Perfect Pitch

WHEN you have seven generations seeped in music,theres a lot of expectations to be met to claim this inheritance and carry forward the legacy. With a grandfather in Ustad Akhtar Amanat Ali Khan...

Popular Pakistani singer Shafqat Amanat Ali on fighting competition within the family

WHEN you have seven generations seeped in music,theres a lot of expectations to be met to claim this inheritance and carry forward the legacy. With a grandfather in Ustad Akhtar Amanat Ali Khan,father Ustad Amanat Ali Khan,brother late Asad Amanat Ali Khan,uncle Bade Fateh Ali Khan,and a grandmother to inspire him toward music,Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan of the well-known Patiala gharana says he had his share of ups and downs. Yes,its a blessing,but its a burden too for one is under strict scrutiny and there is constant comparison to your elders and peers. To top that,I was never in the limelight. I had to fight competition within the family to get noticed,to be heard and to prove I exist, he says. The musician was in town to perform at a concert at The Tagore Theatre organised by the NGO Routes to Roots and

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

An offshoot of the Delhi Gharana,Patiala is one of the well-known gharanas of vocal music. Ive been brought up on a lot of 80s rock and pop,Michael Jackson,BeeGees,Stevie Wonder and once we formed our band Fuzon,there were elements of the same roped in. There were mixed reactions but the elders were encouraging because they felt it brought the gharana recognition, he says. His form of fusion,Khan says,is a sugar-coated version of classical music. With the release of our album Khamaj ,we had youngsters walking up curious about the music,the raag,the taal, he reminisces.

While Pakistan still has an unorganised music industry,Khan finds India to be a great working place. However,the film medium is still the most powerful source of entertainment in both the nations,and in this,the independent music and our albums get lost. That can be painful sometimes, says the singer who has delivered hits like Ankhiya,Mora Saiyan,Yeh hausla in Nagesh Kukunoors Dor,besides other playbacks in Bollywood productions like I Hate Love Storys,My Name is Khan,and Aashayein .

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Perfect Pitch

WHEN you have seven generations seeped in music,theres a lot of expectations to be met to claim this inheritance and carry forward the legacy. With a grandfather in Ustad Akhtar Amanat Ali Khan...

WHEN you have seven generations seeped in music,theres a lot of expectations to be met to claim this inheritance and carry forward the legacy. With a grandfather in Ustad Akhtar Amanat Ali Khan...