BENGALURU:Artists obsess over the grammar of music and forget to deliver the poetry in it, says Ustad Amjad Ali Khan who will be opening the Bengaluru Poetry Festival on August 5.Commenting on the poetry culture today, the sarod maestro confesses that Gulzar and Javed Akhtar remain his current favourite poets as they have stood the test of time, having evolved the way they write, incorporating the new language. “Gulzar saab nay to beedi pay bhi likh dia. (Gulzar sab wrote on even beedi),” he laughs. His longtime favourite poets are remain Ghalib and Amir Khusrow.
Khan has also recently published his book ‘Master of Masters’ that talk about him and his father Gwalior court musician Hafiz Ali Khan’s ties with 12 legendary musicians including Kesarbai Kerkar, Bade Ghulam Ali, Amir Khan, Begum Akhtar, M S Subbulakshmi, Bismillah Khan, Alla Rakha, Ravi Shankar, Bhimsen Joshi, Kishan Maharaj, Kumar Gandharva and Vilayat Khan.
“While I was a growing up and while performing on stage, these were the musicians I was surrounded by. I miss them now,” he says. The musician says that historically Indian classical music has always had literature that came from a particular gharana, or talked about a guru or a family. This is a first book of its kinds that documents musicians irrespective of the gharanas, he adds.
“While we did have our difference of opinions, but eventually we would always meet up at each others’ houses for dinner,” he reminisces.
Musicians these days learn to adapt too, he says. "One needs to be precise. Wo gaana shuru kartey hai, but end karna bhool jaatey hai," he laughs.
Recounting his interaction with M S Subbulakshmi, Khan says that his wife Subhalakshmi Barua Khan is named after the legendary Carnatic singer.
“I remember I was at this event being honoured by the then chief minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy of Andhra Pradesh. And M S Subbulakshmi sitting in the audience had her beautiful smile on while she saw me on stage,” he says.
While accepting the award, Khan said: “I am fortunate to have two Subbulakshmis in the life -- one as a wife and another as a mother”.
“And then I just looked at her,” he recounts adding that no one enjoyed the kind of love Subbulakshmi received as a Carnatic singer enjoyed in India and abroad.