legendary sarod player Ustad Aashish Khan rues the fact that some of the young musicians in the country are ‘copy cats’ and not serious about their learning endeavours in music. By Team Viva
His utter lack of guile strikes you instantly. As one who represents the lineage of the great Senia Maihar gharana, Ustad Aashish Khan speaks to us animatedly on the sidelines of a baithak organised by legends of India. His only advice to musicians is not to play to the gallery, but just for himself or herself. For him, music emanates from the soul. Beginning his public performances at the age of 13, he still enjoys playing with his nephew Shiraz Ali Khan or his disciples Rishi Ranjan or Vijay Chakraborty. His music is a blend of tradition and innovation, combining raga with the sarod. He does not believe that the legacy of his family as well as the gharana would in any way be compromised.
“We have lost the legends of Indian music and it’s a bad time now. It’s unfortunate that some of our young musicians are running after money. They don’t learn properly and don’t perform well. They are copy cats. This is not our traditional music. Music has to come from the soul,” he says on the transition of Indian music.
On the shaping of the musician in him, he says that he finds himself fortunate to be born in the family of legends: “From my early childhood, I lived with my grandparents. I never missed my parents. My grandmother was a wonderful woman. I have never met someone like her in my life. She was very loving and caring and loved cooking for me. My main guru was my grandfather Ustad Allauddin Khan, founder of the Senia Maihar gharana. I also learnt from my father, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, from my aunt Vidushi Annapurna Devi and also from my uncle Pandit Ravi Shankar. Pandit had done many of his musical projects, including movies, with me. I learnt from him how to compose for the ballet and movies. First, I worked with him for Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar and many other films like Jalsaghar.”
He adds: “When I started performing with my grandfather, I was ignorant about many things. I really enjoyed playing with him and learnt a lot from the stage. Sometimes he showed me aarohangal and avarohangal (high and low pitches) on the stage. Now when I play alone, it’s a different kind of feeling and I am trying to carry the legacy forward. I have to be content with my performance first to make the audience happy.”
Teaching Indian classical music at the California Institute of Art at Valencia, los Angeles, for the last ten years now, Aashish Khan slips very easily into a cosy set-up of aficionados. “I love presenting my music to a small group, it’s very intimate. I enjoy playing to a larger audience though. last year in Bangladesh, I performed for around 60,000 people.”
There is growing interest among the people in the West, he says, to know about, learn and associate with Indian music: “Because our music is very rich. Teaching there is very interesting. I have got a lot of brilliant students who are keen to learn Indian classical music. They already know about rock, jazz and other forms of Western music. Our music is different. Some students are keen to do research on it, to combine it with Western styles while some are interested in learning vocals. I have given priority to vocals. I teach instruments as well, Indian and Western. This confluence has given me an opportunity to work with great composers and directors like David lee, John Huston and Richard Attenborough.”
Aashish Khan comes to India every winter and sometimes in summer. When asked about his plans to return home for good, he says: “I need time to plan that. I am well-settled in my work, teaching at California. It’s a full-time job. leaving it and coming back to India is not possible at this time. Because I have a lot of responsibilities, I have to take care of my students.
“Now I enjoy playing with my nephew; it’s a tremendous pleasure for me. It’s my big responsibility. He lost his father at a tender age. I am trying to teach my nephew and my disciples the tradition of our gharana, the purity of our raga and taal and I am very strict that they shouldn’t play to the gallery but for themselves and give proper respect to music,” he concludes.