The idiom of Punjab gharana will be featured this evening at the travelling music fest envisioned by the maestro Alla Rakha Khan and presented on
three percussion instruments: tabla, Jodi pakhawaj and djembe, by representatives of two generations.
The legendary tabla maestro, Alla Rakha Khan’s tradition will be featured by first generation represented by his son and disciple, tabla wizard Zakir Hussain who will share stage with Shikhar Naad Qureshi, AllaRakha’s grandson, who carries forward the idea established by his father and guru, Taufiq Qureshi, of expressing the tabla repertoire on djembe, a drum of African origin. Anantha Krishnan will be playing mridangam along with the percussion.
“Through djembe I follow the traditional style only”, shared the cheerful artiste while speaking on his style of playing who started since the age of nine.
He has shared the stage with Vidhwan Vikku Vinayakramji on several occasions, also with maestros like Louis Banks, Niladri Kumar, Shankar Mahadevan and Ranjit Barot and in Bollywood industry. Also having performed with international names such as George Brooks, Torsten de winkel, Shikhar regularly performs with some of leading Indian fusion musicians.
“It goes without saying that I have been continuously inspired by my father and teacher Taufiq Qureshi and really idolise my uncle Zakir Hussain ji,” explains the artiste who imbibed the African instrument playing from his father.
A mix of north Indian and south Indian Carnatic music will be presented to the city audience.
The event - Citi- NCPA Aadi Anant Music Festival - will also include recitation of traditional repertoire or ‘padhant’, highlighting significance of the tabla mnemonics or ‘bols’ in composing and formation of a sophisticated language of tabla. The melodic framework is provided by Sabir Khan, the son and
disciple of the iconic sarangi exponent, Sultan Khan.
The festival has travelled down from Mumbai to the city announcing its 8th edition this year at Music Academy auditorium, opting to celebrate the age-old institution ‘Guru-Shishya parampara’ or teacher-student relationship, heritage of Indian music.
