“Music has always diminshed distances. The land can be divided but not the music. You go anywhere in the world, you will get the same seven notes that constitute the world of music, whether it is Indian music or Chinese, Japanese or Western.” Ustad Amjad Ali Khan makes a very valid point in the times where not just the land, even its inhabitants are divided on the basis of religion, language, caste, creed and the colour of their skin.
Khan Saheb was making these meaningful remarks in context with a new music album “A Journey: Rabaab to Sarod” that was launched by Amitabh Bachchan, in Mumbai recently. Conceived and composed by young sarodias Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash with internationally acclaimed rabaab maestro Daud Khan Sadozai; this album shows the beautiful journey of two instruments that co-exist in perfect harmony.
Khan Saheb continues, “Music is a bridge between the feelings and binds the world and makes it a better place for mankind.” Underlining the reason behind this binding force of music, he says: “Music is the gift of God. The fact of the matter is that each one of us is born with ‘Swar’ and ‘Laya’, the breathing, that has got to do with the ‘Swara’ and the heart-beat, that symbolises the ‘Laya’, the rhythm; the two essential components of music. You must have heard the saying, ‘yeh toh hawa mein girah bandhana hai’. Music is like tying knot in air/space’.
At the launch of the album
Invention of instrument
Talking about rabaab, he explains: “From the time of ancient civilisation, the world was familiar and had experienced the sound of rabaab. Rabab is a very popular instrument of Central Asia . There have been great Rabab players and Oud players all over the world, especially in West Asia, Afghanistan and Kashmir. My forefathers, who originally belonged to Afghanistan, also played rabaab about 300 years ago, which looks like sarod.”
Ghulam Bandegi Khan Bangash and his son Ghulam Ali Khan modified and invented e sarod from rabaab, a traditional lute-instrument of Afghanistan. “Sarod is an extension of rabaab. Sarod is a Persian word. The actual pronunciation is ‘Sarood’ which means music or melody. Our sarod is made of teak wood, it is hollowed from inside, the belly is covered with the skin and the fingerboard is made of steel. The bridge on the skin carries nineteen strings. Eleven sympathetic strings are underneath the bridge and ten strings are over the bridge.”
Daud Khan Sadozai, born in Kabul in 1955, studied rabaab with Ustad Muhammad Umar, who was the most famous rabaab exponent of the classical style as well as the traditional folklore style in his country. The knowledge about building as well as playing the rabaab has become rare, and only a few artists still keep the tradition of the classical rabab-style which was mainly represented by Ustad Muhammad Umar in Kabul. Daud Khan is trying to preserve this authentic style of his master’s school.
“Daud Khan Sadozai has also studied sarod with me in India. As a devoted shagird (student), he kept in touch with me and I also met and taught him during my visits to Germany,” he says.
Daud Khan also participated in the International Sufi Festival, held recently in Nagore, Rajasthan. Since 2004, Daud Sadozai is performing with the Ensemble Radio Kabul in concerts and festivals all over Europe and abroad. He participated in the famous Agadir Festival in Morocco and he took part in concerts with the well-known instrumentalist Jordi Savall and his ensemble.
Pashto songs
This album ‘The Journey - Rabab to Sarod’ is in fact the brainchild of Amaan and Ayaan, who have played sarod, and Daud, who has played rabaab. It has got 11 tracks mostly played by all three of them. “I have played sarod with Daud’s rabaab in just one track as my ‘Ashirvad’, blessings,” he adds.
Most of the songs are popular Afghani songs of Pashto and many of them have been taken for Hindi films that have stories based on Afghani background like “Khuda Gawah”.
Some of the songs can also be found on ‘I-Tunes’. The lively album has percussions by Praveen Sethi, Fateh Singh Gangani, Keypads: Kanchman Babbar, recorded by Sumit Babbar at RBQ Studios, mastered by Kanchman Babbar and is released in India by Sa Re Ga Ma company.
