Book on Indian classical music maestros launched

Abook on classical music maestros of the Indian subcontinent, written by a Dubaibased Indian author, was launched at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) on Friday evening.

S. Gopalakrishnan, an award-winning author, narrated some interesting anecdotes while reading excerpts from the book titled Patum Kaalavum (Malayalam for ‘Music through the times’).

The children of Indian music maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan were reluctant to endorse the nomination papers of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he contested the 2014-parliamentary elections from Varanasi, the hometown of the late maestro.

“They said they wanted to remain [politically] neutral. What does it mean? Although Khan was a devout Muslim, he used to play a Shehnai [musical instrument] at prominent Hindu temples at Kashi and he had a secular image,” the author said.