BENGALURU: Let me take you back to not my first interaction with Ustad Rashid Khan but my very first experience of watching him perform live. This was probably way back in the early 2000s, in one of the auditoria in Mumbai, and for some strange reason, that auditorium only had about 50 people in the audience. I was shocked to see it was not filled. I thought Khan Saab would get upset, but he performed for over three hours. He said it’s not about the number of people in the audience. On a weekday if 50 people had battled the traffic to attend a show, it means they were serious about music.
I remember that day very well because it was a life lesson for me. If you’re on stage, it is your kalakarma to perform, irrespective of how many people are there. Even if one person is listening to you, you still do your job with full sincerity and give your 100 per cent. I went to listen to him as a fan but then later on, I was very lucky to perform with him on stage.
We performed a jugalbandi during one of the Ganesha Utsav celebrations. Even before starting, I told him that I didn’t intend to be placed on par with him in this jugalbandi. I just wanted to observe him as a student. It was a privilege to share the stage with him.
Ustads have come and gone but only a few leave an impact and void. Till his last breath, the number of hours he spent doing riyaz or practice made him so well-equipped as a singer and musician. I found this extremely admirable.
Apart from his thumris and tukdas, the way he adapted to the semi-classical is what the music fraternity still talks about. The song Aaoge Jab Tum from Jab We Met was such a beautiful example of that.
It is terrible news for us, and it’s a loss that is irreplaceable.
(As told to Monika Monalisa)