Father, a strict traditionalist, has always believed in adapting to change: Sarod players Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash

Traditionalist but adaptable to change. The two oxymoronic terms sound odd to hear when used for the same person, but not to Sarod brothers Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash as they describe their father, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

In an email conversation with Firstpost, the brothers talked about their relationship with their father, their outlook towards the world of music and their recent collaborative project - ‘We For Love’.

Growing up in a household where the language spoken was of music, the air that they breathed was that of music, the two brothers “took the shape of the vessel just like water”, Amaan said.

The belief that Amaan has held for his father being a traditionalist who is adaptable to change perhaps comes from the belief that the duo holds for Indian classical music at large - “It is very individualistic”.

“Though our father has been a very strict traditionalist, he’s always believed in adapting to change. In all honesty, Indian classical music has no rules about how it should be presented or executed. That’s very individualistic,” he said.

The brothers, under the tutelage of their father, have managed to take Sarod to a new audience, “an audience that perhaps would not be at a classical concert”.

The younger brother, Ayaan, looks back at all the years they have spent under the watchful eyes of Amjad Ali Khan and imbibing his sense of music and the world.

Their relationship with Amjad Ali Khan, he says, would change effortlessly between father-son and guru-student.

“The relationship with our father was more Father-Son than Guru-Student initially. Of course the change in role for us and for him to guru to father and back to guru is somewhat effortless; He has been the most patient teacher and the most loving father,” the 42-year-old Sarod player said.

Ayaan adds that “Abba’s teaching and philosophy is beyond music”.

The way of life taught by Amjad Ali Khan and his wife Bharatanatyam artiste Subhalakshmi Barooah was to be a good human first and good music will follow.

“Music is who we are and our nature reflects in our music,” Ayaan said.

The two brothers last month on 21 January launched their latest EP, ‘We For Love’, in collaboration with the likes of Karsh Kale, Malini Awasthi, Shubha Mudgal, Karan Johar and Padma Vibhushan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan.

The cover of the album is created by Padma Shri awardee painter Paresh Maity. The six-track experimental EP aims to raise awareness and proceeds for the ‘Justice For Every Child’ campaign by Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF).

Founded in 2021, this national campaign is working to ensure victims of child sexual abuse and rape get timely justice and mental health support to enable them to heal and continue their lives with dignity and freedom.

What was a desire of long to work with some of the biggest music icons the country has produced became a reality under the cause for Amaan and Ayaan.

“‘We For Love’ has indeed been a defining journey for us as artists and as fellow human beings. We are so honoured to have a galaxy of artists who are such game changers in their field. Creatively it was a desire to work with all of them for years but perhaps this cause got us all together as all the artists resonated with the ethos of the campaign,” Ayaan said.

The project also presented the duo with an opportunity to work across genres.

Whether it is the title song, ‘We For Love’, with Karsh Kale’s quintessential electronic tunes in melodic sync with Sarod, or the atmospheric ‘Together We Can’ with Karan Johar’s narration, the album breaks several “traditional boundaries” of Indian classical music.

Malini Awasthi’s inimitable rustic tones matched with Sarod’s lingering sound in ‘Divine Krishna’ transports one to the narrow lanes of Vrindavan, and Shubha Mudgal’s full-throated voice in ‘Fire Within’ carries an appeal that breaks all generational barriers.

Even though different cultures or traditions are often pitted against each other to prove superiority, or their ‘fusion’ is looked down upon by traditionalists, the Khan brothers believe a musical collaboration should be seen as a bouquet of flowers and not as separate elements.

“Often in the race for cultural superiority, we pit one order against the other. The impact of this conflict phenomenon is called fusion music, a rage among the current generation of music-lovers, which sees the world as a global village.

“Every collaboration has a vision and a concept. It’s not about just playing alongside each other but more importantly, the music should be like a bouquet of flowers,” Amaan said.

Taking the example of their father, who has been a “traditionalist outside the box”, Ayaan believes that there is no rule book to creativity or a guide to how classical music should be presented.

“The universal concept of togetherness and unity has a beautiful message throughout the world. Today, the audience knows what they like and also what they don’t like… As long as it’s appealing, you are sorted. My father in fact has been a traditional ‘outside the box.’ He enjoys all his collaborations and wants to reinvent his ideas and thoughts constantly,” he said.