Ustad Vilayat Khan: Interview - 5
This article is a part of the small attempt to consolidate all the interviews of Ustad Vilayat Khan, so that his fans and followers get to know more about his musical views and ideas, in his own words.
Indian & Foreign Interview – August 1, 1970.
USTAD VILAYAT KHAN DREAMS AND DOUBTS OF A CELEBRATED INDIAN MUSICIAN
Vilayat Khan speaks chaste Hindi and has a soft manner of speech, very appealing to the ears. And he obviously loves an argument. He grimaces, imitates, with an abandonment of a child involved in a naughty prank.
The man behind the musician is a very likable person. The he sat relaxing. His hands busy preparing a ‘pan’. The same sensitive hands which could pluck strings of a sitar and make one almost weep. Reconciliation of two disparate words – one earthy another spiritual – within a single individual.
Suddenly I found myself asking:
How does it feel to live with so much music within yourself? (The question surprised Vilayat Khan)
Extremely painful at times. There is always a sense of inadequacy, a striving for perfection. A tremendous urge to break free and become one with the elusive essence of melody. Occasionally one experiences ecstasy but the hangover can be equally hurtful.
When did you begin music?
Begin? Music was there all the time. It filled the house. Everyone in a way was linked with it. Music has been in my family for six generations. We are proud of this heritage.
As children we watched adults play and imitated them on our mini-instruments. That perhaps was the beginning. Even now if the house is silent for few hours without the sound of music, my mother is apt to remark, ‘Why, what is wrong today?’
You mentioned now about music being there in the family for a few generations. Can it be passed on as a heritage? Does it not then become merely a continuance of tradition rather than an original creative force?
Perhaps so. But then our music is something very personal. It acquires depth from each individual performer.
Indian music is not easy to explain through notations for unlike in the west, it is more melody than harmony. Its appreciation depends on the sensitivity of the ear, on the way the heart reacts.
And so we have training, discipline and someone continues the tradition; tradition which is always open to growth.
Can there be a possible synthesis between classical western and Indian music styles, each gaining something from the other?
No. There is absolutely no meeting ground. Each has its fully developed tradition in its own way. Each is musically mature. Experimentation to blend the two will only destroy the intrinsic beauty of the two systems.
Does one ever think of wearing a shirt with a blue and red sleeve? No, for then one would look ridiculous. Yes, this is exactly what we want to do with music and call it experimentation.
There are some 400,000 and odd ragas and raginis. With such a vast field to explore, where is the need for innovation?
You have travelled widely. Would you say that western audiences have a more cultivated ear for classical appreciation compared to the Indians?
Not necessarily. We have genuine music lovers and number is growing. But one thing, there can be no question of compromise for the sake of mass understanding.
As with every other art in the country, music is suffering from trying to please a public taste not cultivated enough to appreciate the subtle nuances and shades of melody.
Music is being sold for the sake of filling halls. (Vilayat Khan was thoroughly aroused. He thrust himself to the edge of the chair and sand parodying the vocal acrobatics.) Are these ‘taans’ music or just a test of the strenghth of the vocal chords?
Four years I practiced only ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ – and then one is made dependent on the favour of a whimsical audience , music critics, organizers. Too many who know too little are having to be pleased.
Indian music at the moment is at a low point. The foreign policy is in a mess, the internal politics are corrupt. There are only few things in the muddy mire on which we can continue to be proud – our tradition of music and dance, our philosophy, our culture. Let us at least preserve this at all cost.
We have developed a tendency to look to the west for a certificate. We carry our culture to foreign shores and give it a Western veneer to make it more palatable. Has Mozart or Beethoven ever been played differently to seek easy appreciation?
We, however, think differently. Every year assiduously go on a ‘Haj’ to the western capitals. A concert in America and on the strength of it and artist gets a full hall in India. What a pity! What an insufferable inferiority complex and we call ourselves free!
To prevent this, is not a cultivated public taste the best safeguard? Will not the appreciation of the classical be helped if there were regular and more concerts throughout the country, particularly in the schools where children from young age can get attuned to its listening?
Yes, this might help. It would be good to initiate children into classical music from the time they are in school. But not just in an half-hour period. Music is not mechanical recitation.
And I definitely do not believe in en mass production of musicians as is happening in the educational world with our graduates. Quality then positively suffers. Any serious learning requires dedication, interest sacrifice and humility.
You played for the film ‘Guru’. Many were not happy about it. What did you think?
I would have never played for the film if I had been able to see it before. The concept of ‘Guru’ has been almost ridiculed. He never in life seeks, less runs after his pupils.
I emphasize that no amount of money would have induced me to play for what finally made the screen ( It was a warm day. Beads of perspiration glittered on Vilayat Khan’s forehead).
Money is waved before an artiste as a temptation. Like cheap bargainers we sit across the table and ask a price for a performance…Rs. 2000, 3000 depending on the popularity. And music becomes another commodity. Many artists I am sure, resent this commercial setup, but we too have to live.
Artistes’ wants are basically few. If they can be guaranteed, they would then feel more free to pursue their art in all seriousness.
Has not Government been extending patronage in this direction?
What! Medals and certificates? Influenced by internal politicking? Forget it. True art finds its own recognition.
You must have started playing when very young. Was it always the Sitar?
I liked singing too. But my father Inayet Khan was a great artiste. He laid the foundation of all that I know today.
He heard me at my first public performance at a musical conference in Alahabad at the age of nine. Soon after that he passed away.
My father was a strict disciplinarian. There was this incident in my childhood. I would play and not do my ‘riyaz’.
My father became angry and beat me severely all the while saying, “I wish I could break your arm for then a at least the world would say that Inayet Khan’s son did not play the sitar because he was not able to.” I still have the scar.
I had learnt to hold the sitar and play of the fingers on the strings before my father died. In the absence of his supervising eye my standard suffered. At times I was mocked. The humiliation of it provoked me into proving that I too could play.
There are certain musical memories. In my father’s time, every Friday, there was a ‘Juma’, a gathering of young and old people interested in music at our home. Some of the best renderings were heard then.
In a maestro’s presence, no one else would touch his ‘raga’. That would have been a sacrilege.
My grandfather too is believed to have been an exciting taskmaster. Music was his life. During any long train journey, he would spread a carpet on the platform and practice music.
Once his daughter lay dying and he sat in the next room with his sitar, tears running down his cheeks. The ‘riyaz’ time was not over. Even for the sake of a daughter he loved, he would not forsake his commitment to music.
There was no electricity in my grandfather’s time. He marked the time by burning candles – usually eight fat ones.
After years of playing do you somewhat feel satisfied with your music?
Satisfied? There is no fun stop in music. After almost a life-time of playing Purya and Yaman, my grandfather at 70 did not feel he had mastered them. Two hundred more years what I need , he would want to say. And this is how I feel.
Have you ever thought in terms of starting a music acdemy?
I would like to teach. Yes. But not an academy. Rather musical ashramas in the hills of Shimla where I live. Classes amidst nature with few selected pupils. ‘Gurumukhi Vidya’ making for a close rapport between the teacher and the ‘Shishyas’.
Those who can afford will pay and others with aptitude but no money will be my responsibility.
Music gains soul in the proper atmosphere. The city with its crowd and noise can never provide it.
My son Shujaat shows promise (with a father’s pride). He too has played at music concerts. But he is being squeezed between two worlds, the academic and the musical.
The active hours of a day are spent in school. Later he is too tired for a proper ‘riyaz’. (Vilayat Khan’s musical ambitions for his son are in a torment)
I am advised he must have an education. Reading and writing. Yes. But the rest of the time must be devoted to music. Perfection demands complete dedication. There can be no half-hearted approaches.
Children with talent for the arts, for sports, must have special facilities, so that they can study as well as have time for their own pursuits.
Acquisition of a degree today has become a symbol of learning. Is he an M.A. – what must add a D and you will get an indication of 20th century lopsided values.
Does music interfere with our home-life? (Vilayat Khan laughed).
Does it? When you want to play, the wife and family have different ideas. Social obligations claim you. Success is measured in terms of money and so become a worshipper of Mammon. Music has become more a profession than pursuit.
Things were different in the olden days. Man could retire in the ‘mardkhana’and be ensured of privacy.
Do you ever think in terms of future?
Yes, often. There are doubts as well as dreams in me. ‘Musical ashramas’ in Simla’s pleasant surroundings. Notes of melody filling the air day and night. Simply sublime. To Allah I pray – Let me continue playing till the end of my life, I ask for nothing more.
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Audio recording of Ustad Vilayat Khan's BBC Interview, recorded by Ramprapanna Bhattacharya :
http://www.esnips.com/doc/bbc7b5cb-0799-48f7-976e-0c822e515266
Youtube Video recordings of Ustad Vilayat Khan interview, originally recorded from TV by Ramprapanna Bhattacharya:
Part1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inElNJh6at0
Part2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MBcDnEJS_g
Part3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD6Ns79mOyw
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