Shrada Smaran (Anavaran)

Ustad Allauddin khan was Indian ‘Sarod’ player and a multi-instrumentalist composer of 20th century. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1958 and Padma Vibhushan in 1971. He was also awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi fellowship for lifetime contribution to Indian classical music. He was also known to have founded the “Senia Maihar Gharana”. Imagine if Indian Classical Music was a plant where different musicians formed different branches then Ustad Khan would be called the root of this plant. Such was the aura and significance of him.

On 24 May 2007, his son, Ustad Aashish Khan became the first ever Indian classical musician to become a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the UK’s highest society in Asian arts and culture. Besides being a performer, composer and conductor, he is also an adjunct professor of Indian Classical Music at the California Institute of Arts and the University of California at Santa Cruz, in the United States. Playing ‘Sarod’ like his father, Ustad Aashish Khan has also collaborated with many famous western musical artists.

On 14th July 2018, history recreated itself as the greatpillars of Indian Classical Music, Ustad Aashish Khan, his Niece Ustad Shiraaz Ali Khan and Pt. Bickram Ghosh unveiled bronze statues of Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, Pt. Krishna rao Shankar Pandit and Ustad Allauddin Khan in LDV Block of ITM University. These statues were crafted by city’s famous artists Mr. Mukund Ketkar and Ms. Mamta Ketkar. After the unveiling, Ustad Aashish Khan started the concert by paying a tribute to his Grandfather, by playing his compostition, Hem Raag, which is a mixture of Raag Hemant and Raag Bihag. He presented only the Alapchaari of this Raag. Which induced tremendous energy to initiate the fusion performance. It was then followed by a presentation of the pace of Teen Tal in Raag Jhinjhoti which again proved to be a successful recitation and revision of the original. And accompanying him on Tabla, was Pt. Bickram Ghosh. A renowned Tabla player, Pt. Ghosh is known to experiment and reinterpret music and culture. His contribution to ‘Full Circle’ with Pt. Ravi Shankar won Pt. Shankar the prestigious Grammy award. His valuable contribution to the performance was undeniably perfect.The performers hypnotized the audience. Everyone was glued to the performance on the stage which at that time was a scene of shear brilliance. The melodies played were nothing short of the word “excellent”.

This historical performance witnessed the presence of Chancellor Mr. Rama Shankar Singh, Mr. Rajkumar Jain, MD Dr. Daulat Singh Chauhan, VC Dr. KK Dwivedi, Registrar Mr. Omveer Singh, Mr. PL Gohadkar, Ms. Ranjana Tonpe and city’s other notable classical music lovers and reviewers.

Heading the program, Author and music reviewer Mr. Vikram Lal said, “Identity of a man should not be based on his work alone, it should be based on the spirit of India. Our Identities, our Art and our culture, everything is same. So we are an Indian first, rather than an Engineer, Doctor or an Artist. We should remember our roots and stick with them”.

After the performance, Ustaad Aashish khan said “I can teach music even in a kitchen. Music is such a subtle art of self-expression that even a proper dedicated room is also not required. It can be taught anywhere and anytime. Though it’s a sad sight to see music losing its grip in India, where reality shows have taken over the entertainment industry and all we can see is Gymnastics in the name of dance and remixes and copied tunes in the name of music. India is a musically diverse and rich country. Parents need to motivate their children to learn correct form of music and be familiar with Indian Classical Music atleast. It is a serious subject”.