Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan and his sons Ayaan and Amaan have come up with a new rendition of "Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye Je" on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
The trio has created a special video of the song which will be released on October 2.
In an interview with PTI, Ayaan opened up about music, the new video and relevance of Gandhi in today's time.
Q. Can Gandhi's ideology be restricted to a particular section of the society?
A. I believe Mahatma Gandhi is in every Indian's DNA. He belongs to every India. There are so many stories of his education, travel and Satyagrah movement that every person can relate with him in their own way.
Q. What is so special and different about this video?
A. We have shot this video at Birla House, Tees January Marg. My father, brother Amaan and I are featuring together in this video. We have incorporated the charkha, the lathi and other elements related to Gandhi ji as they still convey his message. This our way of paying tributes to the Father of the Nation. We have released the audio on HCL Music app and the video song will be available on YouTube from October 2.
Q. Which genre of music resonates the most with Gandhi?
A. Gandhi's music is fundamentally 'Bhakti' sangeet. 'Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye Je' and 'Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram' were his favourite bhajans. He used to do organise prayer meets where he delivered the message of non-violence and Satyagrah, which is still relevant. He used his music to spread awareness.
Q. Gandhi used music as a catalyst in the freedom movement. What role can music play in dealing with the current sociopolitical issues?
A. Our instrument is not governed by any language. It is only based on notes but there is a lot of power in words. They can instil the feeling of both patriotism and bhakti.
Q. What is Gandhi's relevance in today's time?
A. Gandhi gave the message of non-violence and Satyagrah. Gandhi is still in our blood. I believe if we follow his path the world will be a peaceful place.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)