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Audiences simply love him. Some stiff-lipped connoisseurs, however, unable to pigeonhole him in one fixed slot find it difficult to appreciate his versatility. But take it or leave it, gifted sitarist Shujaat Husain Khan won’t follow the beaten track. To his detractors, who question why he uses a pair of tabla players as accompanists or why he sings as he plays, his repartee is simple, " This is me ... my style. I am here to spread happiness through my music. If you don’t care for my music, don’t bother to come to my concerts." So, he fails to understand the tribe who listen and criticise. Sadly in India, he rues, people consider it their birthright to give gyaan, hence they come to you and say, "Beta don’t play like this."
How important is experimentation in music? And this son of sitar wizard, the late Ustad Vilayat Khan, on whose shoulders rests the musical legacy of several generations of the illustrious Imdadkhani gharana that excels in the gayaki ang, quips, "It is important to be grounded in tradition first, only then can you fly and chart different horizons." With his music having traversed many frontiers, from bringing out folk music albums like Lajo Lajo, Sur Aur Saaz and Hawa Hawa to coming together with Kayhan Kalhor on a kamanchea (Iranian bow-stringed instrument) to more recently composing for the film Mr Singh Mrs Mehta, which project has been closest to his heart? Without doubt, it is collusion with Kalhor for the album, The Rain. Not because the album won a Grammy nomination but due to compatibility, "We are similar persons." Now, he has teamed up with Asha Bhonsle. So, was he apprehensive of singing with one of the most melodious voices that India has produced? And the one-word answer is "no". Interestingly, the musician, who loves to sing as much as play the sitar, never really learnt singing. However, a custom-made sitar was handed to him when he was barely three years’ old. What has prevented the decades’ long affair with sitar from jading is his ability to breathe new life into it. Of course, each time he tries something new there is an outcry: "Oh, he has breached classicism." Says he, "But what they don’t understand is that when I am doing an album like Lajo Lajo I am not claiming that I am doing classical music." On Lajo Lajo, which has been a phenomenal hit, what makes it a huge success? Suddenly, the modest face of Khan appears, "I have no idea". But he does reveal with a hint of pride that the album is being re-launched with two more songs. The passion for folk music and poetry is rooted in his childhood years. Today, he avers that poetry, singing and playing are interlinked and represent different streams of creativity. More recently, as he has created album Beyond Love in which he sings Qateel Shifai’s poetry, one is tempted to ask if there are any favourites? "None at all. I like poetry, period. What I liked about Qateel’s poetry was that it was romantic without being sad." So, he likes to be happy?
"Oh, we all have our moments of sadness, only we need to overcome
it." And coming out of his father’s shadow ... has it been
difficult? Well, for years he had to grapple with people's expectations
who wanted him to be a Xerox copy of the legendary father. The pressure
of being his father’s son weighed on him heavily ,too. As he looks
back, he doesn’t deny the differences between him and Ustad Vilayat
Khan and reasons, "Perhaps, we both shared the same volatile
temperament." But yes, despite issues, if given another life he
would still like to be born as the great sitarist's son. Any other wish?
"None. I am grateful to the Almighty, to my fans and my family for
blessing me with so much happiness." And so, it’s this joy within
him that he is keen to share with others through his music which he will
never allow to stagnate.
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