The premier gharana of sitar
Existing festivals continue their upward trend, generally drawing a full- house, although it often makes me wonder whether organisers actually keep an upward limit to the number of people attending
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TNow that most writers have written about the year that has passed us by, it provides me ample opportunity for taking the liberty of sharing how I believe 2018 will pan out to be.
While those who follow the so- called classic rock musical history, find the number of artistes touring India in that select genre wanting, it was boom time for followers of EDM as world famous DJs/ artistes arrived on Indian shores last year — as examples, DJ Snake, Martin Garrix, and Chainsmokers, to name a few — and that trend will certainly continue into the New Year as the festival business continues to grow. As stand- alone artistes, we will also have more one- off youth artistes performing in the country as it caters to an audience where parents pay! For instance, the likes of Justin Bieber, who performed in May last year, had more misses than hits. Similarly, Ed Sheeran — also performing in Mumbai [ for the second time, following his 2016 visit] — managed to draw an audience in excess of 10,000 too! Existing festivals continue their upward trend, generally drawing a full- house, although it often makes me wonder whether organisers actually keep an upward limit to the number of people attending. Nevertheless, two festivals that remain exceptions, which I could easily recommend this year too are the annual Mahindra Blues Festival [ MBF], held every February — this time featuring legendary UK- based musician John Mayall — and the theme- based folk and fusion festival, Paddy Fields, which has firmly established itself for its quality artistes and superior production, and is usually held in October. MBF is also a platform for new talent and, this year, a jury consisting of Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa selected the Arinjoy Trio, from Kolkata, as worthy winners of a Blues Talent Hunt.
Of course, there are several State- government promoted festivals occurring today and, similarly, genre- specific festivals too, which goes to show that demonetisation and
GST are n o he recent Padmavibhushan Award to 91- year- old Pandit Arvind Parekh, oldest student of Ustad Vilayat Khan, preceded by the awarding of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship to him at a glittering reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan last month brings into focus his gharana. Six generations of unbroken lineage; several top exponents in the world of music even today; path- breaking innovations on the instrument of this house, the sitar – the Imdadkhani gharana truly has an illustrious history. The gharana is universally known by this n a m e , after the 19th cent u r y s i t a r i y a Ustad Imdad Khan, though the tradition of music was started by his grandfather; some people also refer to it as the Etawah gharah as the original Ustads lived in Etawah, a small district near Agra.
Ustad Imdad Khan was truly a memorable musician, from the stories linked with him. It is said he was born in Etawah in 1848, and trained mainly under his father Ustad Sahabdad Khan, but later also with Ustad Bande Ali Khan the great beenkar who lived in Indore, and was associated
l o n g e r deterrents to audiences flocking festivals and/ or for promoters showing any reluctance to launch new festival properties. As a spill over from the past, musically with one of the founders of the Gwalior vocal gharana, Ustad Haddu Khan ( he was his son in law too). He was the first sitar player ever to be recorded, and it is said he performed in front of Queen Victoria. Ustad Imdad Khan was court musician of two of the biggest patrons in India in his time – the Maharajas of Mysore and later Indore. He was so immensely rigid with his practice that is it said he would sit for his riyaaz at the same time every evening, regardless of whether he was traveling or not, in sickness and i n health. If he was on a train, he w o u l d hop off, c o m p l e t e his riyaaz, then wait for the next train to board for his destination. Knowing this habit of his, concert organisers used to insist he arrive a few days before the concert date, so that even if he de- boarded and missed a few connections, he would still arrive in time, a few days later!! In a recording with the Sangeet Natak Akademi archives, a certain Gottu sahib from Dharwar visited Indore, heard Ustad Imdad Khan play Raga Puriya, and a year later he again heard Ustad Vilayat Khan undisputedly over shadowed the world of instrumental music in his times; most instrumentalists even today, privately acknowledge the influence he has had on their music it is heartening to note that people actually have found time to pursue listening sessions, which are usually theme- based or artiste- based. I recollect an earlier one held by The Mumbai Assembly and, more recently, I discovered a venue known as Adagio, also based in Mumbai, featuring end- toend playing of classic albums from the past, and all on vinyl! Sessions this year featured Queen's ' A Night At The Opera' and Dire Straits' self- titled, debut album.
Not only is this movement increasing pan- India, it is also a fabulous manner of connecting with like- minded people, in their ' 20s, but also helps revive music that one had grown up to but had taken a back seat on account of - what else? - work priorities. Listening sessions will be well supported by this year's ' Record Store Day', scheduled to be held on April 21.
Following the amendment in the Copyright Act in 2012, there always remained ambiguity and suspicion among stake holders on what went wrong and what was Copyright. After an extended battle involving allegations, copyright issues across multiple sides, and courtroom dramas, the house of composers, the fraternity of lyricists, and the group of music companies finally achieved a settlement of sorts in December last year. him, still playing Puriya. When he asked the Ustad why he did not play anything else, and if he had really only played Puriya in the intervening months, the Ustad is said to have replied “beta, Puriya mein tel hai, nikaalke chorenge” ( there is still heavy matter in Puriya for me to dig out; I
This augured extremely well for the immediate future where, although potential income from streaming remains miniscule, alternative sources of income/ revenues/ royalties from publishing and from performing rights will hold good stead for the stakeholders in the new year, as users will have even more online access through internet penetration and through competitive pricing.
The recent trend for soundtracks of superhero movies containing classic songs from the past may have commenced with the likes of Guardians Of The Galaxy, its sequel, and the more recent Thor: Ragnarok. I personally continue to look at those superhero movies scheduled in 2018 to continue with this trend of incorporating popular songs will leave exploring it only after I have extracted it fully)
Ustad Imdad Khan had two equally worthy sons – Ustad Inayat Khan acknowledged as the finest sitar player of his times ( Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan is on record saying “unki ungaleeyon se pareeya tapakti thee” – fairies danced from his fingers when he played) and Ustad Wahid Khan, who specialized in playing the surbahar. Ustad Inayat Khan had two sons – legendary Ustad Vilayat Khan called the “Yug Purush” of instrumentalists in his from the past: Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Ant- Man and The Wasp, Venom, and Deadpool 2; all providing an astonishing opportunity for music from the yesteryear connecting with the present generation. So, with that, one looks at the New Year bringing about a lot of positives and upsides to a music industry that has otherwise had a difficult revenue patch in recent times, and I end this column by wishing monies running into millions for/ from the millennials. times, and Ustad Imrat Khan, today, the senior most sitariya of his gharana, though largely forgotten as he is a resident in the US. ( Shamefully, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the junior most of the Padma awards, in his twilight
The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years. He continues to pursue his hobby and earns an income out of it. years, last year, which he refused, saying he was too senior to accept the honour).
Ustad Vilayat Khan undisputedly over shadowed the world of instrumental music in his times; most instrumentalists even today, privately acknowledge the influence he has had on their music.
Ustad Inayat Khan’s grandsons today dominate the world of the sitar and surbahar – late Ustad Rais Khan, Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Ustad Shujaat Khan, Ustad Nishat Khan, Ustad Irshad Khan. Illustrious disciples include Pt Budhaditya Mukherji, and Anupama Bhagwat.
Ustad Irshad Khan, the youngest Ustad, but by no means a light weight musician, talking of his musical heritage remarked, the life of a professional musician is never easy; the heritage means you don’t have the choice of pursuing any other career, as the music is in your blood.
He recalled telling words of his grandmother, Begum Basheeran Inayat Khan ( widowed in her thirties, she was the daughter of Ustad Bande Ali Khan in the Nahan court).
She told him “beta yaad rakhna, kabhi ghee khaane ko milega, kabhi muthi bhar chane, kabhi voh bhi nahin” ( Son in this line you sometimes get to eat with butter, sometimes it’s just a handful of gram, sometimes not even that) Poignant words indeed!