all over the world. We need to understand that this has been a very intimate art form, initially not meant for masses. It was only post the aristocratic era that it opened its doors to the masses. Like one can’ t compare cricket and chess, you cannot compare Bollywood to Classical Music. It’ s like comparing sushi and chicken tikka! Today there are maximum numbers of youngsters learning music and also performing at all levels including posting themselves on YouTube!
AYAAN ALI BANGASH
What was the first ever tune you learned?
When we were growing up, our father would always be very happy to see us listen to music, not just practice it. Not just his own music, but the music of an entire range of artistes from the era of our grandfather to the contemporaries of our father. We were never asked to listen to a particular artiste, or not to listen to another; to listen only to classical music and not to listen to the music of the West or Bollywood. The choice and the freedom was entirely ours. But it is only natural to be influenced by the music that your guru speaks of or refers to when he plays. We thus became engrossed in the world of Indian classical music that our father had grown up with, along with our own contemporary choices. To be a musician is in itself a blessing as you are really not answerable to anyone but yourself. For those few hours when you are onstage, you are in a creative frenzy, sometimes supernaturally unreal. There are times when you get off stage only to realize that something special happened up there on stage that day. It is a blessing to be in a profession of what you love doing. It is also a non debatable factor that music is indeed the best way to connect to that supreme power that we have never seen. Be it any religion, music has always been the pathway to spirituality.
Peace ' on this momentous occasion as a tribute to Kailash Saryarthi and Malala Yosufzai. Both Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai got this great honor for their work against suppression of children and their right to education. We performed on two occasions. The first was at the Nobel Peace Prize presentation ceremony. It was indeed a moment of pride as an India to see Kailashji receive this great honour. It was after thirty six years that an Indian received the Nobel Peace Prize. The second was at the spectacular Oslo Spektrum. It was perhaps the largest gathering I have performed in, outside India. This venue seated over 6,000 people including Prince Hakon of Norway and members of the Norwegian royal family in the audience of course along with both the Laureates. It was so wonderful to perform alongside Queen Latifa, Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith and Nuno Bettencourt the great Guitarist from the band Extreme. The atmosphere back stage was magical. All artists were interacting with one another with the highest regard for each other ' s musical genre.
If you had a chance to collaborate with a particular artist, who would it be and why?
So many!!! It’ s a long list and a journey full of surprises. We have been very fortunate to have received so much love and adulation from music lovers all over the world. It’ s such a long journey! Sky is the limit. The main mantra is that we have never taken any concert for granted. You are as old as your last concert and every concert is the first concert of your life. We have done many collaborations in the past with Allman Brothers band guitarist Derek Trucks, American Folk song writer Carrie Newcomer, Grammy nominated Oud player Rahim Alhaj and also with the performed with London Philharmonia, Avignon Symphony Orchestra, Welsh National Oera, Britten Sinfonia and National Youth Orchestra of United Kingdom. Every field has its low and high phases.
How to strike a balance between sticking to the roots of your art form and also taking it to places across the globe?
Music is our life. From the time we were born, the language spoken was music; the air that we were breathing was music. We took shape of the vessel like water. Though our father has been a very strict traditionalist, he has always believed in adapting to change. In all honesty, Indian classical music has no rules about how it should be presented or executed. That’ s very individualistic. Over the years we have tried our best to make the Sarod reach out to a new audience, to listeners that perhaps would not be at a classical concert!
Tell us about your best tour till date and why?
There have been so many but the Nobel Peace Prize concert was special. We performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony and the Nobel Peace Prize concert. We presented ' Raga for
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