AmaanAliKhangavehisfirstpublicperformanceatageeight.Hismusicstyleismarkedbyprecisetunesandboldandresonantstrokes.Thesong“AwaaraHoon”fromthe1951IndianfilmAwaarawassopopularinChina,itwasknowntobeoneofChairmanMao’sfavorites.The1971BollywoodthrillerCaravanwasoneofthemostpopularfilmsinChinaduringthedecade.China’sfondnessforitslargestneighbor’sfilmandmusichasseldomwanedoverpastdecades,butthevastmajorityofithashailedfromMumbaiontheWestCoast.ThisMay,however,China’sCentralConservatoryofMusicwelcomedtherarechancetoexperiencenorthernIndianclassicalmusicfirst-hand.
ASarodconcerthadneverbeforebeenheldinChina.Theword“Sarod”roughlytranslatesto“beautifulsound”or“melody”inPersian.ItisastringedinstrumentfromnorthernIndiausedmainlyinIndianclassicalmusic.Unliketheguitar,theplayerslidesthetipsofhisorherfingernailsacrossthestrings,emittingadeep,weightyandintrospectivesound.TheinstrumentwasintroducedtoChinaviatheconcertfeaturingrenownedSarod-playerAmaanAliKhanandhisyoungerbrotherAyaanAliKhan.ThebrothersrepresenttheseventhgenerationinanunbrokenchainoftheSeniaBangashSchool.TodaytheyarebothiconsofyoungIndiantraditionalmusicians.
Theirfather,AmjadAliKhan,isconsideredIndia’sSarodKingandhastouredtheglobeseveraltimes.HisancestorsarecreditedwithtransformingtheRabab,afolkinstrumentfromCentralAsia,intotheSarod,overcenturies.SeniorIndianmusicresearchscholarZhangYuzhenbelievesthatAmjadandhisfamilyhavemadeatremendouscontributiontoglobalmusicmarkedbytheinheritance,improvement,disseminationandinnovationofIndianclassicalmusic.
Inspiredbytheirfamilyheritage,thebrothershavebeendevotedtomusicsincechildhood.AfterlearningtoplaytheSarodfromtheirfather,theyevenperformedwithhimaskids.Theirskilledperformancesattractednationwideattentionearlyon,andtheyarenowconsideredthemostauthoritativeSarodplayersintheworld.
DuringtheirperformanceinChina,thebrothersplayedmanytraditionalIndianragaandfolkmusicrangingfromsoulfulballadstolivelyjugalbandi.ZhangYuzhensharedherthoughtsafterhearingtherecording:“ThebrothersinheritedclassicalIndianmusic,butaddedtheirownunderstandingofcontemporaryandclassicalwork.Theirmusicislivelyandflawlesslyexecuted.Amaan’sstyleisboldandunrestrainedwhileAyaanhasamoreintrovertedtouch.”
“ThisshowismorecommittedtoSarodperformancetechniquesthantraditionalIndianmusic.ClassicalIndianmusicgetslessattentionoutsidethecountrybecauseit’ssocloselytiedtoreligion.Ifonedoesnotunderstandacertainreligion,theywillhaveahardtimeunderstandingthemusiconadeeplevel.TheperformersprobablytookChineseandIndianculturaldifferencesintoaccountandchoseaprogramthatdemonstratedmoreskillsandfewertraditionalelements.”
ZhangYuzhennotedthatthisstyleofperformanceresemblesacompetitionbetweentheSarodandtheTabla(apercussioninstrument).“TheSarodplaysalineandtheTablaimitatesit,”sheexplains.“Thetwoensemblesandtheshowreachaclimaxwhenthemelodyalignswiththedrumbeats.”
TheeventattheCentralConservatoryofMusicinBeijingmarkedtheendofChina’sweeklongChaitimusicfestival.Initsfourthyear,theeventhasalreadybecomeanimportantitemonChina’smusicalcalendar.ThefestivalisorganizedbyChaitiArtsFoundation,whichwasfoundedbytwoIndianfamilies:SiddharthSinhaandhiswifeMadhumitaBhuyanandRaviShankarBoseandhiswifeSoudaminiBose,whohavespentmanyyearsinChinaworking.Indianmusic’sglaringlackofexposureinChinainspiredthecouplestocomeupwiththeideaofcreatingaplatformtospreadsuchmusicinChina.TheinitiativestartedsmallbybringingyoungartistsfromIndiatogivesoloperformancesinShanghai.AstheeventgrewinpopularityandvisibilityamongChineseaudiences,anon-profitentitywasformedandtheeventwasmadeanannualaffair.
Duringthefestival,ChinaPictorialinterviewedthebrothers,AmaanAliKhanandAyaanAliKhan,aswellasZhangYuzhen,professorattheAcademyofMusicofCapitalNormalUniversityandvisitingscholarofGandharvaMahavidyalayaofNewDelhi.ZhangisChina’sfirstprofessortostudyIndianmusicandhasconductedextensiveresearchinthefield.
AyaanAliKhanalsobeganperformingmusicatayoungage.Hecarvedoutaspecialnicheinthemusicworldwithhisvisionandversatility.ChinaPictorial(CP):HowhasyourtriptoChinabeen?
Ayaan:ThisismyfirstvisittoChina.Itisabeautifulcountrywithlovelypeople.Theyareverypassionateaboutmusic.Alongwiththeirmodernity,Chinesepeoplevaluetradition,whichissomethingthatIhighlyvalue.Theyhaverespectfortheirtraditionandarepreservingit,eventheyoungergeneration.ThereissomuchhistoryinChinaandsomanytalentedartistshere.IhopetoseemoreextensiveinteractionbetweenmusiciansofIndiaandBeijing.MybrotherandIwouldlovetoperformwithsomeChinesemusiciansnexttime.
CP:Sarodmusicisfrequentlyimprovisedandexpressescertainemotions.WhatfeelingswereyoutryingtoexpressduringyourperformanceinBeijing?
Ayaan:Wewereexpressinglove,joyandhappiness.EverythingthathappenedonstagewasespeciallyforthepeopleofBeijing.
CP:HowcentralistheSarodtoIndianmusic?
Ayaan:TheSarodisoneofthemostpopularinstrumentsinIndia.Alotofyoungmusiciansandstudentsarelearningit.Myfatherhasalotofstudents,andtheyareallprogressingverywell.TheconceptofIndianclassicalmusicisbasicallyimprovisingwithinthediscipline.Andauniquefeatureisthatwecanglideandslidefromthesecondnotetothefourthnote.Itisalmostlikevocalmusic.Inside,wearesingingwhateverweareplaying.
CP:Howisthe7thgeneration’smusicdifferentfromthe6th?
Amaan:Everymusicianadaptstohisorherenvironment.Youmightlearncookingfromyourmother,butyouwilldevelopyourowntwistonthesamedishes.Youwillhavemoreingredientsatyourdisposalthanyourmother.Theerainwhichyouarebornisobviouslyamajorinfluenceonyourmusic.WeplayIndianclassicalmusicbuthaveaslightlymoremodernapproachtoit.It’snotsomethingwenaturallyaspiredto–eitherfortunatelyorunfortunately,that’sthewayitwent.
Ayaan:Averyimportantthingisyournature,andhowitcomesoutinyourmusic.Everyhumanbeingisdifferent.Whateverhappensinyourlife,yourexperiences,hap-piness,heartbreaks,everythingflavorsyourmusic.Thatiswhyeveniftwopeoplelearnfromthesameguru,theirstylescanstillbedrasticallydifferent.
CP:Howdoesyourskillandcreativitycomeoutinyourmusic?
Amaan:Whenwegoonstage,wehavenoideawhatwearegoingtoplay.Wearenotawareofourstylesorbesttechniques.Weareonlyourguru’sstudents.Sowhenweareonstagewewanttobelikeourguru.Oneshouldneverbeawareofwhoheisorwhatheplays.WhenI’monstageIonlythinkofmyguruandalltheveteranmusicianswhoinspiredme,andIwanttoplaytheirmusic.Automatically,youendupwithyourmusic.
Ayaan:It’saverylongprocessbecauseyourmusicchangesasyougetolder.Itisanever-endingjourney.Theskyisthelimit.AlotofspiritualityisassociatedwithclassicalIndianmusic.Whenweareplaying,wearepayingtributetosomecosmicpowers.CP:Whatareyoursourcesofinspiration?Doesreligioninspireyourwork?Ayaan:Notreligion,specifically,butspirituality.Religionisalsoalimitation.Spiritualityhasnolimitations.Classicalmusicisspiritual.Inspirationisaverypersonalchoice.Whatinspiresmearelife,people,nature,romance,andsomanyotherthings.
CP:WhatistheenvironmentfortheSarodinIndialike?
Ayaan:ClassicalIndianmusicisrefined,butmanyyoungpeoplearelearningittoday.Thereisahugeaudienceforitallovertheworld.Classicalmusicislikewinewhilepopmusicislikewhiskeyandvodka.
CP:Whatmadethegreatestimpactonyourmusiccareer?
Ayaan:Ithinkmyfather’sbeliefinhardwork,practice,respectforseniorsandblessingsareveryimportant.Alongwithpractice,webelieveyouneedblessings.Weneedsupportfromparents,teachersandseniorpeople.
TheChaitimusicfestival,foundedin2013,isdedicatedtopromotingclassicalIndianmusicinChina.ThebrothersinheritedclassicalIndianmusic,butaddedtheirownunderstandingofcontemporaryandclassicalwork.Amaan’sstyleisboldandunrestrainedwhileAyaanhasamoreintrovertedtouch.CP:Bollywoodisknownforfilmsfeaturingsinginganddancing.TodayBollywoodmainlyusesmodernIndianmusic,butsometimesturnstoclassical.Whatareyourthoughtsonclassicalmusicinmovies?
Ayaan:It’sfinewithme.Theskyisthelimit.MybrotherandIhaveworkedonalotofexperimentalmusic.WehavecollaboratedwithviolinistsfromNewYork,andwearecollaboratingwithaguitarist.It’slikeabouquetofflowers.Butitisveryimportanttobeclearwithyourintentions.It’sokaytomakecocktail,butmakingacocktaildoesn’tmeanyouthrowoutallyourwine.Experimentationistheoppositeoftradition.Youcanproducenewworkwithoutmurderingtradition.Alwaysrespecttradition.
CP:Inyouropinion,whatistherelationshipbetweentraditionalandmodernmusic?
Ayaan:Traditionalmusicistheseed.Themoreyouwaterit,thebiggerthetreewillgrow,andthemorefruititwillproduce.Everythingcomesfromtheseed,soyouhavetotakecareofit.