Signature Tunes

In its 65th edition,Shriram Shankarlal Festival features heavyweights of Indian classical music,including Nishat Khan.

For somebody who has shared the stage with the likes of Eric Clapton,iconic guitarist Jeff Beck and blues legend Buddy Guy; has had Carlos Santana,Nelson Mandela and Princess Diana listen intently to him as he cajoled the notes of his sitar,musician Nishat Khan seems a little oblivious to the heights he has scaled. It has been an honour to work with the best but there is no better reward than performing for an audience that understands you. My effort is always to draw my audience into my music,reveal it slowly and take it to those secret nooks and crannies in their hearts, says Nishat,the torchbearer of the 400-year-old Imdadkhani gharana,that is known for introducing a host of structural changes to the sitar and surbahar through the addition of strings and its trademark gayaki ang (vocal style).

Son of legendary sitar player Imrat Khan and nephew of the revered musician Vilayat Khan,Nishat opened the second day of the 65th Shriram Shankarlal

Music Festival on Saturday. His performance was followed by a classical rendition by Begum Parveen Sultana.

One of the scions of Indias most renowned musical families,Nishats most popular collaborations are the ones with American composer Philip Glass and English guitarist John McLaughlin.

Collaborations are personal endeavours and all about improvisations. These are enriching experiences and help one grow as a musician, says Nishat,44,whose compositions in Sudhir Mishras film Ye Saali Zindagi were appreciated.

Referred to as a one-man band by western music critics and Indias answer to Jimmi Hendrix,Nishat is already busy adjusting the curved frets of his sitar to work on a couple of Bollywood and Hollywood projects,apart from composing for various symphony orchestras and bringing a flamenco collaboration to India later this year. I cannot talk about the projects but I promise spontaneity in the work, says Nishat.

The festival,today,will feature a vocal recital by Ulhas Kashalkar of the Jaipur gharana,which will comprise the morning session,followed by a sarod performance by Biswajit Roy Chowdhury.

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The finale will have Pandit Jasraj,who will regale the audiences with ragas and a slew of classical bhajans.

The festival is on at Kamani Auditorium till Sunday. Contact: 43503351

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