<p class="bodytext">Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan turned 80 on October 9. And he has been performing for an astounding three quarters of a century, having made his concert debut at six! Amjad Ali is musical royalty by birth. His father and Guru Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan was the doyen of the Bangash (Gwalior) tradition that traces its musical lineage to Tansen. He was one of the finest performers of the sarod of the 20th century. His mantle passed on to his son, who wears it with rare dignity and grace.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I once met him in late 1995. He was waiting for his car outside Rang Bhavan, Bombay. He was soft-spoken and gracious. This was in the wee hours of the morning and he had just played a scintillating Ahir Bhairav. His humility was seen at a concert at Freer Art Gallery, Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, where he said he was “attempting a difficult raga”, and proceeded to play an evocative alaap in Marwa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Those performances embodied the very best of his musicianship. He effortlessly blends technical brilliance with emotional depth. The sarod is well equipped to play meends (graces) since the fingerboard is fretless. And Amjad Ali plays meends eloquently as heard in his 1979 recording of Raag Darbari Kanada. He is a past master of the intricate ekhara taans, as heard for instance in his first LP of ‘Raag Desh’ (1967) with the formidable Pandit Samta Prasad on tabla.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali rose to prominence at an early age. The sarod firmament was star-studded during the era. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan of the Maihar gharana had already taken the sarod to the global stage. His cousin Ustad Bahadur Khan and his son Ustad Ashish Khan were at the pinnacle of their prowess. Pandit Budhhadeb Dasgupta was carrying forth Radhika-babu’s musical lineage. Vidushi Zarin Daruwala-Sharma and Vidushi Sharan Rani Mathur were highly sought-after concert artistes. Pandit Rajeev Taranath was a connoisseur’s delight. And many more. Each one of these artistes brought a unique charm to the sarod and the instrument had never seen more glory. The lucky listeners were of course delighted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In this creative profusion, Khansahab kept the Bangash gharana torch lit. He imbibed the best of the other traditions while maintaining a strong sense of classicism throughout his career. His personal charisma and the unfettered adoration of his listeners helped him become synonymous with the sarod in the popular imagination. In the film ‘Chashme Buddoor’ (1981), when Farooq Shaikh goes shopping for music albums, he handles one of Khansahab’s LPs (the 1976 ‘Raag Shree’ release). Here, Khansahab was in elite company — the other albums in the scene were by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Begum Akhtar! Amjad Ali was also ubiquitous on Doordarshan. One avidly remembers him in the short film on ‘Desh Raag’ where he plays the raag in Lodi Gardens in the company of children. The piece is reminiscent of not only his debut album but also his father’s recording of the same raag from decades earlier.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali’s oeuvre is dominated by his sarod recordings and his forays into other projects have been limited albeit good. His album ‘South meets North’ with the venerable Vidwan Lalgudi Jayaraman is one of the finest Hindustani-Karnatik fusion works to date. It features Bhoop/Mohanam and Malkauns/Hindolam. The blending of the two streams is so perfect that I think of it as jugalbandi rather than fusion! Khansahab has composed the music for the album ‘Guftagoo’, ghazals and songs sung by contemporary artistes. The reimagining of ‘kaahe ko deeni bides’ in Vidushi Shobha Gurtu’s voice is fabulous.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has been quite a prolific creator of new melodies. He composed raag Subhalakshmi in the honour of his wife, who is the centre of his family and his life. He created Raag Priyadarshini as a tribute to Indira Gandhi soon after her untimely death. He has been credited with the creation of 20 new raagas.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali’s two sons Aman and Ayaan Ali Bangash are following in his footsteps, and it is heartening to see the grandsons also taking to the instrument. This must be a source of immense satisfaction for him.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan turned 80 on October 9. And he has been performing for an astounding three quarters of a century, having made his concert debut at six! Amjad Ali is musical royalty by birth. His father and Guru Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan was the doyen of the Bangash (Gwalior) tradition that traces its musical lineage to Tansen. He was one of the finest performers of the sarod of the 20th century. His mantle passed on to his son, who wears it with rare dignity and grace.</p>.<p class="bodytext">I once met him in late 1995. He was waiting for his car outside Rang Bhavan, Bombay. He was soft-spoken and gracious. This was in the wee hours of the morning and he had just played a scintillating Ahir Bhairav. His humility was seen at a concert at Freer Art Gallery, Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, where he said he was “attempting a difficult raga”, and proceeded to play an evocative alaap in Marwa.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Those performances embodied the very best of his musicianship. He effortlessly blends technical brilliance with emotional depth. The sarod is well equipped to play meends (graces) since the fingerboard is fretless. And Amjad Ali plays meends eloquently as heard in his 1979 recording of Raag Darbari Kanada. He is a past master of the intricate ekhara taans, as heard for instance in his first LP of ‘Raag Desh’ (1967) with the formidable Pandit Samta Prasad on tabla.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali rose to prominence at an early age. The sarod firmament was star-studded during the era. Ustad Ali Akbar Khan of the Maihar gharana had already taken the sarod to the global stage. His cousin Ustad Bahadur Khan and his son Ustad Ashish Khan were at the pinnacle of their prowess. Pandit Budhhadeb Dasgupta was carrying forth Radhika-babu’s musical lineage. Vidushi Zarin Daruwala-Sharma and Vidushi Sharan Rani Mathur were highly sought-after concert artistes. Pandit Rajeev Taranath was a connoisseur’s delight. And many more. Each one of these artistes brought a unique charm to the sarod and the instrument had never seen more glory. The lucky listeners were of course delighted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In this creative profusion, Khansahab kept the Bangash gharana torch lit. He imbibed the best of the other traditions while maintaining a strong sense of classicism throughout his career. His personal charisma and the unfettered adoration of his listeners helped him become synonymous with the sarod in the popular imagination. In the film ‘Chashme Buddoor’ (1981), when Farooq Shaikh goes shopping for music albums, he handles one of Khansahab’s LPs (the 1976 ‘Raag Shree’ release). Here, Khansahab was in elite company — the other albums in the scene were by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Begum Akhtar! Amjad Ali was also ubiquitous on Doordarshan. One avidly remembers him in the short film on ‘Desh Raag’ where he plays the raag in Lodi Gardens in the company of children. The piece is reminiscent of not only his debut album but also his father’s recording of the same raag from decades earlier.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali’s oeuvre is dominated by his sarod recordings and his forays into other projects have been limited albeit good. His album ‘South meets North’ with the venerable Vidwan Lalgudi Jayaraman is one of the finest Hindustani-Karnatik fusion works to date. It features Bhoop/Mohanam and Malkauns/Hindolam. The blending of the two streams is so perfect that I think of it as jugalbandi rather than fusion! Khansahab has composed the music for the album ‘Guftagoo’, ghazals and songs sung by contemporary artistes. The reimagining of ‘kaahe ko deeni bides’ in Vidushi Shobha Gurtu’s voice is fabulous.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has been quite a prolific creator of new melodies. He composed raag Subhalakshmi in the honour of his wife, who is the centre of his family and his life. He created Raag Priyadarshini as a tribute to Indira Gandhi soon after her untimely death. He has been credited with the creation of 20 new raagas.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Amjad Ali’s two sons Aman and Ayaan Ali Bangash are following in his footsteps, and it is heartening to see the grandsons also taking to the instrument. This must be a source of immense satisfaction for him.</p>