On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, the HCL Concerts is presenting ‘Infinite Hope’, a fusion concert featuring Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash. They will render the Mahatma’s favourite bhajan, “Vaishnava Jana Toh……”, live on sarod at the Shiv Nadar School, Noida this evening. One felt it was an important occasion to interact with the young sarodiyas who belong to the seventh generation of a musical tradition that gives life and purpose to the work they bring to the stage. The very lineage of the Bangash brothers, the gifted sons and disciples of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and the grandsons of Ud. Hafiz Ali Khan, is enough to set them apart. Introducing the theme, Amaan says “As you know, this year happens to be Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary and on this occasion we plan to present a project that is organised in a manner that increases awareness amongst the youth and sends a message that Gandhiji continues to be an inspiration for future generations.”
They enthusiastically take turn to answer the questions in a free-wheeling interview.
Coming from such an illustrious lineage, what is music to you?
Amaan: Even though our conditioning was in a musical environment, it has become a passion and a reason for my existence now. Being the son of Ud. Amjad Ali Khan is a matter of great honour and I feel highly privileged to be born to him. His music of course is real inspiration but so is his humility, simplicity and politeness, which is almost unreal for a man of his stature.
The idea when we play duets is to create a bouquet of flowers though we have our solo careers too. When we were growing up, our father would always be very happy to see us listen to music, not just practising it. Not only his own music, but the music of an entire range of artistes from the era of our grandfather to the contemporaries of our father. We were never asked to listen to a particular artiste, or not to listen to another; to listen only to classical music and not to listen to the music of the West or Bollywood. The choice and the freedom was entirely ours. But it is only natural to be influenced by the music that your Guru speaks of or refers to when he plays. We thus became engrossed in the world of Indian classical music that our father had grown up with, along with our own contemporary choices.
Ayaan: Apart from the humanity and compassion, I learnt that to be a musician is in itself a blessing as you are really not answerable to anyone but to yourself. For those few hours when you are on stage, you are in a creative frenzy, sometimes supernaturally unreal. There are times when you get off stage only to realise that something special happened up there that day. It’s a blessing to be in a profession that you love.
It is also a non-debatable factor that music is indeed the best way to connect to that supreme power that we have never seen. Be it any religion, music has always been the pathway to spirituality. Our mother’s role has been immense in our lives. Being an artist herself who learnt from the great Rukmini Devi Arundale, she sacrificed her career for the family. Today what we are, who we are is all her contribution. As our father says, a mother is every child’s first guru.
Did Khan Saheb's 'Bapu Kauns' inspire you to accept this theme of ‘Vaishnav Jan Toh...’?
Amaan: As a tribute to the great Mahatma, Abba had created a raga called Baapu Kauns that was first presented in Paris at UNESCO after he was honoured with the Gandhi Medal. He also performed it in South Africa in 2006 as a part of the hundredth year of the Satyagraha movement which coincided with India’s sixtieth year of independence. It’s always challenging to play songs that are already popular.
Ayaan: We often play two very popular devotional songs that are associated with Gandhi and his quest for peace, non-violence and spirituality. A trend was started by Abba. The songs are ‘Vaishnav Jana Toh’ based on raga Khamaj and ‘Ram Dhun’ based on raga Gara. To interpret these through an instrumental version, was truly an honour and a privilege. I hope that this track connects with every soul as music is the key to the pathway of divinity.
What does Mahatma Gandhi mean to this generation of musicians?
Amaan: The one man whom we owe a lot, is unquestionably Mahatma Gandhi. A man far ahead of his times, a man with a vision and a man spiritually uplifted.
From the Satyagraha Movement to the Non-violence Movement, we discovered who we are from his voice and vision. Whenever I am asked, within India or abroad, what Gandhi means to me, I am filled with much joy and pride and also deep sadness; the former because Gandhi was a truly outstanding Indian and today has become a global icon of goodness, truth, love, nonviolence and peace; sadness because he was assassinated by a terribly misguided fellow Indian whose ideology of hate still subsists in some sections of our society and polity. Another fundamental contribution which Gandhi made, and which I greatly admire, is to give primacy to truth and reason rather than conformity to traditional religious practices.
Ayaan: Gandhi's enlightened patriotism and nationalism are what India and the world greatly need today to recall and wholeheartedly adopt; if they want to rid themselves of the evils of communal massacres and terrorism of various brands which plague them in various parts at present. We all need to make our respective contributions towards this as Gandhi had insisted ‘Each of us must be the change we wish to see in this world’. Therefore, let us all work together to recreate and be soulfully motivated by his enthralling symphony of truth, love, non violence and peace.
