Ustad Amjad Ali Khan wants his sons to carry forward his legacy

The only element missing was a recital on the sarod. But Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, and his sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, disarmed an audience, gathered early on a Sunday morning, with charm, wit, and a wisdom marinated in humility.
The second day of the Times Lit Fest got under way with a date with musical royalty. “Swar hai toh Ishwar hai – I’m grateful that I live in the world of sound,” confessed the Ustad.The three proceeded to speak freely about their journeys in music.
Being the youngest son of Hafiz Ali Khan, the boy Amjad didn’t experience his father in his prime. “I would hear stories from Ustad Bismillah Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan and Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, on how he would play.
“What I do recall is that he couldn’t bear ‘besurapan’ – if he heard a tuneless melody, he would either leave the room, or tell you to leave the room!”
As a youngster, Amaan admitted he wasn’t too keen on music. “I would run away from music, didn’t take it seriously.” Ayaan, the younger of the two (by a couple of years), was the more earnest pupil. Still, it was a struggle. “I don’t know how I did it – it wasn’t easy because I was an average student of music.”
Never, however, was the Bangash heritage forced upon the sons, though the importance of carrying forward a centuries-old legacy was, subtly, conveyed to them. “It’s like a responsibility our father owes to his father, about restoring old compositions that have been travelling over time,” shared Ayaan.
The Ustad commended the role of his wife, Subhalakshmi, for giving time to the sons when he was on tour. “She helped prepare them to understand what I was trying to teach them – she is their first guru.”
Asked about the 40 or so ragas he is known for, the Ustad replied, “I have discovered these ragas – I feel embarrassed to say I created them.
“A melody would come to me, I’m humming it, and it asks, ‘Do you know me?’ I reply, ‘No’. Then it says, ‘Will you accept me or shall I go?’
“I would sing without realising what it is I am singing.”
And in these volatile times, when hate and gossip can spread like wildfire, the Ustad had words of advice. “If you can’t help each other, at least don’t try to destroy each other.” The father and sons ended the freewheeling conversation with an extempore, and heartfelt, homage to those who lost their lives in Bombay, on the very same day (26/11) nine years ago.