Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan was 16 when he first came to Hyderabad. “I have very good and sweet memories of Hyderabad,” he exclaims. “One of my father’s disciples Basheer Ahmed Khan had brought me here and in a span of one month I gave 12 performances with Ustad Shaik Dawood Khan sahab . Performing so many times in such a short span of time had not happened to me before. Mujhe bahut mazaa aaya; The crowd was not only appreciative but also knowledgeable about music. And, that makes a big difference.”
The renowned sitar player hopes to again create many such happy memories when he performs this weekend in Hyderabad. This concert is part of the ‘Jashn-e-Deccan’ series slated to be held at Sreenidhi International School.
With infinite number of concerts, Shahid had carved a niche in the world of sitar. Music is the one thing that has kept him going all these years, he shares. “I play for music lovers but there is nothing above music for me. My involvement in music is so much that I do not think of anything else. I consider every concert as my first and feel excited of performing on stage; if one is not excited, the performances will not appeal.”
The onus is on musicians to bring in a new approach, he opines. “Musicians have to seek freshness and novelty. Music may be the same but it is the approach which makes it interesting.” Known for his raga improvisations, Shahid transports audiences to a different world during his concerts. He places music above raag and taal . “I believe raag is a gate through which music enters. When people hear music, they should not be able to think of raag , taal or the time. If they are able to forget all this and be immersed in music, then it is good music.” As a purist and a follower of tradition, but observes that some people misinterpret the word. “I have never left tradition. People add a negative connotation to the word purity; imagine that it comes with a boundary. I disagree with that; when a person is knowledgeable of the subject, he/she is able to expand the boundary but yet it is pure.”
One of his concerts where he didn’t leave his purist’s approach is an example: “The organisers asked me to play something different, something light. I told them to just give their requirements and not directions. After I performed, many were happy and were curious to know what it was. The organisers were pleased and appreciated me for singing the way they wanted me to. I told them I did exactly opposite of what they told me. I played my same music and people liked it,” he recalls with a smile adding he gave an example of Mughle-e- Azam to the organisers. “Whoever watches it says it is a great movie. Some of them don’t understand the language in it but still they like it. When something is pure, it will have such an effect.”
