Music can create harmony, compassion: Amjad Ali Khan

Music is pure and beyond any manipulation, and it spreads joy and unity. It has the ability of creating compassion and harmony which is not possible even for education at times, said Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan on Wednesday.
The virtuoso was in the city to perform at a programme ‘Dharohar’ held at UP Sangeet Natak Akademi.
In a candid conversation, Khan said that if education could create compassion and harmony, the wars in Ukraine and Palestine would never have begun.
“At times of radicalism and communalism, music has the ability of creating unity and communal harmony. Even when India and Pakistan have been divided, classical music continues to unite the two nations. Everybody regards the music as Hindustani classical music. One must hear music as a medicine. It is meant for everybody – I have played for prisoners at Tihar jail and for people in various parts of the world. Sometimes also through the night and at times early in the morning. Good music requires an audience who can enjoy the performance,” said Khan.
Giving an example set by music towards establishing communal harmony, he said that the Sarod played by him is made by Hemendra Chandra Sen. “If Sen does not make the perfect sarod, I might not be able to give a good performance. I have performed with tabla exponent Pandit Kishan Maharaj who is also like an elder brother to me. There are several such stories of unity and communal harmony for us to narrate,” said Khan.
He shared his family legacy associated with Lucknow and said that his great grandfather was a sarod player in the court of Wajid Ali Shah.
“Our family shifted to Gwalior a few years after the decline of the Nawabi period in Awadh. It has been almost 15 years since I performed in Lucknow. There have been several prominent developments and changes in the city but today, when I visited Begum Akhtar’s Mazar in Thakurganj, I felt there is a need for government intervention for paving better roads leading to the grave. This will promote people not just from India but also abroad to pay tribute to Begum Akhtar,” he said.
There have been several technical changes which are allowing the next generation to learn by listening to music. “This was a privilege for me. Growing up, we didn’t even have a transistor radio at home because my father was of the opinion that exposure to Bollywood music would sully my learning and inclinations,” said Khan.
He said that he has won several awards including the second highest civilian award, Padma Vibhushan, but still, nothing can top the joy he experiences when his programme gets a house-full audience.