‘All musicians belong to one family’

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan explains why music matters and why he chose to begin his international school of music in Kerala.

September 10, 2015 02:51 pm | Updated 02:51 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan  Photo: K.Pichumani.

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Photo: K.Pichumani.

It is not every day that you get to hear Ustad Amjad Ali Khan singing on the phone for you. As the notes flow and soar, the maestro gently brings it to a close, before he stops to explain that this is the music he performs. “It has no language. It is the music of sounds, the sound of human expression, it is universal,” says Amjad Ali Khan. Trained to sing at a young age, he has synergised the gayaki ang into his music. Euphony is what he seeks, in his music, words, activities and life.

“The science of music in India, which is more than 5,000 years old, is the most advanced in the world. The seven notes (Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, or Do, Re, Me, Fa…) are common to all streams of music. Our great legends, vidwans, saints and sages knew that there are only 12 musical notes. So although we have seen many inventions and discoveries, no one has created a 13th note. All over the world, musicians work within the 12 notes and create sublime music. That is why all musicians belong to one family. We deal with the same music and the same rhythm,” elaborates the Ustad, a sixth-generation musician of the Bangash lineage.

The sarod maestro was in Thiruvananthapuram to receive the Swati Puraskaram, the highest music award instituted by the Government of Kerala. As he was rushing to get ready for the programme in the morning, he agrees to speak on the phone about his music school that he is setting up in Thiruvananthapuram, his idea of music and his deep concern about the barriers that are dividing the world.

“I have always enjoyed coming to Thiruvananthapuram, right from the first time I came here to perform for the Soorya festival. Two years ago (in 2013), while I was here to present the award to Dakshinamoorthy ji , the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was kind enough to announce that he would give me two acres to set up my school of music. As soon as I get the official papers of the land, I plan to start work on the school,” he says.

The reason he chose Kerala, he says, is because of the “connect” he feels with the place, its communal amity and high rates of literacy. Deeply disturbed by the multiplying walls that are dividing mankind, he says the peace in Kerala attracts him. “In my family, comprising my wife, Subbulakshmi, and sons Ayaan and Amaan, we believe that there is a common god for all of humanity. We are all born in the same way and go back in the same way. My family and I feel connected to every religion in the world. There is only one human race. The colour of our blood is the same, our emotions are the same….”

The Ustad feels that unless politicians learn to look beyond their hunger for power, it would be difficult to overcome communalism. “The greatest tragedy is that politics in our country is based on religion. Education does not create compassion in people. Each person wants to be MP, Minister and Prime Minister. Today, politics has become a profession. It is because of our unwillingness to see beyond petty individual gains that we have not been able to create a national or international orchestra,” says the globetrotting, avant-garde musician.

His global outlook has helped him bridge cultures and create music sans borders. Recently, he collaborated with the Scottish chamber orchestra and composed a piece for them, ‘Samaagam’.

Heaping praise on the musicians, he says that the piece, which has now been brought out as a CD by Village World, is now being played by orchestras in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. “The two types of music is pure sound and songs (or kritis, ghazals, lyrics.. call it what you may), which has language, and which divides. The sound of the veena, the sarod, cello, violin… is all pure music. But all kinds of songs have language. Thank god, I practise pure music.”

Before he concludes he adds: “I am honoured that the Kerala government is giving me this award in the name of Swati Tirunal. Thanks to the patronage extended by kings and Rajas, music has able to thrive and not lose its mooring.”

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