Sarod music maestro Amjad Ali Khan says he felt more connected to God and spiritually elevated after performing Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah.
Speaking to Arab News, Khan said spirituality and music make a very good combination. “Sound does not belong to any religion. In every religion music is the way to reach God.”
He cited the attraction of melodious voice that comes from the mosque in the form of the call for prayer and the recitation from the Holy Qur’an. “They are really appealing,” he said.
He said he was happy to visit the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
“Many people dream to visit these holy places. My sons Amaan and Ayaan have also enjoyed this spiritual experience.”
The Khans are in Jeddah, along with tablist Tanmoy Bose at the invitation of the Saudi chapter of Soorya, the world’s largest cultural society, to perform at the Indian Consulate premises today.
They have concerts at Sheraton in Dammam tomorrow and at Saudi Aramco in Dhahran on Friday.
The Sarod is a fretless stringed instrument with a teak frame, a goatskin soundtable, and a metal fingerboard with six to eight strings plus several sympathetic strings adding up to anywhere from 19 to 25 total. The instrument lends itself to improvization and graceful expression because of the ability for the musician to slide and glide between notes, much like a human voice.
In an exclusive interview, Khan, who is the winner of Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India, called for combined efforts by politicians, academicians, media persons, artists and businessmen to establish world peace.
“The whole world should realize the value of peace, the value of love, compassion, kindness and the value of unity. It is quite unfortunate that while we observe the Hiroshima Day on Aug. 6 every year, many countries still make nuclear weapons to kill people.”
He said the trend would endanger the whole world and make future of younger generations grimmer.
“I hope our leaders would realize the aftermath of this nuclear race,” he said. “The sooner they realize the better.”
Khan highlighted the importance of Prophet’s teachings. “I hope the younger generation will realize the value of these sacred places and teachings of the Prophet and Islam,” he said.
Khan has taken musical classes at Stanford and other Western universities. “I want to help them become better musicians. I also want them to be compassionate and kind people,” Khan said, asserting his belief in the link between music practice and a way of life.
Khan and his sons today engage audiences around the world with his interpretations of traditional and newly composed ragas, as well as with his cross-cultural music projects.
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra premiered his Sarod concerto, Samaagam, in 2008. “There are good prospects for cooperation with other musicians including Arabs. Only sky is the limit,” Khan said.
Khan emphasized the need to take the blessings of God and gurus to achieve success.
“We believe that blessings and good wishes of parents are very important. Unfortunately some young people are not following this tradition. They think whatever they want they can get it like magicians. What I am today is the blessings of God and my parents,” he said while praising his fans around the world for their support.
“The oldest musical instrument in the Middle East is Oud and we have played with Iraqi Oud artist Rahim AlHaj and we produced an album titled “Ancient Sounds: Music of Iraq and India” in 2009. It was nominated for the Grammy award,” he pointed out.
Khan comes from a long and illustrious lineage of musicians. His father, Haafiz Ali Khan, and grandfather, Ghulam Ali, were musicians in the vibrant North Indian courts of Gwalior and Rampur. Khan said Ghulam Ali transformed the Afghan rabab into the Sarod and was the first player of the Sarod, which has become one of the most important instruments of North Indian classical music along with the Sitar.
Amaan and Ayaan, who have mastered the music at the hands of their father, were excited for getting the opportunity to perform Umrah. “I thank God for this blessing,” said Amaan.
He stressed his efforts to develop Sarod to make it more attractive to the youth. Speaking about Erod, which he developed with the support of his brother and is similar to a guitar, he said it can make 5,000 sounds. “Ayaan and I are trying our best to make our father feel proud. We are following our guru,” Amaan added.
Ayaan said he was overwhelmed by his visit to Makkah. “I feel extremely fortunate to be here. I feel like having received a call and feel very blessed. I consider it as one of the greatest moments in my life.” Ayaan praised Indian music lovers in Saudi Arabia. “We are proud to have amazing listeners who make us elevated by their love and affection.”
Ayaan co-authored a book with his brother, Amaan titled “Abba-God’s Greatest Gift to us” in 2002. This book was on his father’s life and was published by Roli Books, Lustre Publications under the “Family Pride Series.”
The Khans thanked Krishnamoorthy, founder of Soorya, and Rafeek Younus, international coordinator of Soorya, and all those who contributed to make this visit happen.
Younus, who is vice president of Saihati Group and managing director of Saudi Engineering Group International, described Khan as a down-to-earth personality who mingles with all types of people despite his reputable global position.
“We are honored to host him,” Younus told Arab News, adding that Khan has expressed his desire to visit Saudi Arabia again. He said Soorya has 33 chapters around the world apart from 22 chapters in India’s metropolitan cities.