Collaborating with sons Ayaan and Amaan Ali Bangesh for a January 26 project, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has revisited a revered hymn of Mahatma Gandhi. Vaishnav janato, says Khan, was the ideal track to further Gandhi’s message of compassion, an essential that he says is lacking in this modern day and age.
“Looking at the situation of the world, where everyone is ready to hurt and kill the other, we wanted this message of love to reach everyone all over the globe. Gandhi, like all our freedom fighters, is a symbol of India. I feel sad that the education [we have received] couldn’t make us compassionate individuals. Education has to be redefined to focus on compassion. The gun culture in America needs to be abolished, and I appeal to President Joe Biden to do so. The world should realise that we have to help each other, and togetherness is our biggest strength,” says the veteran singer.
Employing music to further the cause, he says, is only ideal, given that “the seven notes of music are the same across languages”. “Even the medical world is using music to treat people. As artistes, we need to use it for the right reasons. Let’s not politicise matters. If we can’t help our neighbouring countries, let’s not destroy each other.”
While he acknowledges that several artistes from the field of entertainment have struggled while braving the pandemic, the phase has been rewarding for him, in certain aspects. “This was the period when my grandchildren Zohaan and Abeer started playing the sarod. When my father [Hafiz Ali Khan] would teach people, it was at our ancestral house. That is now a museum called Sarod Ghar. Disciples, including Bhimsen Joshi, would live with him. But, if you have a guru in your own home, the child is always advantaged. While I never forced my sons to become musicians, it was something they were drawn to. Now, my grandkids [are learning music]. However, whether they become doctors, lawyers or chartered accountants, I have no problem. We should not force kids.”
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