The music plays on

Annual concert in memory of Ustad Ashique Ali Khan this Saturday

February 27, 2015 05:13 pm | Updated 05:13 pm IST

Veteran Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

Veteran Kathak exponent Shovana Narayan. Photo: Akhilesh Kumar

As the generation that saw India gain independence and grew with the country fades away, it is increasingly the need of the hour to preserve the memories of their varied contributions that made India what it is today. Artists have played no small role in this development. And every heard and unheard nook of India has produced artists of high calibre, never mind whether they reached the pinnacle of temporal success or not. But their succeeding generations are doing their bit to continue the tradition. Among these is the Ustad Ashique Ali Khan Art and Musical Trust, which honours the legacy of the late sarangi maestro with an annual music concert and award ceremony.

The 13th annual event is set to take place this Saturday in New Delhi.

“Ustad Ashique Ali Khan was born on October 28, 1948 in Kairana, a small hamlet along the banks of the Yamuna in Muzaffarnagar in a family of sarangi exponents,” says the maestro’s wife Nafees Jahan in a press note.

Like most traditionally trained instrumentalists, the ustad learnt vocal music since early childhood and acquired recognition for his singing as well as prowess with the harmonium. He started formally learning the sarangi at the age of 22, receiving training from his grandfather Ustad Allah Rakkha Khan, and later from his father Ustad Mehfooz Ahmed Khan.

He moved to Jabalpur to work in the musical institution Kairafz and later joined Akashvani Raipur in 1976, from where in 1987 he was transferred to Agra.

The family cherishes a moment in 1993, at Agra, when his rendition of the lehra (instrumental support to a tabla solo or Kathak footwork) brought effusive praise from celebrated tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. “It is my great fortune that a supremely accomplished sarangi artist like Ustad Ashique Ali Khan is accompanying me today. I am like a child compared to him. I am hoping that Khan Saheb will guide me and help me play to everybody's satisfaction, “ he is reported to have announced, and even kissed the fingers of Khan saheb after the concert.

Ustad Ashique Ali Khan, who was honoured with the title Sangeet Shilpi by Sangeet Kala Kendra, was transferred to Delhi in his later years. Performing at the Akashvani Sangeet Sammelans and other prestigious venues, he was a known name as a soloist. He also accompanied leading musicians and classical dancers of the country, including Bhimsen Joshi, Sharafat Hussain Khan, Latafat Hussain Khan, Siddheshwari Devi, Pandit Jasraj, Begum Aktar, Rasoolan Bai, Prabha Atre, Gangu Bai Hangal, Parveen Sultana, Kishan Maharaj, Kumar Gandharwa, the Singh Bandhu, Sitara Devi, Roshan Kumari, Vyjayantimala Bali and others.

His concerts are broadcast even today from All India Radio. His untimely demise at the age of 51, on September 29, 1999, left the family bereft. But the nature of music is to play on.

For the past 13 years, the trust formed in his memory has been organising concerts and furthering the cause of music in society.

The programme this Saturday features concerts by Pandit Harish Tiwari a jugalbandi by Rajendra Prasanna (shehnai) and Pandit Santosh Kumar Nahar (violin). The award of Sangeet Ratna will be presented to Rajendra Prasanna and the Bharti Brothers, while Kathak exponent and guru Shovana Narayan will receive the title of Nritya Ratna. The event is also intended to felicitate sitar maestro Pandit Debu Chaudhury on his birthday.

“Indian classical music is an integral part of our culture and tradition and all the three forms, vocal, instrumental and classical dance, enhance our culture,” says Aslam Ali Khan, the Trust’s vice president.

February 28, Aiwan-e-Ghalib Auditorium, Mata Sundri Road, New Delhi, 6.30 p.m.

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