Musical Tribute

The doyens of classical music turned up to pay tribute to sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan,who died five years ago. The Ficci auditorium was packed as A Life in Melody,a three-day tribute concert organised by Seagram’s 100 Pipers started on Friday evening.

Apart from Khan’s Grammy-nominated son Shujaat Khan and flautist Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia,there was Asha Bhosle who reminisced about her favourite sitarist on the opening day. “Khan saheb’s music has been an inspiration for me and holds equal importance even after his death,” she said,while inaugurating the festival. “I needed money to take care of my children and had to turn towards Bollywood,but I still feel that there cannot be anything better than classical music,” she added,while talking of the musician who loved sports cars,haute couture and was equally proficient at the pool table.

Ustad Shujaat Khan began the evening with raag Desh,a favourite of his father and continued with bandishes that Khan had taught him when he was a young boy. He replicated his father’s style throughout the evening,and the audience greeted each crescendo with applause. “For a son and a student it is difficult to speak of Khan sahab without using superlatives,” said Shujaat. Incidentally,the Khans belong to the musical lineage of the Etawah Gharana founded in the 18th century.

Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia ended the concert with a short performance on his trademark raag Pilu,leaving the audience spellbound with his mastery and spontaneity. The line-up for the concert includes Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt on the Mohan veena and vocalist Ustad Sultan Khan who will perform today.

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