Karnataka Rajyothsava is special this year as a cosmopolitan Bangalore will soon be officially Bengaluru. Maestros of violin and sarod, Dr. L. Subramaniam and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, say the occasion demands “something very special” for the Garden City. Their jugalbandi — titled Royal Melange — this evening (at Christ University auditorium, 7 p.m.) “will be full of surprises,” they say. “Both in terms of a raga and a number, it will be an unusual treat for Bangaloreans,” says Ustad Khan even as Dr. LS thinks they are zeroing in on a ragamalika too where both the genres would voyage through the classical scales with their stringed instruments.
Says Ustad Khan, “After 10 years, we are performing together. It’s always a challenge and responsibility to perform with such a multi-dimensional musician as LS. I can never forget my CD recording with him.”
It was this decade-old CD from the two experts ‘Sangeet Sangam’ that music aficionados, especially in Bangalore, went gung-ho about and professed it was once-in-a-lifetime that such heavenly Charukeshi is brought about.
Ask the Ustad if they plan an encore, and he says, “ Chalo, Charukesi bhi ho jaay . It would be our pleasure to do this for Bangaloreans who welcome experimentations.”
What the Ustad earnestly proposes though is that the term ‘Indian classical music’ be used for all the genres and not divide them as Hindustani and Carnatic. “Doesn’t Hindustani mean Indian? So where is the difference? Music is beyond dimensions,” he says.
While Subramaniam is always excited to be teamed up with Ustad Khan for the colossal ability with which his sarod ‘sings’ his gharana, the violinist also hopes that the Karnataka government will help him set up a Global Centre for Music in Bangalore where not just ‘Indian Classical’ but also World Music is exchanged for cultural interaction.
