Musical musings

“I really began enjoying the music only after I understood its emotional content while growing up,” says Khan. Coming from a family where music had deep spiritual and emotional roots,it was on the insistence of his mother that he began singing. “The Gharana founded by my great grand-father,Ustad Enayat Hussain was simply dying for want of technique and the lack of emotional appeal. I just practiced my Riyaz rigourously and the rest followed. I tried to give my music a distinct personality and due to it the Gharana benefited,” he adds.

Khan believes that there are a lot of differences that separate a good singer from a great one. He says,“We can learn to sing a certain raga efficiently,but to sing it with emotions is something that cannot be taught but felt. The emotional content may be found in the alaap,sometimes in the bandish,or on facial expressions while bringing the lyrics to life.”

Khan a 2006 Padma Shri awardee is unfazed by all the adulation that he receives. “For singers like us only discipline matters. It is only through this discipline that the Guru-Shishya Parampara survives. I learnt under the same tutorage and I try to do the same with my students. Even though time is a huge constraint but I do manage to do so.” An important aspect of his singing is the discipline attached to it,“Like I say that the only thing separating a good singer from a great one is the ability to be honest with oneself,” he adds.

Apart from making a mark in classical singing,he has also gained accolades for the soul-enchanting song Aao Ge Jab Tum from the movie Jab We Met. He however prefers classical music to these other diverse genres. “Classical music is my first love. It is something that is too pure and that has been handed down generations from my guru Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan. I wouldn’t mind playing playback songs as and when I get the offers,but I cannot take it up full time and leave classical music in the backseat,” he muses.

Giving his insights on the latest trends in music and its shelf life,he says,“Songs these days come in like a gale and vanish even more quickly. There is not much significant depth in them. Today’s music lack the mysticism and charm. But I am pretty sure that as the younger generations awaken to our rich musical heritage,our own music will,in its own many ways evolve towards a better future.”