‘Everyone is busy trying to get 15 minutes of fame’

At one time it became a fashion among artistes to mention Amir Khansaheb’s name as the artiste to have inspired them. However,my love and reverence for Khansaheb does not stem only from his music but for his truly kind and humble nature. When he died in a tragic car accident in 1972,it appeared as if the light had gone out of our lives.

The idea to create the raga ‘Amiri Todi’ developed in my mind during that period of the intense grief and after a few years I composed it.

This raga is a mixture of two of my most favourite ragas sung by Khansaheb,Sahana and Bilaskhani Todi. It is my personal tribute to the great artiste and great human being.

* We are always told that the Indian Classical Music is spiritual in nature and not sensuous. What is really spiritual about this music?
Frankly,it is quite difficult to answer this question as it (the idea) varies from artiste to artiste. Some artistes believe that the music is a medium to propitiate the deity or the God.

Some believe that it is a medium to feel (being) one with the Paramatma and some believe that “sur” itself is God and singing or playing music is upasana (worship). However,one important characteristic of our music is that unlike other types of music it does not assign much significance to words and therefore it is about creating ‘rasa’ or ‘bhav’ (mood) without any worldly reference and in that sense it is spiritual.

* What is your opinion about the current state of the Classical music in India?
The Indian Classical Music is passing through the worst possible time. The dedication to art that was absolutely necessary on the part of a guru,a student and organisers of concerts and recordings is completely missing today. Proliferation of TV and FM radio channels has not helped the cause as every one is busy trying to get his or her 15 minutes of fame. The governments at the Centre have also not cared much about its preservation and promotion.

* What is the way out?
I cannot say anything about individuals but as long as the patronage of the government is concerned I think all the cultural institutions should be run by artistes only. In other words,all politicians and bureaucrats should be ousted from these institutions.