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‘FREE MEIN BAS AASHIRWARD MIL SAKTA HAI’
The maestro advocates that art can’t be made into a commodity for it to be promoted for free, and that everyone should respect the artist for his or her art
Music koi toothpaste ya soft drink thodi na hai, jo aap usko free mein promote karoge Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, sarod player
Artists should get what they deserve,” opines legendary sarod player Ustad
Amjad Ali Khan (above), who is miffed with those who believe that music should be consumed for free by the masses. “There are so many companies that say they are promoting music for free or are asking for grants from the government to do the same. Music koi toothpaste ya soft drink thodi na hai jo aap usko promote karoge? I believe musicians should get their due for their hard work,” says the Padma Vibhushan recipient.
“Whenever you go to a temple or a mosque or a church, you buy the flowers that you offer to God, right? I am not saying we musicians are Gods. But it is a similar thing — a kind of ‘offering’ when you spend money to come to our concerts or buy cassettes and CDs,” explains Khan, backing his argument, but not without joking that “free mein bas aashirwaad mil sakta hai!” He adds that an artist feels truly blessed when his concerts are fullypacked. “It is a very beautiful feeling, when the manager of that venue comes to you and tells you that it’s a sold out show,” says the musician.
The 70-year-old, who performed with his sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan as part of the World Sacred Spirit Festival recently, believes the reason why musicians from the West like Indian classical music is because it has no lyrics. “Swar hi ishwar hai. When music is without words, everyone can connect to it. When people listen to classical music, they go in trance and that can’t be explained in words. That’s why the West prefers classical music to Bollywood songs,” he says, further explaining, “Just like we have seven swar in our music - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa, the West has seven notes - Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti. And that’s the common language of music anywhere you go. Music without words is what connects the whole world.”