It would not be an exaggeration to say that "Sarod Samrat" Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is one of the greatest classical music artists in the world. The veteran musician, along with his sons Ayaan Ali Khan Bangash and Amaan Ali Khan Bangash, attended the NDTV World Summit on Monday. During the discussion, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan talked about how classical music exists all over the world and how it bridges distances and brings compassion. He emphasised that classical music has no boundaries and no religion. Speaking about its global appeal, especially in the Western world, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan said, “Classical music is all over the world, most ancient music, western world also – they still listen to Beethoven, Bach, Mozart – all the great composers – Tchaikovsky of Russia. Classical music will always be there till the time we have sun and moon. The seven musical notes – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni, in western world, they say – Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti. The seven notes have connected the whole world. Music has connected the world and unfortunately, language creates barriers.”
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan also highlighted how he belongs to “every religion of the world”. He said, “Music does not belong to any religion like air, flowers, water, fire, fragrance. So it is a special gift, and seeing the flavours and the problems of the world, I have learnt so much from the role of flowers, role of music and I feel like saying that I belong to every religion of the world. I belong to every religion of India.”
During the discussion, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan also opened up about how education has failed to bring “compassion and kindness” to the world. He spoke about the conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Palestine, and mentioned how these conflicts have led to the loss of many lives. The musician said, “We are still fighting. We are still trying to kill each other like 2000 years back. What is the contribution of education? Education unfortunately could not create compassion and kindness in a human being. How can we think of killing each other? I am very very very sad all the time praying to God that there should be peace between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine. We feel very sad. We feel very sorry for the people who have died, who have been killed in this war.”
Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has performed in various parts of the world. He has been honoured with numerous prestigious awards, including Padma Shri in 1975, Padma Bhushan in 1991, and Padma Vibhushan in 2001. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1989 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2011.