Ustad Irshad Khan - "Strings of the Soul"
Ethereal extreme
Speaking of his star-studded lineage he traces back his roots from his forefather ‘Khurramdaad’ (a title given by Shah Jahan meaning ‘appreciated by Khurram or Shah Jahan’), a court musician of Mughal emperor. “The name ‘daad’ stayed on with subsequent generations and my gharana – was formed by my ancestors Khurrabdaad, Sahabdaad (an ancestor who made the Surbahar), Imdaad etc, who gave it the name of Imdaadkhani Itawah gharana,” says a beaming Irshad Khan, the 10th generation into music.
So initiation into music was but natural? Irshad says, “I don’t remember when I started with music, because it was as good as talking considering that my family members - Inayat Khan (grandfather), Vilayat Khan (uncle) and Imrat Khan (father) are all musicians. My grandmother (daughter of the legendary vocalist Bunde Hassan Khan Sahab and mother-in-law of the legendary Amir Khan Sahab) initiated me to music. Later, my father trained me.I was given a smaller toy sitar to start with. Later for my first concert at 7, I was given a sitar (one size smaller than the regular).” Reminiscing his school days, he says, “I used to be drowned in music and my teacher put me in the last bench because of my constant humming in class.” Having to constantly travel on programmes, Irshad knew that he was cut out for music and to that extent academics took a back seat. A hard-worker, Irshad remembers how he did an average riyaz of 8 hours per day with the bulky Surbahar.
“Differentiating good authentic classical music is easy,” he says, “just as a rose gives out its fragrance no matter where it hidden. It does not matter whether one does folk, fusion or film music – good music has to do with beauty more than the genre”, says this foreign returned sitar wizard. Putting concerts as the top most on his list of favourites, he admits that he would not be comfortable if he had to spend too much time in recording studios.
When asked for his take on fusion music, he says “I can guarantee you that if you don’t like my fusion album where I have coupled Sitar with violins and Cellos, you can ignore me completely for a no-gooder.” His album, ‘Romancing the Sitar’ and other classical albums have gone on to become big hits.
So how does he define his music? A quality conscious and extremely talented Irshad breaks into a “Baajuband khuli gayo re” (thumri) while demonstrating the similarity between his sitar strokes and vocals – the flourishes and embellishments makes it convincing as the true gayaki ang. With a deep sense of gratitude he says that he is fortunate to have received authentic music at the hands of his guru and credits his forefathers for his abilities; but when it comes to mistakes – owns it. Saying that he could never be bored living the life of a musician, he explains how every time he ventures into the ocean of the raga, he finds something new to explore. “There are certain zones of the raga, which make me feel so immersed that I forget everything else. That ‘rasa’ to me, is the immortal nectar, that gives a divine ecstasy – both to me and the audience.
His influences are his father, grandfather, Amir Khan sahab, Bade Ghulam ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Barkat Ali Khan Sahab to name a few.
On a lighter note, when asked about handling female fans, the handsome and otherwise articulate Sitarist is completely at a loss for words. After a brief pause with a flushed face, he
says, “Interesting question”. But on a serious note says, “As a musician I have to follow my own code of conduct and stay within my boundaries even though I am given a whole lot of adulation.” Calling himself spiritual rather than religious, he says that his close relationships such as those with his God, wife and kids are too personal to be elaborated upon.
Saddened by the rising commercialization of the music scene, Irshad expresses concern that packaging and marketing has taken priority over proficiency in the current music scene. “I was so caught up in riyaz and gathering knowledge that I missed out on the public relations,” he mulls.
Urging parents to encourage their children towards appreciating music, he says that home is the first school where children pick up the likes and dislikes. “Parents should make it fun to learn to learn rather than force them. Also, the teacher should interact and connect with the child in such a way that the child looks forward to the class.”
- Smita Bellur
Speaking of his star-studded lineage he traces back his roots from his forefather ‘Khurramdaad’ (a title given by Shah Jahan meaning ‘appreciated by Khurram or Shah Jahan’), a court musician of Mughal emperor. “The name ‘daad’ stayed on with subsequent generations and my gharana – was formed by my ancestors Khurrabdaad, Sahabdaad (an ancestor who made the Surbahar), Imdaad etc, who gave it the name of Imdaadkhani Itawah gharana,” says a beaming Irshad Khan, the 10th generation into music.
So initiation into music was but natural? Irshad says, “I don’t remember when I started with music, because it was as good as talking considering that my family members - Inayat Khan (grandfather), Vilayat Khan (uncle) and Imrat Khan (father) are all musicians. My grandmother (daughter of the legendary vocalist Bunde Hassan Khan Sahab and mother-in-law of the legendary Amir Khan Sahab) initiated me to music. Later, my father trained me.I was given a smaller toy sitar to start with. Later for my first concert at 7, I was given a sitar (one size smaller than the regular).” Reminiscing his school days, he says, “I used to be drowned in music and my teacher put me in the last bench because of my constant humming in class.” Having to constantly travel on programmes, Irshad knew that he was cut out for music and to that extent academics took a back seat. A hard-worker, Irshad remembers how he did an average riyaz of 8 hours per day with the bulky Surbahar.
“Differentiating good authentic classical music is easy,” he says, “just as a rose gives out its fragrance no matter where it hidden. It does not matter whether one does folk, fusion or film music – good music has to do with beauty more than the genre”, says this foreign returned sitar wizard. Putting concerts as the top most on his list of favourites, he admits that he would not be comfortable if he had to spend too much time in recording studios.
When asked for his take on fusion music, he says “I can guarantee you that if you don’t like my fusion album where I have coupled Sitar with violins and Cellos, you can ignore me completely for a no-gooder.” His album, ‘Romancing the Sitar’ and other classical albums have gone on to become big hits.
So how does he define his music? A quality conscious and extremely talented Irshad breaks into a “Baajuband khuli gayo re” (thumri) while demonstrating the similarity between his sitar strokes and vocals – the flourishes and embellishments makes it convincing as the true gayaki ang. With a deep sense of gratitude he says that he is fortunate to have received authentic music at the hands of his guru and credits his forefathers for his abilities; but when it comes to mistakes – owns it. Saying that he could never be bored living the life of a musician, he explains how every time he ventures into the ocean of the raga, he finds something new to explore. “There are certain zones of the raga, which make me feel so immersed that I forget everything else. That ‘rasa’ to me, is the immortal nectar, that gives a divine ecstasy – both to me and the audience.
His influences are his father, grandfather, Amir Khan sahab, Bade Ghulam ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Barkat Ali Khan Sahab to name a few.
On a lighter note, when asked about handling female fans, the handsome and otherwise articulate Sitarist is completely at a loss for words. After a brief pause with a flushed face, he
says, “Interesting question”. But on a serious note says, “As a musician I have to follow my own code of conduct and stay within my boundaries even though I am given a whole lot of adulation.” Calling himself spiritual rather than religious, he says that his close relationships such as those with his God, wife and kids are too personal to be elaborated upon.
Saddened by the rising commercialization of the music scene, Irshad expresses concern that packaging and marketing has taken priority over proficiency in the current music scene. “I was so caught up in riyaz and gathering knowledge that I missed out on the public relations,” he mulls.
Urging parents to encourage their children towards appreciating music, he says that home is the first school where children pick up the likes and dislikes. “Parents should make it fun to learn to learn rather than force them. Also, the teacher should interact and connect with the child in such a way that the child looks forward to the class.”
- Smita Bellur
Labels: Ustad Irshad Khan speaks
posted by Smita Bellur at 8:58 AM
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