<p>The master musician had composed the raga in 1984, mourning the death of Indira Gandhi, and its performance exactly 25 years after her assassination lent a melancholic mood to the whole occasion.<br />In fact, the otherwise usual “Music in the Park” event organised by SPIC-MACAY was made special by the Ustad’s performance. And Khan himself underlined the occasion’s importance.<br /><br />“It is always fulfilling to perform at such events, but today it was more special as I performed the Priyadarshani Raga in the memory of Indira Gandhi,” he told the enthusiasts who had gathered at the sprawling Nehru Park braving the early evening chill.<br /><br />Indira Gandhi, he recalled, had attended many of his concerts. “At my performance held during the Congress convention at Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, she had sat through the whole one-and-a-half hour concert,” he reminisced.<br /><br />Khan had created Priyadarshini Raga as a homage to Indira Gandhi after her assassination. He had also created the Kamal Shree Raga in the memory of Rajiv Gandhi after he was assassinated in 1991, and Raga Jawahar Manjari Raga as a tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in London on his birth centenary celebrations in 1990.</p>
<p>The master musician had composed the raga in 1984, mourning the death of Indira Gandhi, and its performance exactly 25 years after her assassination lent a melancholic mood to the whole occasion.<br />In fact, the otherwise usual “Music in the Park” event organised by SPIC-MACAY was made special by the Ustad’s performance. And Khan himself underlined the occasion’s importance.<br /><br />“It is always fulfilling to perform at such events, but today it was more special as I performed the Priyadarshani Raga in the memory of Indira Gandhi,” he told the enthusiasts who had gathered at the sprawling Nehru Park braving the early evening chill.<br /><br />Indira Gandhi, he recalled, had attended many of his concerts. “At my performance held during the Congress convention at Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, she had sat through the whole one-and-a-half hour concert,” he reminisced.<br /><br />Khan had created Priyadarshini Raga as a homage to Indira Gandhi after her assassination. He had also created the Kamal Shree Raga in the memory of Rajiv Gandhi after he was assassinated in 1991, and Raga Jawahar Manjari Raga as a tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in London on his birth centenary celebrations in 1990.</p>
