‘I want to be like my father’

Amaan Ali Khan, the elder son of sarod legend Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, is extremely comfortable in his skin. Affable and very down to earth, his extreme good looks, “khaandaani” (cultivated) manners, and informal irreverence is infectious. He quotes his grandfather Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan, “Baa adab, baa naseeb, be adab, be naseeb”. (grace, charmed destiny; no grace, no destiny) Clearly, Amaan’s “adab” and “naseeb” both are doing just fine!

We start our chat talking about where he stands today, musically. “I have wasted quite a lot of time in my life, I still feel there are so many ragas that I have not internalised enough to play on the stage. I played Shahana for the first time recently at a concert, I still feel my Darbari can be better. Only about four years ago I really understood what Pilu is – I would put it this way; that I have laboured a lot; now I am intellectualising the music, it’s like I am now in a white collar job!” reflects Amaan.

Opening up on his insecurities, he says, “Of course, I am insecure as a musician; but I view it as a positive emotion. I know there is a lot for me to do yet. You have to be an ‘extremist’ in music; it’s not enough to just play ‘meetha’. I feel I have not yet really arrived as an artist, though I have received more opportunities than I ever deserved.”

I ask him about awards in music – Amaan’s take is characteristic. “If my Guru is proud of my music, that’s the biggest Bharat Ratna for me. My father wrote me a message in a book once – ‘dear son, I am proud of you, remember you are the strength of our family.’ That is what matters to me. There are so many senior musicians for awards; I feel I am nowhere near good enough yet. Yes, my father was awarded a Padma Shri at 30, but he is a once in a lifetime ‘karishma’ (miracle).” The fact, he adds, is that the hall fills up for his concert is my reward. “I am privileged; I have access to so much because I am Abba’s son. There is no age for success in music – Pt Ravi Shankar’s career started in his 30s; he carried on till after 90. Venkatesh ji (Pt Venkatesh Kumar) started performing concerts in his fifties. So I don’t link age with success in music.”

Amaan Ali Khan   | Photo Credit: Inni Singh

We speak about concerts; again Amaan is candid, “Some festivals invite you every year; but my father has advised me that it’s good to be missed, over exposure and being “in your face” is not a good thing for a professional musician. Let your audience look for you. There are so many other musicians; to keep playing non-stop at the same place just results in envy from other musicians. It’s important to let go. I am not being patronising here; but I believe everyone should get an opportunity to be heard on all the platforms. You have to create a balance in the world of music. This is not Bollywood; just because you have 14 films or 14 concerts lined up does not mean you are the best. There are many cliques in the world of music; patronising some artists, keeping others out. It’s not good.”

A criticism often levelled against Amaan is that he plays to the gallery. “On a lighter note, the artist who is singing with his eyes closed, to an audience of only 5-6 people; is he really the more enlightened performer? I am a professional, I have to play for my audience, I get paid, and have a duty to those who paid me to sell tickets. I, sometimes, hear recordings of my concerts; but really, I don’t need to hear a recording to analyse where I went wrong. I already know when I am playing where I am going wrong.”

He admits that he is anxious about how he comes across as a musician. “I was not a child prodigy; I have worked really hard to be where I am. I sometimes think it would make sense for organisers to get feedback from the audience after each concert. Reality saamne aa jayeegi; (reality will emerge) who is popular who is not.”

Talking about the hunger in a musician, Amaan says, “I am not being a loser but I know I can’t be another Amjad Ali Khan or Ali Akbar Khan. I feel maahaul ne unhe banaa diya. (their circumstances made them) My father had to survive in a time when his father was not playing actively, there were financial problems, even though there was big lineage. It was the same I heard with Ustad Vilayat Khan. So that pressure was more. There has to be hunger in a musician .”

On the importance of riyaaz; Amaan’s response is typically unassuming. “I have practised a lot but I do feel I am not drenched in music the way my father was. I am trying. In my own way I have done the “chilla” (40 days of non stop practice); I have cut myself off from friends, social media, my phone… I believe riyaaz is for yourself and you have to love what you do.”

Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, Amaan does not play many jugalbandis, apart from his duets with his brother. “In the past, I have played with Rakesh Chaurasia, U Rajesh, Western musicians…. but really, as I have not needed to accept jugalbandis concerts for financial reasons, I prefer to play jugalbandis with Ayaan bhai. With jugalbandis aap apna rishta spoil kar sakte ho, (you can ruin your relationship with your co artist in a duet). Why should one do it!”

Philosophy in life

The conversation turned to his philosophy in life, what he holds dear. “I try to live and let live. I ask co-musicians what is the most important things they learnt from their Guru. I met Shubhendra da (Pt Shubhendra Rao) recently – I asked him what he had really absorbed from Pt Ravi Shankar – he said “namrata”( humility). You have to know how to digest success. At the age of 19, I co-compered “SA RE GA MA”, a show on one of only two independent TV channels then; at the age of 16, I played several solo concerts with Zakir uncle; (Ustad Zakir Hussain Khan) he was kind enough to play with a kid like me. It’s good to dream big, but your downfall happens with arrogance and jealousy. Jealousy is corrosive. Humility and patience pay. What is yours cannot be taken away.”

Today, he says, he actually feels he is a musician; earlier it was like, “I have practised but I am not really a musician.”

He has an interesting analogy. “Salman Khan is not the world’s best actor but he is the most loved. I want to be like that. Guru ne jo sikhaya usse hee pakarna bahut hai. (to absorb what you have learnt from your Guru is enough) Of course, I get inspired by other musicians, as did my father before me, as does every serious musician, but my dream is to play like my father; I don’t want to have pretensions of “creating” a new style; I want to be like my father.”

Indeed, simple, endearing goals!