. “The concept of our music,” he
explains “is freedom within the discipline. In Indian music,
the performer has many roles-he composes, performs, conducts. In the
West, you need three people for these three tasks. We may have one
Raga Malkauns, but every time you listen to it, the mood will be
different, the atmosphere will be different. And yet” he adds
with a smile “ all music, the world over, is based on the same
seven notes. If you include the sharp and flat notes, the number is
12.” Khan Saheb also rejects the notion that to appreciate
classical music, one has to have a profound understanding of it.
“The music should give you ananda (joy)” he
says “Why it gives you pleasure, why you enjoy it is a question
no one can answer. Similarly, you see a painting and you like it.
You don’t have to know the intricacies of that school of
painting or anything to enjoy it. You eyes like it, that’s all.
The joy in music, in the arts-this is what keeps your soul alive.”
Amjad Ali Khan is
naturally gratified at the steadily increasing popularity of Indian
classical music, both in India and abroad. “The following is
growing day by day” he says “I’ve been performing
since the age of 10, and I have seen this over the years. What
specially delights him is the fact that his growing popularity and
following abroad is a direct outcome of the fame and stature he
enjoys in his own country. “In some cases” he point out”
it is only after a person becomes well known abroad that he becomes
well known here in India. But I’m called abroad for
performances because I enjoy a particular standing here.” In
any case he firmly believes that Indian classical music is like a
“tender plant” that can only grow in India. “It is a
way of life.”
Amjad Ali Khan has
himself been teaching the sarod to his disciples, but he is not
content with just that. He wants to open an institution for the
arts, where students and teachers can live and learn-not only the
sarod but other musical instruments, and classical dance forms too.
This ambitious project is under the auspices of the Hafiz Ali Khan
Memorial Society, founded in memory of that great musician who passed
away in 1972. As a tribute to his father, Amjad Ali Khan has also
organized many Hafiz Ali Khan Memorial Festivals of music and dance,
and instituted an award in his name. Some of the musicians who have
received this award include vocalist Bhimsen Joshi, sitar player
Ustad Vilayat Khan, singer M.S. Subbulakshmi and many others. As
Amjad Ali Khan says, “All this is in keeping with my father’s
wish that young musicians should be encouraged and seniors should be
honoured.”
This distinguished
musician who has been profusely honoured by the Indian government and
other institutions (he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s
highest civilian awards, this year) has expressed his creativity in
several other unusual ways also. For example, he has to his credit
the creation of many new ragas such as Shivanjali, Ranjini, Suhag
Bhairav and many others. As a tribute to the late Prime Minister,
Mrs. Indira Gandhi, he composed a special raga, Priyadarshini. Most
recently, on his wife, Subbalakshmi’s birthday, he created a new
raga named after her-a tribute to his companion of fifteen years who
gave up her promising career as a Bharat Natyam dancer to devote
herself to her husband and children. Says Amjad Ali Khan proudly,
“She learnt Bharata Natyam from Rukmini Devi Arundale. She was
a great dancer-if she had continued, she would have been one of the
best. I created this raga as a tribute to her, and to all those
great ladies who have sacrificed so much for their families.”
Subbalakshmi, whose
young, laughing, twinkle-eyed face brings sunshine and good cheer,
says with a smile, “Khan Saheb announced this at a concert in
Madras. Someone called me from Madras and told me. I thought, oh
God, what has he done? I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
But yes, in my heart of hearts, I suppose I was very touched.”
Subbalakshmi (who was named after M.S. Subbulakshmi by her Assamese
parents) is very much the moving force behind Khan saheb’s life,
and it is patently clear that he is immensely proud of her. He
gestures to his beautifully done up drawing room and says, “It’s
all been done by her. It’s not as if she has learnt interior
designing anywhere-it is just her creativity. She designs all my
clothes. Often, before a concert, I don’t even know what kurta
I am going to wear. Whatever she takes out, I wear.”
Subbalakshmi also manages his professional engagements efficiently.
“I usually travel with him whenever I can, and I manage all the
appointments, interviews, the coordinating work, making sure
everything, including the stage, is all right before every
performance and so on she reveals “Yes, I suppose he has become
very dependent on me. But he is wonderful person. His family is
also very sincere, very simple. The most important thing is their
sense of responsibility to music, to elders. It’s a common
binding force between his family and mine., Khan Saheb has had his
share of problems, life is not just a bed a roses. But he has
worked hard, and he is completely dedicated to his art.”
And that, is surely the
hallmark of every truly great musician.
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